Posted: 11/9/2025 7:44:10 PM EDT
[Last Edit: LArifleMAN][Edited]
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Well ladies and gents I officially joined the club today. I may be an idiot for grabbing these two but I wanted to be the cool dad and have a project for my sons. 86 Green IROC and an 87 Black IROC. The 87 has the the 350 and 700R4, PO said ththat the engine was good shape as well as the granny. 86 is a roller with only the tranny, but a clear title. 87 needs body work, new glass, a new interior, 86 has a damn near complete interior. Also has a salvaged title but thats no biggie right now. Now these aren't getting turned into monsters so I'll be hunting for another 350 and whatever other bits and pieces I need. I just want to bring these old girls back to life. 3rd gen IROCs |
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Man, back in the day I LOVED and lusted for those. IMO they were some of the coolest looking cars on the road. Just some random interwebz pics here, to remind of the magic      |
Proud and grateful Tennessee Squire
flgfish: "Low mileage cars piss me off. You saving your girlfriend for the next guy? Drive the car and enjoy it. A 911 is damn near bulletproof."
flgfish: "Low mileage cars piss me off. You saving your girlfriend for the next guy? Drive the car and enjoy it. A 911 is damn near bulletproof."
| Am I right in the thinking that it does take much in aftermarket mods to stiffen the frame and tighten the suspension to make them turn very nicely? |
The “Three Stupid” Rule: “Do not go to stupid places, with stupid people, and do stupid things”
Religion is a handy device for keeping the philosophically deficient in line.
Religion is a handy device for keeping the philosophically deficient in line.
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Originally Posted By LArifleMAN: Gonna delve into that realm as we progress and see what's out there. DSE is a good starting point. |
The “Three Stupid” Rule: “Do not go to stupid places, with stupid people, and do stupid things”
Religion is a handy device for keeping the philosophically deficient in line.
Religion is a handy device for keeping the philosophically deficient in line.
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Congrats OP! They will enjoy them. I will say this, atleast for the 86, dropping a 350 into it when it came with a 305 is going to be a tuning nightmare. Take this from someone with a 86 iroc and i put in a 406 sbc  Not saying it isn't possible, but these old cars take actual Proms (chips). So either you have to get a custom prom made or get an aftermarket ecu. As far as body parts, while Facebook marketplace may work, classic industries has really good iinterior kits. Exterior panels are still out in junkyards. Check out www.aara.com its a site u cab search junkyards for all kinds of parts. |
| C5 Corvette Brakes in the front were a cheap and easy upgrade back 20 years ago. They are probably doing 4 piston calipers off a Silverado now. Swap to a 4th Gen rear for disc brakes, a little wider stance and usually better options for gears. After that, makes them reliable, mine will leave you stranded out of the blue. Usually when it heat soaks the starter from headers and crap replacement starters. |
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Originally Posted By JellyBelly: Am I right in the thinking that it does take much in aftermarket mods to stiffen the frame and tighten the suspension to make them turn very nicely? So if there was only ONE suspension upgrade I had to suggest for 3rd and 4th gen bodies (as someone with a 86 iroc, 99 ws6 and 18zl1) id highly suggest umi 3 point sub frame connectors. 2 points are ok (and cheaper) but the 3 points are night and day better. 2nd part id suggest is an adjustable torque arm (and relocation bracket). Its a rabbit hole of part upgrades but 100% worth it even with a stock engine/trans/rear end. |
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Originally Posted By Black88iroc: mine will leave you stranded out of the blue. Usually when it heat soaks the starter from headers and crap replacement starters. We got the same car? Lol. My 86 started with a 305, 355 and now the 406. Heat soak was my biggest enemy. After that would be random electrical gremlins that would drain the battery. |
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Originally Posted By Black88iroc: C5 Corvette Brakes in the front were a cheap and easy upgrade back 20 years ago. They are probably doing 4 piston calipers off a Silverado now. Swap to a 4th Gen rear for disc brakes, a little wider stance and usually better options for gears. After that, makes them reliable, mine will leave you stranded out of the blue. Usually when it heat soaks the starter from headers and crap replacement starters. This has been an F-body SBC problem since the 1st gen. Solution is simple. The "I need something right now" solution is to dump a cup of ice water down between the header tubes so that it hits the starter. They will usually start right away, but I have no idea whether you can pull that off in a 3rd gen. The permanent fix is a starter heat shield. You used to could buy one right from the dealer for a '73 Chevy pickup, but it probably also had asbestos insulation . It was just a piece of sheet metal held on by the starter bolts with insulation on one side. I would guess Summit or Jegs has a modern equivalent now without the need to buy some high $ high temp starter. ETA - yep, they have several heat shield options: Summit Chevy Starter Heat Shields |
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Originally Posted By azmp5: Congrats OP! They will enjoy them. I will say this, atleast for the 86, dropping a 350 into it when it came with a 305 is going to be a tuning nightmare. Take this from someone with a 86 iroc and i put in a 406 sbc Not saying it isn't possible, but these old cars take actual Proms (chips). So either you have to get a custom prom made or get an aftermarket ecu. As far as body parts, while Facebook marketplace may work, classic industries has really good iinterior kits. Exterior panels are still out in junkyards. Check out www.aara.com its a site u cab search junkyards for all kinds of parts. So from my research, and what the PO told me these cars each had the 350 5.7 TPI at least thats what's in the black one. Please correct me if I'm wrong. https://www.automobile-catalog.com/car/1986/459080/chevrolet_camaro_iroc-z_5_7l_v-8_tpi_l98_automatic.html The current plan is to pull that motor and put it in the green one. Slap 4 new tires on, address any mechanical issues and then source parts for the black one. Unfortunately we grabbed these the day before I head back to work for 6 weeks. Guess I'll be eyeballing junk yards and FB marketplace from CO to WY while I'm out. |
