Donor IROC-Z28 Project!

This page is about my newest project...Swapping parts from a wrecked Iroc-Z28 Camaro to my 1984 Camaro Sport Coupe, to make it my Custom IROC-SC!!

How I got the car:     It all started back in the summer of '99.  My twin bro. Bill and I went up to Bedford, IN to visit his girlfriend and her parents, and on the way up there, I took notice of a wrecked Camaro that was sitting in a guys yard with a tarp laying over it.  I could tell it was wrecked from the distance because the rearend was practically nonexistant.  What really caught my eye were the rims.   Well, as you well know, I have been continously working on my car to get it up and running and to make it look good.  Before I was blessed with my 15"X7" Camaro rims, I knew that I would really like to buy a set of 16"X8" IROC rims.  When I saw this car sitting there, I thought that I could go ask the owner if he would part the wheels.      Well, one afternoon, Bill and I got enough nerve to stop by and ask the owner if he would sell the wheels.  I knocked on the door and an older gentleman answered and I asked him who the owner was and if he would sell the rims.  He was the owner and he said that he was only going to sell the car whole, and not part it out.  $1500 was his asking price.  I looked at Bill and he didn't think that $1500 was a good price either for what shape the car was in.  I made him an offer for the wheels, and he thought about it but still declined.  I got kind of curious as to what was in it, and how it got wrecked and the guy was more than happy to tell me.       The guy told me that he just put $2000 into the engine, buy purchasing new injectors, belts, air sensor, timing chain, etc.  And one day he was driving it home from the shop, and he decided to see how well the mechanic did on the engine.  This guy who is probably in his late 50's early 60's got the car up to 135mph lost control, hit a pole backwards, and rolled the car a few times.  He was ejected from the car, and eventually the car landed on his leg or something.  When he was telling me this, my jaw dropped.  I couldn't believe that this guy was even standing here telling me this after what happened to him!  I just kept thinking in my head that this guy was very blessed by God that he wasn't killed!!      Well, as we were driving back to Jennifer's home, we all just kinda discussed the situation.  I thought that this could be a nice investment, because I was looking for a bigger engine, IROC wheels, and I could swap out my interior and what not, even take the rear end, if it will go.  I also realized that it's complete, I wouldn't have to go buy a wiring harness or other things that would nickle and dime me broke!  I talked with my dad and he didn't know at first.  I was up there one other time and they showed me that the engine still ran and gave me more details, and I begun to think that it would really be cool to have a 5.7L TPI in an 84 Coupe.  Well, I sat on this for about 5 months, saving my money up just in case, and prayed that God would help me make the right decision.  Well just this past February 2000, I called the guy and made an offer, and he still said that he wanted $1500.  Dad said to be patient if the guy wants to sell it he would.  I continued to seek God's direction, because as school was drawing to a close, I thought that I would use my saved up money to move into an apartment.  This past  April, Bill and I went back up to Bedford for a visit, I was going to go to her sister's prom.  Well, I didn't think that I was going to buy a car that weekend!      We were all packed up ready to go home, and Bill and I planned to stop by with some cash in hand to make another offer on the rims.  I tried to contact the guy that day to no avail.  We stopped by and we talked a little bit about how he was doing and if he had any plans yet to sell or to take the engine our for one of his other cars he had.  He surprised me when he told me he was trying to call me on the phone,  I just looked at Bill and smiled.  He told me he accepted my offer for the car.  I thought OH NO, WHAT DO I DO!!  because I really thought that I was going to move out this summer and use my savings for that!  I also knew that I have been wanting to buy this deal for a looooonnngg time!  I HAD NO IDEA the guy wanted to sell, AND TO BE HONEST I really just had given up on this car!  So I didn't exactly have enought cash!!  I knew that my bro had some cash, I was only short like 300 bucks, so I accepted!  I knew I could get a hold of some money.      The Lord really worked things out for me, My car right now is in Bedford IN, the Johnson family was gracious enough to let me keep the car in a barn shed that they have on there farm.  I have no room at my home here in Evansville.  I would have been really expensive to tow this wreck home 2.5 hours south!  Plus Mr. J has the correct tools to yank and engine and tranny.  So Bill and I are going to make the trip up there and haul back any parts I would want, and even drive my Camaro up there and do some swapping!  I always told Bill that I was going to own an IROC-Z someday!  Well, I'll be driving my very own custom IROC-SPORT COUPE!

Specs: 350cu in. 5.7L Tuned Port Injection V8 Posi Trac Rearend 4-wheel Disc brackes Power locks, doors, cruise, air, tilt, 4spd auto T-tops Only bad thing is some of this may not be salvageable...Lord Willing it'll be :)

Here are the 16X8 inch rims stock to the IROC-Z. Click the picture for the large size!

Jennifer brought down my wheels when she came to visit this past week, thanks Jenn!  They were pretty filthy, so I cleaned them up, and checked to see what was wrong with them...One needed a new valve stem, the other to be reseated and all four to be rebalanced...That was it!  I also took some aluminum wheel polish and buffed them up shiny.  They look NICE!!

This is it!  Things I've noticed so far...Better steering (more accurate), More road noise (inch more rubber per wheel), dramatically enhanced the visual stimuli (LOOKS NICE!!)

Here are some photos from when Bill and I went up to work on my car on the weekend of May 26, 2000.  We were able to strip the car down to almost nothing.  All that remains is the engine and tranny.

Click the picture to see the full view.

This is what the car looked like when we pushed it in the shed for storage.  The Johnson family was very gracious to Bill and I about letting us use their facility.  Thanks!  At this point, I'm just so excited to start working on this new project!

