car want of the day

Schumi · 11-15-2010, 05:29 PM

Today, I've been thinking I want one of these:

IROC baby.

VaSteve · 11-15-2010, 05:42 PM

I saw a photo of a couple of those racing in an SCCA magazine and I got all misty eyed for when I was growing up. I never had one, but I lived in a neighborhood where there were tons of them. All the stereotypes apply of course, but it took me back.

vash · vash's Garage

WOW!! my best friend in high school had one. great car! we went over a curb and destroyed it. we took that damn curb..SIDEWAYS!

my friend thought he was some nascar star. he could really drive, just not that night.

Rick Lee · Rick Lee's Garage

I've only ever ridden in one. A hot co-worker from Wendy's drove me to the mall on our lunch break to buy Rush's Hold Your Fire the day it came out because I didn't have my license yet. Wish I had hit that. Tina, where are you today?

Schumi · 11-15-2010, 05:54 PM

I just want one to make loud noises and smoke.

I realize now that I already have cars that do the handling & speed part.

But having a toy that is just a loud, rumbly, burnout machine... and they are so cheap!

vash · vash's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by Schumi

I just want one to make loud noises and smoke.

I realize now that I already have cars that do the handling & speed part.

But having a toy that is just a loud, rumbly, burnout machine... and they are so cheap!

and that big flat dashboard can hold alot of to-go food boxes!!

David · David's Garage

I remember seeing a blue one in Austin when I was at UT when they first came out. The driver got on it hard and I swear I could see light under one of the front wheels as the whole front end lifted and twisted under load.

URY914 · URY914's Garage

Start growin' your mullet.

onewhippedpuppy · 11-15-2010, 06:28 PM

215 HP from 305 cubic inches is an epic engineering fail. A friend had one in high school, I still fondly remember the leaky rattling t-tops, tinker toy interior that fell to pieces before your eyes, and the total lack of acceleration or handling. It did sound good, but that's about it. I have a funny feeling that reality would set in pretty quickly if you bought one, nostalgia can only make crap into charm for so long.

Schumi · 11-15-2010, 06:39 PM

Yea, the 215HP part sucks... but a few hundred dollars and a JEGS catalog and I think that could be helped..

Z-man · Z-man's Garage

You don't want to know what I.R.O.C stands for here in New Joisey....

The tamer version is: Italian .... Out Cruisin'.

Let's just leave it at that before Vinny and Lenny have to chase me down....

An IROC Camaro -- do not like. On the other hand, a 1978 Camaro Type LT - now, you're talkin'

-Z-man.

attamz · 11-16-2010, 04:40 AM

I had a 89 for my first car that I still have covered in the garage today. Though my friends laugh and make redneck jokes when I drive it......its' good cheap fun.

slow&rusty · 11-16-2010, 04:52 AM

IROC-Z with a modified 5.7L please...I love these cars immensely. So ultra cool and destined to be a classic.

fastfredracing · 11-16-2010, 05:04 AM

My auto sickness began with Camaro's. I had 17 of them back to back in my early years. Most of them were mid 70's- early 80's, but I had a couple of IROC's as well.
There was a period when I blew up my SC and I tried autocrossing a couple of different vehicles. At that time I ran a red iroc with a mild build 350, ( roughly 300 hp) and a t5 5 spd. ( It was half the cost of a 3.0 rebuild) Even though my times sucked , it was a total blast. I steered the car with the throttle. Every run was a blaze of tire smoke. In the car , it felt like I was setting the fastest time in the world
Trust me though, you will be underwhelmed. I have driven one in recent years, and thought to myself, what a pos.

kaisen · 11-16-2010, 10:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

215 HP from 305 cubic inches is an epic engineering fail.

It's about TORQUE, not horsepower. And most IROC's produced from 1987 to 1990 have the 350 (5.7L)

Even so, 215hp was more than most cars had in the mid eighties, regardless of displacement.

VincentVega · 11-16-2010, 11:02 AM

Not the same vintage, but I think this fits

Zeke · 11-16-2010, 11:08 AM

Hey Mike, found your upload at Wiki.

I was looking up info on the '89 V6 RS. My stepson had one of those and it was a truck.

tabs · 11-16-2010, 11:40 AM

Day Dreaming Again...

Hey Goober don't forgit ta put yer teeth in before ya go crusin in yer IROC...

stomachmonkey · 11-16-2010, 11:41 AM

Had one. Between the insurance and gas it ate me out of house and home.

One of the annoying traits was when you got on it hard it would twist and pop the wire off the number 7 plug.

Was embarrassing when you'd run someone at a light and have to run on 7 cylinders.

Car handled pretty well up to a point. Standard American solid rear axle would bind if you rolled it too far and would turn into one big ass sway bar making things real interesting real fast.

Once got it sideways on the Seaford Oyster Bay Expwy doing 75. Was like crashcar with the thing just sliding along 90 degrees to the roadway.

Was worthless in anything but dry weather.

Still, had a lot of fun in it.

Dumped it when it started having weird issues. Step on brakes and rear defroster would turn on, crap like that.

Oh Haha · 11-16-2010, 03:43 PM

I never cared for the IROC style Camaro but I owned these 2 at one time.

The 78 is actually Corvette Polo Green. It had a 400 SBC with a HUUUUGE solid lifter cam, 4000 stall converter and 4.10 gears. It was good for mid 11's with a bit of nitrous. It was a total straight line ride that probably would have tipped over had a taken a corner too fast.

The 94 had the LT-1 with the ZF 6 speed gearbox. I added just about every bolt-on you could buy for that car. I debadged it and hid the dual exhaust so I could beat up on Mustangs and Cobras of the same vintage. I had Yokahama A509 tires so it handled pretty decently.

I then discovered the world of the 911.