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Use whichever body doesn't have t-tops. GM was smart with the later 3rd gen when they excluded t-tops from the 350 TPI engine equipped cars. Prior to that, there were complaints of leaking t-tops over time. I had a Victory Red 1991 Z-28 with 350 TPI and G92 Performance Axle Pkg and that thing was faaaaast. No t-tops either. A common story across America - Traded it for a 4-door S-10 Blazer when we started having a family. Good luck |
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Originally Posted By LArifleMAN: So from my research, and what the PO told me these cars each had the 350 5.7 TPI at least thats what's in the black one. Please correct me if I'm wrong. https://www.automobile-catalog.com/car/1986/459080/chevrolet_camaro_iroc-z_5_7l_v-8_tpi_l98_automatic.html The current plan is to pull that motor and put it in the green one. Slap 4 new tires on, address any mechanical issues and then source parts for the black one. Unfortunately we grabbed these the day before I head back to work for 6 weeks. Guess I'll be eyeballing junk yards and FB marketplace from CO to WY while I'm out. I wanna say only 50 86 irocs has the 350 tpi and they were all r&d vehicles. Never sold to the Public. The best engine in 86 was the LB9 305 TPI and you had the 5 speed manual or 4 speed auto option. 1987 was the first year the L98 350 tpi was an option but only with the 4 speed auto. You could get the 5 speed manual but only with the 305 tpi. For whatever reason, alot of places online sites still say the 50 L98 86 irocs were built "right before the 87 year production" but thats not true. What you can do though is check the ecu in the 86 (should be in the psg foot well area). Only 2 screws hold the access plate closed. Just open that plate amd see which prom is in there. The bandaid solution back in the day was to out a 87-88 350 tpi auto prom into the 86 305 ecu. As long as the 350 was relatively stock, it worked fine. |
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Originally Posted By Spaceboy: Do not do a fourth gen rear for the love of God. It's wider and will make your wheels stick out in a goofy way and you still have a garbage 7.5". Also you have to monkey with parking brake cables. This! Its not worth the hassle. As long as the rears are disk brakes, conversion kits are readily available. |
 My 86. It has a punched out 10 thou 350 in the power barn, bolted to the stock 5 speed. I added weld in sub frame connectors, a B&M short throw gear shift, center force clutch, flowmaster single tail pipe exhaust, ceramic coated hedmann headers. Swapped the PITA Holley 4bbl for a Quick fuel (ya..I know it's a Holley). On the list is to replace all the weather stripping, fog lights, fix some interior things and drive it. I may upgrade the suspension but the way I drive it I don't need it to corner on rails. The roads around here are to shitty to stretch her legs to far. |
To say that you are on thin ice would be a vastly optimistic view of your current situation. The ice has melted. You are being supported by the surface tension of water.
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Ok gents back home from work for the holidays so its time for a little update. Got the black one home finally and got some more pictures so you all can see the mess I'm working with on that one. 87 IROC The interior is a mess, but we found a set in decent shape at the local junkyard yesterday. I'm also making a drive tomorrow to pick up a L98 engine from an early 90s vette tomorrow. I know I'll need to change to oil pan and some EGR stuff but I'll figure that out later. |
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Originally Posted By JellyBelly: Am I right in the thinking that it does take much in aftermarket mods to stiffen the frame and tighten the suspension to make them turn very nicely? I’ll just leave this here. I was a bodyman back when these came out. We had one in the shop that we had to replace the windshield in. This was right in the transition time from when GM went from the raw rubber butyl tape to using a urethane out of a caulking gun. The aftermarket had not caught up with a quick drying urethane like Safelite uses now that has a primer to catalyze the cure. We installed using the 3M urethane and let it sit over night. Next day we pulled it out of the shop that had a slight downhill ramp. As soon as it got to the bottom, the body flexed and the windshield cracked from one corner to the next. Yes, the glued in windshield is part of the structure stiffness. If I had one, I’d do my best to strengthen the chassis with subframe connectors. |
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Originally Posted By ScottsGT: I'll just leave this here. I was a bodyman back when these came out. We had one in the shop that we had to replace the windshield in. This was right in the transition time from when GM went from the raw rubber butyl tape to using a urethane out of a caulking gun. The aftermarket had not caught up with a quick drying urethane like Safelite uses now that has a primer to catalyze the cure. We installed using the 3M urethane and let it sit over night. Next day we pulled it out of the shop that had a slight downhill ramp. As soon as it got to the bottom, the body flexed and the windshield cracked from one corner to the next. Yes, the glued in windshield is part of the structure stiffness. If I had one, I'd do my best to strengthen the chassis with subframe connectors. |
To say that you are on thin ice would be a vastly optimistic view of your current situation. The ice has melted. You are being supported by the surface tension of water.
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Well one of the lovely Karen's in our subdivision called the city because some folks had campers, trailers, cars sitting on the street. I'm honestly thinking it was one of the realtors, either way a bunch of folks got notices. Lady from the city told me i had 10 days the get both the cars running and registered. I laughed at her and she didn't seem amused. Needless to say the cars have found a new home and I just picked up 2 new new ones out here in IA where im working. Now I just need to figure out how to get them home. Edited to add that ones an 88 Z52 Vette and the other is an 85 Z28. |