My Iroc story - Camaro5 Chevy Camaro Forum / Camaro ZL1, SS and V6 Forums

UBB · 07-24-2018, 10:07 AM

So the story goes like this:

When I first met my wife (2002'ish) I found out that her Mom had bought the Iroc Z new in 1985 (still have the bill of sale

). Wife even learned to drive in that car. The car was driven on and off until 2001. I believe it had some un-diagnosed EGR issues and wasn't running right so it was parked out at the mother in laws brother's farm in a barn. After we started dating I inquired about the status of the car and asked if it was possibly for sale. No, they didn't want to get rid of it. Every 12-15 months I'd ask about selling me the car and always the answer was no, we want to get it back up running some day. So I basically forget about it, we move away, get married and life goes on. Then one Monday fall of 2016 wife gets a call from her mom. Says Uncle Pete is selling the farm and moving to town so everything in that barn has to go. If UBB still wants the Iroc he should come down and get it. He can have it.

A day and half later, my brother and I make the 15 hr round trip to load it up. Being in the barn for 15 yrs the car of course was filthy and aside from chewed up wiring surprisingly mouse free.
We did get the car to fire and eventually start but was rough rough rough. One cylinder had obvious rust, so the thinking is the the head gasket is bad. I seriously considered rebuilding the 305 to keep the car original but alas, I think I've finally decided to just LS swap it to make it a little more fun to drive. Not much work has been done the last couple years as life and other projects get in the way, but the project has now once again, commenced. Any advice from people who have done this type of project before is most welcome. I'm looking at grabbing a L59 out of a wrecked Suburban as the base for my motor FWIW. Here are some pictures of the car:

detltu · 07-24-2018, 10:43 AM

Very cool story. Be sure to check out thirdgen . org.

You can probably find a buyer for the old engine. (I am tempted if you weren't so far away).

Looks like the car cleaned up pretty good. Keep us updated.

joelster · 07-28-2018, 07:21 AM

Dude, IROC's are selling for huge money if they are original. Do yourself a favor and rebuild the 305. Put a tiny cam in it, a nice valve job on the heads, and free up the exhaust a bit. It will make 250hp but more importantly 350+ft/lbs. It will be a fun car on the street that will escalate in value.

UBB · 07-28-2018, 09:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by joelster

Dude, IROC's are selling for huge money if they are original. Do yourself a favor and rebuild the 305. Put a tiny cam in it, a nice valve job on the heads, and free up the exhaust a bit. It will make 250hp but more importantly 350+ft/lbs. It will be a fun car on the street that will escalate in value.

I thought about that a lot but can't imagine ever selling the car considering the story so back end value isn't real important to me. Besides, I have a matching #'s 67 SS in the garage as well that's staying stock.

1911 1LE · 07-28-2018, 09:41 AM

Back in 1987, I was dating a girl whose mom just bought a red 350 Iroc

I think about that car often. The girl?

VASTREETRACER · 08-01-2018, 10:33 PM

I also have a 85 IROC. Mine was a tuned port car but had been gutted. I just had to replace the engine in my 10 SS due to a lifter going out. So the LS3 that came out will be going into the 85 with probably a set of twins or lots of nitrous. Good luck with the build

UBB · 08-02-2018, 08:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VASTREETRACER

I also have a 85 IROC. Mine was a tuned port car but had been gutted. I just had to replace the engine in my 10 SS due to a lifter going out. So the LS3 that came out will be going into the 85 with probably a set of twins or lots of nitrous. Good luck with the build

Nice!

farm rat · 08-02-2018, 09:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by UBB

I thought about that a lot but can't imagine ever selling the car considering the story so back end value isn't real important to me. Besides, I have a matching #'s 67 SS in the garage as well that's staying stock.

Well we need pics of the 67!!!

UBB · 08-02-2018, 09:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by farm rat

Well we need pics of the 67!!!

farm rat · 08-02-2018, 10:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by UBB

That is gorgeous!!!

detltu · 08-02-2018, 10:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by UBB

That's fantastic.

Now we need pics of all the Camaro's together.

Great collection you have going.

CamaroFan63 · 08-02-2018, 06:55 PM

In August '85 my brother drove home a
Silver over Red TPI Z28 Iroc-Z. Wish i hadn't traded it, pic is from Sept 2008

StreetRage320 · 08-02-2018, 10:56 PM

That's a great story and the history it has with your family will always make the car more valuable to you than others.

I had a beautiful 3rd gen myself with a 305 tuned port injection engine. Yes it wasn't fast but it seemed fast since the suspension, brakes and really most of the rest of the car wasn't that good. Nearly everything rattled in that old thing. Here's a picture of it with a much younger version of me..

I would imagine suspension upgrades will be key. I I also never understood why there were hardly any air vents in the front of that car to keep things cool? I wonder if cooling may be an issue as well with your LS swap?

Neither case have fun and keep us posted!

UBB · 08-03-2018, 05:00 PM

Picked up a strong running 4.8l with accompanying trans today for cheap. Looks like it's going to be a Mighty Mouse build.

