Unexpected result

[Terredax]

Back during the summer, I went to a few cruise-in car shows.
I showed a few smaller items that I had made related to the motorized hobby.
I also had several photos of some of the larger items I've made, and was passing them around to some of the owners, especially the people that had a link to some of the stuff I've done.
I had a few inquiries, and a couple of orders but, nothing noteworthy.
Fast forward to this past Monday. I received a call from a gentleman that was interested in a dash emblem that I had showed him. He belongs to a Camaro club, and he showed the photo of the emblem to some of the members. This led to a lot of questions about sizes, materials, other years, and other vehicles.
I attended a meeting they had on Wednesday, to answer some of their questions.

I left with an order for 18 of the particular emblem in various materials and sizes, and some other orders for other emblems, pending renderings, and approval.
This is the emblem that started this.

 

[TonyL]

Very nice! I owned an 82 and 84 IROC. Good memories.

 

[Charlie_W]

Congrats on the orders!!
The Z emblem looks great!

 

[Terredax]

Very nice! I owned an 82 and 84 IROC. Good memories.

Tony, you probably had the Z28's (the Indy Pace car was available in 82), since the IROC-Z didn't make it's debut until 1985, when the TPI (tuned port injection) was also introduced. In 1985, Chevrolet signed a contract with the International Race Of Champions, where the IROC-Z received it's name from, and the name was used through 1990, when Chevrolet decided not to renew the contract.

I owned several IROC-Z's in my younger years, and I still have a fully optioned 1989 Trans Am GTA tucked in storage. 1989 was the last year for the third generation Camaro/Trans Am to have the combination of 5.7 and t-tops.

Also, there was never a publicly available, factory built third gen with the 5.7 and manual transmission. Chevrolet new it would be able to out perform the Corvette, and wouldn't allow it.

They were fun to drive, and provided some good memories.

 

[TonyL]

You are right an 82 Z28 and an 85 IROC Z with the TPI, posi-rear something. I paid 17k for it. I should have bought a Mustand GT.
However, it (IROC) was a lemon from day 1. My dad and i were on newtork news after our arbitration hearing. We got 14700 back (GM deducted mileage depreciation). I bought a 300Z after that...not nearly the muscle, but never had a problem with it.

 

[TonyL]

You are right ...they needed a 5.7. I was going to buy a used vet (2014), but my dad gave me his SL 500 (I would never ask my folks for a car). That has a 5.0 BUT a whole lot of torque. I see the Smokey and Bandit TA with teh honey comb wheels late 70s I thing. Two of my friends own them. They keep them in storage. I love that car - black with gold bird and wheels. I had an 81 firebird...what a piece of .......

 

[Terredax]

I sat in a 2018 Z06 Corvette. I just don't fit. My knees were up past the middle of the steering wheel, my head was above the roof line (the top was off and head was 6" above top), and getting out was a nightmare. It took me forever to locate the door handle, as it isn't on the door, it's on the floor next to the door. I was so cramped in, that I had to use my right hand, to reach through and under my legs, to get to the release. After getting the door open, it was like standing up from the floor. I decided right then, that even if one was given to me, I wouldn't have one for any reason. Imagine a Salmon in a Sardine can.

The '77 Bandit Trans Am is an icon. There is a company, that converts the fifth and sixth generation Camaro's, into the Bandit Trans Am. GM made a big mistake when they eliminated the Pontiac line.

The '85 IROC-Z's had issues, with the TPI being new. There were some other problems as well, like the VATS system.
My In-laws had a '89 IROC-Z and only got to put less than 10,000 miles on it in the time they owned it. It would shut down after driving it a short distance. They had it to several places for repair but, it never got fixed. I explained to them about the VATS and a simple fix but, they decided to trade it in.

 

[More4dan]

You are right ...they needed a 5.7. I was going to buy a used vet (2014), but my dad gave me his SL 500 (I would never ask my folks for a car). That has a 5.0 BUT a whole lot of torque. I see the Smokey and Bandit TA with teh honey comb wheels late 70s I thing. Two of my friends own them. They keep them in storage. I love that car - black with gold bird and wheels. I had an 81 firebird...what a piece of .......

The 82 was soooo much worse! I remember the Dealer's son had the first one in town in TA trim and A KITT personalized plate. His first night out cruising the Blvd. he pulled up to us at a light and wanted a race. We smoked him like he was in a Prius. We could hear his girlfriend laughing at him with the window rolled up. His brand new TA just got trounced by school bus yellow Chevy van.


Sent from my iPhone using Penturners.org mobile app

 

[Dr_N]

Terredax,

I had an 89 trans am, with the 305, back in high school. It was grey over silver, not the GTA though. Easily my favorite car I've owned.

 

[vtgaryw]

I had a '75 Camaro, nothing fancy but I liked it. Still not sure why I sold it. Have a 91 Vette now, but the older I get the more of a bitch it is getting in and out of. Need to go up to a C4 or C5.

Funny story how I ended up with the Corvette. I had been looking for a Porsche 944 Turbo for several years with some vague idea of using it as a rally car. Finally found one I liked about 3 hours away from me. Drove down and bought it, but had them keep it until the weekend when I could come back (they also had a few body work things I was going to have them do.) A day later, I get a call from the dealer, my car was stolen off the lot the night before. Recovered, but it was a mess. Electronics all ripped out, they had scraped it up getting out of the lot, and the Targa top was gone. Bummed, I happened to look in the paper that evening, saw the 91 'Vette just 5 minutes away from me!

-gary

 

[TonyL]

Looking back....even the "bad" memories seem good.

 

[randywa]

I was always one of the Trans Am guys. My first was a '72 TA 455 HO and 4 speed I found in a junkyard for $50. It took a while but when it was done it was sweet. Also had a '75 TA and a '76 Formula with a 4 speed. I miss them all.