Gen 3 Project?
 

My wife and I have been talking about a project car for the family.

Obviously I'd love to build a 69 but that's not in the budget. And I'm not gonna buy a 5th gen until we have both of our current cars paid off.

So, I'd like to build a 3rd Gen. I've been looking around and found 'em any where from 25k down to 3K with V8's

I think I want a '92 just cus we had one before and imho that was a cleaner body that earlier 3rd gens.

I'm curious as to what you guys think about this generation as far as what years were better than others, packages/combinations to look for and so on.

I've been lurking around "thridgen.org" to try and do a little research on my own. But wanted to ask here as well.

Thanks!

MAN! My dad and I are building a 3rd gen as well! weird. Whats even weirder is that were building a 67 also like you wanted.. Its not a 69 but.. its the same almost. lol.. Let me tell you which year is the best 3rd gen and why. 1982. Reason being is because the admissions for that year are a hell of a lot less than 83. As the Irocs got older torwards the mid 80's they got ALOT heavier. the 82 is the lightest by far. Not to mention theres not too much change from 82 to 92 in the Camaro. They might not be as clean as a 92 but with a little bit of work no one would be able to tell the difference. 82 Camaros are the most popular years for bracket racers to get hold of because of their weight. Ours is going to have a small block 350, by the time everything is built on it were expecting 550ish horse power. Its going to be fully tubbed for even less weight and the tires are going to be fully tubed. Taking out the back seats.

So if you want to go and make the car with radical horse power, and various other mods... then get a 82 for few admissions! (Check your state admission law before buying anything though depending on what you want to do with the car.)

It all depends on what you want though.. If you just want a cruiser, then any year is fine honestly. All depends on your preference. ^^ All of that is what were doing, and suggestions if you want the car like we do, but what are your requirements for this car?

I am building mine now - rust free body. I am documenting everything on car domain.

nah

Looking to do an extended build with a Berlinetta/Z28 crossbreed right now. IMO go for the 85 Berlinetta and do a 350/LS1 swap.

Oh wait.. that's my plan. Not to mention it's budget friendly, and parts are dime a dozen (almost..). :D

If I were you, I'd buy a 1984 any trim (so that you can swap any engine you want in it and still be emissions legal) and just throw the 91-92 GFX, spoiler, etc on it. All of those parts are fully swappable with only a few holes drilled in the mounting locations (places that wouldn't show once the GFX are installed anyway. And you'd be able to swap back to the old GFX without them showing also).
- X

I AGREE!! lol iv got an 86 berlinetta, and if u want a unique looking car get an 85 or 86 berlinetta, swap a 5.7 in it, and get the spoiler and sideskirts u want. cuz the front bumper and grill look really kool. im in the middle of fixin up the outside of mine, and i cant wait to get the sideskirts on it, its gonna look really good lol

Yep, probably going to pick mine up tomorrow or Saturday. Pics may come..

:wave: I have a project for you, it's a '92 RS (originally 305 tb) 5 speed in nice condition, some of the interior is taken out, the rear end is out (i installed a posi locker) and just the short block is installed (350). go here to look at some pictures of what it once was. This has been in my garage for the past 6-7 years as a storage unit:(.

If you're doing to perform a big change, the year thirdgen that you start with won't make a hell of a lot of difference, but generally the newer are going to be preferred for a number of reasons. GM made incremental upgrades over the years, so the chassis and other systems are just better in the newer ones. Also, the 90+ Camaros have electronic speedometers, which makes it easier to integrate a newer transmission without having to worry about turning a mechanical speedometer. The very early thirdgens also didn't have the transmission crossmember provisions for the newer transmissions, and I'm not sure whether the bolt holes are even in the subframe that you need to mount aftermarket conversion crossmembers into. If you want the look of the 91-92 style cars, it's a lot of work to upgrade the old ones too. It's not just the ground effects, you'd need the front & rear bumpers, tail lights, spoiler, hood and hatch with the integrated third brakelight. And of course, after all that, the interior still wouldn't be the new style.

The point is, if you like the 92s, buy that style to build. There are plenty of cheap ones available for all years.