What's the starting and ending years for the Iroc Camaros? I've always liked them, but never found out their years. Thanks!

 

1985-1990

 

interesting note on that, in 1989, they didnt have a Z28 just an IROC Z.

 

Thanks for the info. How are these cars performance wise?

 

and 88 and 90.

Performance wise, they are slow, especially the non TPI ones.

 

The're not that slow... with the right mods they will be right up there with the ls1.

 

What's TPI? And what mods would it need?

 

TPI = Tuned Port Injection. The Iroc Z came with two engine choices; 5.0L (305) TPI or the 5.7L (350) TPI. In the later years of the 3rd gen production, the Iroc Z was dropped and replaced with the Z28, and the 5.0L (305) TPI was phased out in favor of the 5.7L (350) TPI. Just on the 350 TPI alone the HP rating for the 3rd gen was about 215 upto about 265 in later years of that generation. Also keep in mind that the 350 TPI or LT1 as its known was carried over into the 4Gen F-body followed by an increase in HP to about 285.

As for mods - the sky's the limit as to what you can do with the LT1 to get the same power found in the LS1. If I still had my 87 TA (it was equipped with the 350 TPI), I would replace the intake, airbox, cam, cylinder heads, exhaust, PCM, use bigger injectors, nitrous etc.

 

your best bet is to go to www.thirdgen.org That is THE site for info on 3rd gen camaros and firebirds.

Your best bet is to get one with a TPI engine.

85- the 305 TPI and the L69 4bbl HO (dual snorkel intake, good cam, good exhaust, etc) were the top dog engines. Both are really good for this year. the 305 TPI put out 215 HP and the L69 put out 195 i believe.

86- The 305 TPI was the top dog engine again, but i believe the power dropped slightly, and they started to phase the L69 out so there werent many of them at all.

87- The 350 TPI became the top engine, with the 305 TPI and the shitty LG4 low output carbed engine falling behind.

88- 350 TPI was again the top dog. This year they got rid of the LG4 carbbed engine and replaced it with the LO3 305 throttle bottle injected (TBI) engine. This is what i have in my car. Its pretty weak at 170 HP/255 ft. lbs but for its time it was somewhat fast.

89-92 the Engine choices remained the same. Your best bet is either the 350 TPI or a 305 TPI/5 speed/G92 Combo.

FYI, the 350 TPI never came with a 5-speed from the factory. A 305TPI/5-speed/G92 car is equally as fast as a 350 car. The g92 RPO code siginifies dual cats, and a 3.42 gear ratio in the back. Also, 5 speed 305 cars were automatically given better cams than auto/305 TPI cars so that is yet another reason why the 5-speeds are better. So obviously, you want either a 350 or 305TPI/5-speed/G92 car. Those are the best.

 

my 91 Z28 350tpi with 3.73' and 5 spd swap i ran a 13.8 @ 100mph on futura radials, destroying my buddy and his 02 ws6 out of the hole. these cars are all bottom end. little work with the heads and cam and tpi's can be deadly

 

I am pretty certain that the 350 TPI and the LT1 are different motors.

 

Ya, I don't think the 350 TPI and LT1 are the same motor. The LT1 is a derivative of the 350 TPI but that is it.

 

the LT1 im told has reverse flow coolent.

 

actually lt1's came out a long time before the tpi's. they were originally in the 70's camaros but the new lt1's didnt come out until 92 in the corvette and 93 in the camaro and theyre actually quite different from tpi's

 

The L98 or 350 TPI is completely different from an LT1. The L98 has a distributor vs. LT1's optispark, the LT1 had aluminum heads and as already mentioned had reverse flow coolant. Also the 305 was never phased out in the 3rd gens it was available until they stopped making them in 92.
http://www.iroczone.com/techartspottersguide.html
That link has a ton of info on them.

 

I would love to pick myself up a nice, rare, 1990 L98 IROC-Z

 

Um....

Ok, the LT1 and L98/LB9 TPI motors are not the same. They share the same displacement, but other than that, they have substantial differences. Besides the reverse coolant flow, the distributor is on the front of the block under the water pump. This is common knowledge, so I don't even know why I'm bothering.

The original SBC LT-1 that someone refered to is not the same as the 92-97 LT1. Don't put them into the same catergory - because they aren't.

Yes, 3rd gens are slow. Period. You can mod them - but you can mod anything. For their time, they were alright, but they haven't been around for 15 years. Having owned two L98 cars, I can attest to their slowness after owning 2 LS1 cars. Sure, they have a lot out of the hole. but what fun is it when a car dies at 4k rpm? Boring. There are remedies for this, but it's a bit more work than your LS1 car needs - this is to be expected due to the age.

The highest hp from a L98 was 245 (90-92).

 

For some one thats on a more restrictive budget a 3rd gen is a great choice. my 91 Z28 5.7L cost 4000, 5spd swap 350, gears 250, and i ran a 13.8@100mph. for the prices you can get these cars at theyre a deal

 

I'm certainly not disagreing. I was up in arms wheither I was going to keep my 91 and throw a 6 speed in it or just sell it and get another LS1. I decided to sell it simply because I didn't want to **** around with it. Either way, a TPI car is going to need a bit of work to stay with a LS1 - especially now since they are all over the place and most are modded.

The 13.8 @ 100 is a good time (LT1 territory), but you'll find that on the highway, it's not match for a LS1. Throw on a Stealth Ram and see some difference though

FWIW: I did think my IROC was fast - back in high school

 

i have a 89 Irocz currently with the L98 350..

with full exhaust, 3.27 gears, and 2800 stall with street tires, it does 13.8-13.9's at 100mph so far.. with more left in it with better launch. with slicks it should go 13.5's.

thats kinda quick.. enough to stay with LT1 cars for the most part

bone stock L98's usually dyno 215-230rwhp stock dependin on the year. with the vette aluminum headed L98's behing higher end.


to get real performance outta them, you need heads, cam, and intake swap. look into a solid roller cam, miniram intake and AFR heads on a 406 chevy thats tuned well, and you'll see high 10's at 125mph and be very driveable. add 150 shot and it goes crackin 9's with the right setup at 132mph. thats what my friends 87 TA did.....

good thing is that these cars are cheap and you can pick them up in great condition for less than 6K. a bargain peformance car