It's kind of hard to see, but the rear end in this picture stops just shy of the rear tire.  140 mph impact will do that to you!  As you can see I have already pulled the IROC rims off.  These rally's came off of the S-10 that they gave to us! :) Looking ahead, pull the windshield, seats, interior, and all exterior fenders.

Here's the monster.  5.7L 350ci V8!  This engine will be going into my 1984 Coupe.  I estimate that this engine is roughly 90% bigger than my 2.8L V6.  One thing that I'm very thankful for, all the wiring is here.  I won't have to buy any harnesses or relays and what not, unless it is broken.  Bill and I sprayed some gas into the intake and cranked it over, It ran for about 3 seconds, then quit.  I can't wait to hear it idle!

Here the frame rail is rather crumpled.  Product of a few rolls after the impact from the pole.  It was a bear to get that fender off.  I showed no mercy on alot of these damaged parts.  The hood still looks very good.  Repairable?  Sellable?

Yep, this fender is shredded!  I can only imagine the impact.  I think Bill and I will cut this off to get it out of the way.  I have already tried to bend it back, and it won't go.  There are alot of things messed up on this car, but still many things worth it's weight in gold.  Alot of the little things. Much of the ground effects are still in good shape.  Only the rocker panel, and front air spoiler are in good shape, no rear gfx obviously.

Look away I'm hideous!  This used to be the rear end of the car.  Quite a bit of damage, eh?  The gas tank is still intact, although it's dented.  Lord willing the fuel pump will still be funtional, I imagine it's probably broken.  But, we'll see.  The exhaust pipe is still great all the way up till the headers.  I will be using those.  The rear sway bars, although, are bent.  I hope that the rear differential isn't to badly damaged.  It has a posi rear end, and 4-wheel disc brakes.

The seats are still in great shape.  They have the word Camaro embroidered onto the front seats.  Very cool.  The door panels are still good, driverside is kind of bent.  Rear buckets still look great.  There are alot of stains.  There was only a tarp covering the car, so water got in.  There are some mildew spots to take care of.  The carpet just needs a good cleaning! Dash, and all electric power stuff all here.  I am going to try and swap the entire dash cluster into the 84 Coupe.

With a little elbow grease and a good saw, that door pin came right off.  The door was jammed shut, and creased in the middle.  Bill and I went a head and pulled everything off, doors, fenders, ground fx, hood, etc. etc.  Brings back memories!  Bill and I knew exactly where to pull bolts and so on from working on our resto projects previously!  We've learned alot!  Never did I think I would ever do work like this on a car!

Here is closer veiw of the rear quarter panel carnage!  There is a split up the back of the wheel well.  The part split to the right is the spare tire compartment, the left, is the remains of the rear hatch bay.

Here is another look at the interior.  As you can see there is a lot of work to be done!  Get the shop-vac ready!!

Here is a picture from the windshield looking back at rear seat area.  Bill and I pulled up all the interior stuff, including the carpet.  It was a lot tedious work, but well worth it!  I've learned more about a Camaro, than I ever dreamed!  Next thing to tackle is pulling the V8!

Let the stripping begin!  I have taken the liberty to pull out all the little things, like Turn-signal lamps, grill, ground effects, bolts, and kept them, on the case that any other F-body nuts need parts for their restoration rides!  Eventually I will try and sell all of these little parts.

6/28/00

Here is a picture of my newer seats.  These seats feel like pillows compared to the original buckets.  I have all of the seats in now, this picture just shows the improvement.  It definitely brightens up the interior.  I like them alot.  They have the word "Camaro" embroidered on the seat.  NICE!  The driver's side seat has two worn spots on them from repeated usage.  So far the project is coming right along!

Bill and I went up the weekend of June 17-19 to work on my car.  We worked hard Friday night, and Saturday all day getting my IROC's engine pulled.  It was alot of work...details as you read on!  Here we are pulling the shell of a car out of their barn, to go to the garage where there is light and level ground.  "Watch out cows, we're comin' through, move it or lose it!"

Okay, so we're just having too much fun.  We had a little time to kill while the gate was being opened.  So Bill and I saw a perfect Kodak Moment.  To be perfectly honest, the view from up there was beautiful.  It was a nice hillside with lined with trees, and the skyline was cool too.  Bill and I are getting anxious about pulling that V8.  Little did I know exactly how long it would take!

This is just an all around goofy picture.  I'm finally getting to drive my IROC!  We had to take a spin around their field in order to make it to their garage.  Thanks Mr. Johnson, for all your help, letting us use your tools, and garage.  You've been a blessing to Bill and I.  We couldn't have done this without you!  The car looks kind of like a go-kart!

Here we have already begun to disconnect hoses, wires, radiator, etc.  Bill and I labled everything that we disconnected.  We also took detailed pictures as well, so if we forget, we can use them as a reference.  Bill checked out numerous car mechanical guides to help guide us through this process.  To be honest, it isn't all that hard of work, just be very careful to lable everything, be precise, and BE PATIENT!

Here we cut the rail off that the radiator bolts too.  This way we can get the engine and tranny out better.  We just used and impact gun with a special metal cutting tool.  No anesthetic was needed.  We're coming right along.  Still dissconnecting the wires and hoses!  This baby is almost ready to come out!

Thanks for taking the time to read up on this project!  Drop a line let me know what you think!  I've posted all of this information, because I want to share with you all the fun I'm having with these projects! !!GO ONTO PAGE 2 OF IROC-Z UPGRADE!! Thanks, Dan Email

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