jermdm

Dont know if this has been brought up before so forgive me if it has. What do you guys think would be the most desirable year thirdgen? I know the 91's and 92's would have all the updated changes to body structure and other enhancements. 89's are last year for the basic steering wheel before air bags were installed. 87's were first year for the 350 tpi. 85's were first year with the tpi motors. When you guys looked for a thirdgen, did you have a particular year you wanted or would any year due? When I bought my first camaro, 89 stood out for some reason and thats what I ended up buying. Bought an 88 after that then I bought my 89 iroc. Just like to see what your thoughts are.

Jason E

Personally I think '89 was the best for the Camaro...dual cats added 10hp, newer style graphics/wheels/cloth, older style dash. I think 89 was the best year, period.

I only own an 88 because I had to have grey, and a grey IROC was an 88-only thing...

Motown

Ask 10 people, youll get 10 different answers. And most likely the year they say, is the same year car they own.

That said IMO, the best year is 87. You could get a 350 TPI, or a 305 TPI and a 5 speed now, the nicest looking one year only seats on the IROC-Z, and on top of all of that you could still get them built in Norwood, where the air quality was far superior therefore the cars had much better paint quality.

mickeypatches

its all personal opinion, i have a '84 camaro but my dream one is a 89 blue iroc with a hardtop, dont know why but i just like the way it sounds. but think of it this way, pros and cons to all and no matter what you pick, you're getting an amazing style car

M G Brewer

1989 was the only year with the 3.45 geared rear end. 89 was my fav before i bought mine!

AmorgetRS

iTrader: (6)

1990 for me. New styling for the interior with the "classic" exterior, plus the 730 ECM and speed density. I know some people hate the air bag steering wheels but I personally think they look way better then the earlier non-airbag ones.

midnightfirews6

iTrader: (1)

Hard to say! 1991 and 92 saw the Firehawk, 1989 saw the TTA and was a good year for the IROC-Z, 1982 was the first year and brought the oldest and most retro looking third gens, and 1984 brought the W62 cars which IMHO were some of the best looking cars of all time with the right color combos, and being the first full year for the L69 and the second for the 700r4.
It all depends on what you're after. Some years had more power, some will be more valuable and some looked different. I wouldn't say there is a best year though and there certainly weren't any bad ones.

jez3941

iTrader: (1)

Of course its all your choice, i guess you could pick the most expensive and least produced third gen, so whatever year that is.

for me it's all 82 -84 because of the recaro edition

Anti-Venom

For Pontiac, '89 for me. dual cat's, maf, no airbags, best looking body styles.

Linson

89.

yes, i own an 89, but i specifically was looking for an 89. best performance/body style with Mass Air Metering.

speaking of body styles: i do like the 91-92 Formulas and Trans Ams. but i prefer Mass Air Flow Metering. as far as the 91-92 Z28's - i prefer the 85-90 IROC for looks. sorry, but i dont like that spoiler AT ALL and the hood blisters seem tacked on (they're probably glued on).

there is something about 1989. i mean, about half of the responses in this thread have been for 1989, and not just from people who just happened to find themselves owning 89's. must be a sweet spot for these cars.

DeltaElite121

89 was a big year for a lot of cars. 89 was the golden year for foxbodies as well. 88 for the Monte Carlo SS, 87-88 for the Tbirds, etc.. most of the good stuff started coming around in the late 80's (hense 89 being a great year for lots of stuff).

I'd say mass air was the biggest change in 89 for a ton of vehicles, though.

82tarecaro

iTrader: (4)

I am a big fan of the 82-84 Trans Ams. Aside from the L69, not much going for them as far as powertrains. I have the Crossfire, and I think it is unique, but it sure doesn't make much power.

Linson

cool. i also own an 89 Fox Body (LX 5.0)

i consider that and my Formula like a set. while i have other priorities, like my '67 Firebird that i need to put back on the road (Brutal Pontiac 455 or LS3???) i could be in the market for a 3rd Gen Camaro, at some point. but it would have to be an 89 IROC, and to keep it from being completely redundant with the Formula, i would probably be looking for a 5-liter.

Slater126

iTrader: (1)

I'll second, or third, or whatever we're on, the 1989. I think the IROC looks marginally better than the 91-92 Z28, it doesn't have the "school bus" airbag steering wheel, and has the old instrument panel, which I think looks better (not a fan of the yellow markings). It also had the most powerful incarnations of the LB9 and L98 and, of course, it is the first year of the N10 (though not all '89 L98s and LB9s have them).

The only dings to me are that the G92 package is better on the '90-92 cars and I'm not a fan of T-Tops (which many 1989 L98 and LB9s have).

Orr89RocZ

iTrader: (20)

89 would be my choice from a performance standpoint.

Its MAF which has limitations but more than adequate for low 11 second car and can be upgraded to larger sensors with tuning. MAF is more forgiving with tuning than Speed density and I've played with both. It will handle mods easier. 89 was the year with the $6E code mask which is considered most desireable for MAF tuning. It deleted cold start injector too which I think is nice.

Has the double line Iroc wheels available which I think is the best factory wheel made on these cars. Also no air bags which I think fits these cars best.

I didnt really know much about these cars when I first found my 89 but in the end, I think I lucked out by choosing the 89 MAF system. Granted I dont use much on the car left from 89 but it used to have that stuff and I enjoyed every minute of it.

lonestar7

iTrader: (1)

It's a matter of personal taste, of course, but I like the 1987-1989 Camaros and Firebirds the best. The exterior of the 1990 and later Firebird doesn't appeal to me as much and I like the guages and steering wheel on the pre-1990 Camaro much better than the later ones. The IROC-Z and Formula trim packages are my personal favorites.

scottmoyer

There are a lot of variables to consider. From one perspective, the 87 Camaro was a first in many areas. First for the 350, first for the Bose system, first for leather, only year that the 350 came with all the "goodies" standard, only year to get a yellow 350 car, only year to get the 350 and keep the 1st generation IROC rims. It was also the last year to get a Norwood car, last year to get a Z28 without the IROC-Z look and the last year for non ground effects cars. Let's not forget the carburetor either!

