1989 Chevrolet Camaro IROC-Z28 from North America - Comments

Got my IROC-Z28 in late spring of 1993, it was about 4 yrs old at that time (was 89 model), and had about 48K miles.

Immediately it was leaking copious amounts of oil on the garage floor and performance was 'off' in general I could tell. Required head gasket(s), AND a few new fuel injectors, right off the bat.

Later on... needed alternator/battery; 4 new tires (cupped, loud road noise) ; a ridiculous brake grinding/groaning noise developed so it eventually needed new rotors and discs and pads; a water pump; and other miscellaneous at-home 'repairs' or temporary repairs for minor squeaks and rattles (which there were often many of). Also, if you want to keep it working, you have to always replace the little bulbs in the 3rd brake light on the fin/spoiler.

All of the above being taken into consideration, this car was (for its age and use), generally reliable once the bugs were worked out and some 'used car fix-up' money was dumped into it. I got many miles, lots of fun, and 4 yrs out of it.

I've had 3 Camaros and in my opinion this was probably the best of the lot overall. I love (still) the 3rd-generation Camaro look in general, but particularly the Z28's and IROC's of this generation. I used to be able to beat up my buddy's (mostly stock) 92 5.0 Mustang GT, from the light all the way up (after he used to be able to beat me handily in my former car -- 85 Camaro Sport Coupe V8).

This IROC did have a few mods on it, and with the 350 TPI it even used to hang with some other old friends' cars -- which were a 93 Formula, and a 94 TA respectively... although the IROC lost to them, it was a respectable showing, even taking them off the line sometimes and hanging on by less than a car length to the high speed ranges. I remember those guys were impressed by the IROC for that.

It sounded great also, especially with a 'straight pipe' instead of any muffler and a hollowed-out false cat converter (sounded like a cigarette boat!). Driving it was fun, overall, looking out over the black louvers on the hood. And I of course got very used to its (admittedly spartan -- to put it nicely -- & probably rather tacky) interior; a little Grant GT steering wheel, and that yellow-orange plaque on the passenger-side dash that said Z28IROCZ.

All in all, I recommend 3rd gen Z's or IROC's if you want a real American sports car with older-school looks and strong performance (for the $), decent handling (relatively speaking), and general reliability.

But look for the slightly lower-priced ones (5 grand or less), because you'll likely have to dump some $$ into it to get it into that 'generally reliable' state of operation. Some people are asking WAY too high for these now. Even with lower miles, remember it's still a 20 year old Chevy... They can still be head-turners though, especially when they're in great shape. Good first cars for younger guys, though insurance might still be on the high side with anything that has a "Z" in the name and is part of the Camaro family.

Wow, a car with a "tacky" interior that "you'll likely have to dump $$ into it to get it into that truly "generally reliable" daily usable state of operation."

Good thing they don't make them like these anymore, eh? The only Camaro that is going to turn heads these days is the new 2010 version.

^^ Maybe. As long as the government (the new principal owner) allows them to keep making them. I bet good money there won't be the 400 (or 425) hp V8 version for very long, now that it's Government Motors. They're all about "green" and energy efficiency and "oil independence" today. They're soon going to say, what's the need & market for a high 30's/nearly 40grand sports car with this kind of horsepower nowadays, when you already have the Corvette in the market, and you've got a 6 cylinder that looks the same and sells better. So they'll keep making the 6 cylinder Camaro secretary's car, as long as they can sell them out of Chapter 11, but those 8's won't be around for long, wait and see. The previously proposed 500+ horse Z28 is already as good as canceled I believe. At least back in the older days (80's & 90's) it was not in a state of bankruptcy and gov't ownership, they could make what they want, and so the cars could be as fast and flamboyant as they wanted them to be. The glory days of real Camaros are over.

I agree that it might be hard to get the kinds of sales #'s on new V8 Camaros to keep up a really long run on the SS's (which is the 425 hp one you mentioned), especially with dealers marking them up from 5 to 10 grand right now and GM in a state of bankruptcy (with dealerships closing, people afraid over good warranty coverage, and so on).

But at the same time, the LS & LT models (the 6 cyl's) are definitely no secretary car the way the 4 and 6 cylinder sports coupes and Berlinettas and RS's maybe were considered 20 or 25 yrs ago. The 2010 LS V6 puts out over 300 horse bone stock; that's like 15 hp shy of a (stock) 2002 Z28 SS! Granted it's not monstrously fast like the 2010 SS's, but it's respectable. 0-60's are at 5.6 to 5.7 sec's according to Motor Trend and C & D. That's no slouch, considering it's comparable 0 - 60 time to the mid- 90's 275-285 hp Z28 model.

While the new 2010 Camaro (V6 or V8) may not last forever, and no there probably won't be a new Z28 especially now under primarily government ownership, a lot of it all still depends on how well GM in general emerges from this Chapter 11. But I still don't think the glory days of Camaro are entirely behind it. But even if they technically are, this newest Camaro, the 5th generation, is the way they should go out and be remembered (IF that ends up to be the case... but it's still too early to tell).