07-24-2018, 10:07 AM	#1
UBB Drives: 2018 ZL1 Join Date: Jun 2016 Location: Bismarck Posts: 572 View My Garage	My Iroc story So the story goes like this: When I first met my wife (2002'ish) I found out that her Mom had bought the Iroc Z new in 1985 (still have the bill of sale ). Wife even learned to drive in that car. The car was driven on and off until 2001. I believe it had some un-diagnosed EGR issues and wasn't running right so it was parked out at the mother in laws brother's farm in a barn. After we started dating I inquired about the status of the car and asked if it was possibly for sale. No, they didn't want to get rid of it. Every 12-15 months I'd ask about selling me the car and always the answer was no, we want to get it back up running some day. So I basically forget about it, we move away, get married and life goes on. Then one Monday fall of 2016 wife gets a call from her mom. Says Uncle Pete is selling the farm and moving to town so everything in that barn has to go. If UBB still wants the Iroc he should come down and get it. He can have it. A day and half later, my brother and I make the 15 hr round trip to load it up. Being in the barn for 15 yrs the car of course was filthy and aside from chewed up wiring surprisingly mouse free. We did get the car to fire and eventually start but was rough rough rough. One cylinder had obvious rust, so the thinking is the the head gasket is bad. I seriously considered rebuilding the 305 to keep the car original but alas, I think I've finally decided to just LS swap it to make it a little more fun to drive. Not much work has been done the last couple years as life and other projects get in the way, but the project has now once again, commenced. Any advice from people who have done this type of project before is most welcome. I'm looking at grabbing a L59 out of a wrecked Suburban as the base for my motor FWIW. Here are some pictures of the car:

07-24-2018, 10:43 AM	#2
detltu Drives: 1992 Z28 1LE; 2015 Zl1 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Madisonville, LA Posts: 866 View My Garage	Very cool story. Be sure to check out thirdgen . org. You can probably find a buyer for the old engine. (I am tempted if you weren't so far away). Looks like the car cleaned up pretty good. Keep us updated. __________________ 1989 Camaro RS convertible- Sold 1999 Camaro SS - Stolen 2x 1991 Camaro Z28- 1991 Camaro Z28 1LE- 1992 Camaro Z28 1LE- 25th anniversary 2015 Camaro ZL1

07-28-2018, 07:21 AM	#3
joelster Drives: '94 Z28+ '15 Z/28 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Cheektowaga, NY Posts: 1,280	Dude, IROC's are selling for huge money if they are original. Do yourself a favor and rebuild the 305. Put a tiny cam in it, a nice valve job on the heads, and free up the exhaust a bit. It will make 250hp but more importantly 350+ft/lbs. It will be a fun car on the street that will escalate in value. __________________ 1973 Mach 1, 351C cruiser '15 Z/28 Red Hot, A/C 1980 Z28- resto-mod project 1979 Y84 Trans Am 1986 IROC-Z

07-28-2018, 09:41 AM	#5
1911 1LE Drives: 2015 SW 2SS 1LE Join Date: Jan 2018 Location: 78155 Posts: 308	Back in 1987, I was dating a girl whose mom just bought a red 350 Iroc I think about that car often. The girl? __________________ Maggie 2650 @ 18psi/ 75mm 10 rib/ Dual alky nozzles/ Roto-fab/ ARH 2" Lt's/ GT-12 cam/ ZL1 3.23 Conv./MGW/RPS triple carbon clutch/RSG tranny upgrage/Pedders Ex. XA w/ remote cans and a lot of other crap 897/8??@tires

08-01-2018, 10:33 PM	#6
VASTREETRACER Drives: 2023 Camaro SS 1LE on order Join Date: Dec 2014 Location: Bowling green Va Posts: 293	I also have a 85 IROC. Mine was a tuned port car but had been gutted. I just had to replace the engine in my 10 SS due to a lifter going out. So the LS3 that came out will be going into the 85 with probably a set of twins or lots of nitrous. Good luck with the build __________________ 2017 Camaro SS 50th anniversary, I sold it but 2010 Camaro SS, whipple, cam, full bolt ons and full exhaust made 739/656 RWHP/TQ on 93 pump gas

08-02-2018, 06:55 PM	#12
CamaroFan63 Sullie63 Drives: '15 1LT Summit White Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: Gateway to the West Posts: 526	In August '85 my brother drove home a Silver over Red TPI Z28 Iroc-Z. Wish i hadn't traded it, pic is from Sept 2008 __________________ Casper, Ghost of Camaro's past Black '86 Silver '85, VR '13 Auto/19's/Boston Acoustic speakers/Spare Tire Born 10/28/14 Adopted 04/09/18 with 17,491.xx miles Oracle clear side markers / LLmar tint sides and rear. Strut bar / Husky Floor liners Member of SICC. Southern Illinois Camaro Club

08-02-2018, 10:56 PM	#13
StreetRage320 Those who need me got me Drives: 2022 ZL1 A10 Join Date: Aug 2017 Location: Southwest, MN Posts: 624	That's a great story and the history it has with your family will always make the car more valuable to you than others. I had a beautiful 3rd gen myself with a 305 tuned port injection engine. Yes it wasn't fast but it seemed fast since the suspension, brakes and really most of the rest of the car wasn't that good. Nearly everything rattled in that old thing. Here's a picture of it with a much younger version of me.. I would imagine suspension upgrades will be key. I I also never understood why there were hardly any air vents in the front of that car to keep things cool? I wonder if cooling may be an issue as well with your LS swap? Neither case have fun and keep us posted! Attached Images __________________

08-03-2018, 05:00 PM	#14
UBB Drives: 2018 ZL1 Join Date: Jun 2016 Location: Bismarck Posts: 572 View My Garage	Picked up a strong running 4.8l with accompanying trans today for cheap. Looks like it's going to be a Mighty Mouse build.