Now, the 89 would probably be my choice mostly for cosmetics. You could still get the 350 with TTops, white lettered interior, better designed interior, no air bag, N10 available, etc. I almost purchased a 2200 mile '89 back in 2000. A couple days before I went to get the car (it was in PA), the owner decided to keep the car. I found my '87 the next day. I got lucky with it, because I had no idea what I was getting when I got it!

Slater126

iTrader: (1)

In '90 they cheaped out and got rid of the Borg Warner axle and substituted the standard 7 5/8" unit. The '89 also has the more desirable PBR rear brakes (so do 90-92 cars) and, as you say, the MAF system (1990 cars switched to the MAP system probably, again, for cost reasons).

puma1552

iTrader: (1)

Agreed 100%. The updated dash/wheel is worlds better than the older style, IMO, but you get the much nicer older exterior. Speed density is icing on the cake since it's the better system for these cars, and you also get glass T-tops, and the 5.7 cars had the highest outputs of the run. It's also to date the year that had the lowest production of Camaros in history.

oddscrounger

wrong... g92 package was available in 87... 3.45 gears with manual t 5 trans....

oddscrounger

wrong.... mine has 3.45 gears with the G92 package t-5 manual trans

oddscrounger

one more though, anything pre-1990 cuz the z28s after 89 had that gay *** raised spoiler..... totally ruined the style

Slater126

iTrader: (1)

Some like the large rear spoiler. I think it looks ok, especially when combined with the revised ground effects and hood blisters. A guy who lives near me has a black IROC and put a 91-92 Z28 rear spoiler and hood on it. Now his car looks almost exactly like mine, so when he goes blasting down the street on his way back to his place, as he often does, I'm going to get blamed for it

Linson

better how?

navy02ws6

I'd say '92, but there were a lot of cool options that were only available on earlier years (overhead console, folding rear cargo divider, auto-dimming rearview mirror, rear wiper, power driver's seat, split rear seats, etc.). If I still had to pick one year though I'd probably still say '92 just because they put out the highest horsepower numbers (excluding the 89 TTA).

If we're talking Camaros, then I'd say 1987 since I like IROCs and L98s, but hate the 1988-90 IROC wheels. Never was a fan of the 1991-92 Z28 rear spoiler either.

Coyote850

iTrader: (1)

'83 of course. In all honesty they're all Camaros. So if I had a '88 instead I'd love it just the same.

oddscrounger

MAN.... i love the IROC wheels.... so mean looking just like the rest of the design for the whole car...

unlike today where camaros come with 20 inch rims, what the hell is that? worst thing someone can do to ruin a beautiful third gen is put shiny, 18+ inch rims/wheels on it...

lonestar7

iTrader: (1)

I like the original IROC wheels too. I have seen some 18in "IROC Style" wheels that pretty good on 3rd gen Camaros but I wouldn't pick them over a good clean set of factory 16in wheels

oddscrounger

agreed; so much about the design in this generation is perfect the way it rolled outta the factory...

scottmoyer

This is incorrect. The tall spoiler became standard fare for a Z28 in 1991, not 1990.

Are you sure? In 1987, the G92 rear for a 5 speed was 3.42, not 3.45. 1989 brought the 3.45 in as it wasn't the Aussie rear.

wrong...g92 package was available in 87... 3.42 gears with manual t 5 trans....

88fastgta

iTrader: (9)

well this is just me.... 88 is the best year because my gta was made in june of 1988, i was born july of 88.. my car was built in van nuys california and i was born in victorville california my car is flame red and my favorite color is red... somehow we both made it to north carolina lol...and to top it off i have the top of the line bird for the 88 year, so this thirdgen was made for me lol...

Newfie Iroc

iTrader: (1)

My favorite is a blue 89 hardtop 5.7...The car I always wanted and bought just a few days ago

oddscrounger

https://www.thirdgen.org/1987-chevy-camaro

i was getting my specification info from this website... hmmmm

oddscrounger

but you are right about the spoiler coming in 91, i hate it tho

jermdm

Wow. Alot of replies for this question. It seems that most agree that the 89 is the most desirable. I know its a personal opinion thing so basically, its cool to know what year everybody wanted when they wanted to buy a thirdgen. I think any year would of been fine for me but when I found the camaro I wanted, it happened to be an 89. Black RS with the black colored 15" wheels and bright red interior. It was a 5-speed with the 2.8l. To me, I liked and disliked something about all the years. My friend had an 83 t/a recaro with the cfi 305 which I really liked because it was unique. I think if I was in the market for another thirdgen, I think I would still choose the 89 model year. Maybe an 90 since the exterior is the same as the 89 but has the updated dash.

oddscrounger

i like the 89s.. i own an 87 and until I owned it, never really thought about the IROC decal placement on the door....

but it definitely looks meaner near the front, so i'd say my 87 is the best year lol

2007xl50

For me Iroc's from 85-89, Trans Am's 82-89. I love that you could get an 87 Iroc with the good wheels, T-tops and an L98. Any 3rd gen I would buy has to have T-tops or be a vert-the hard tops just don't do it for me unless it's going to be a track only car. Also in Ohio we have a rolling 25 rule so that means right now 87 and older can have historical plates and not have to get emissions tested if you live in an E-check county witch I do. So I would look for an 87 or older right now if I was to buy another one unless it was the right 88 or 89 and knew it would pass E-check once. I love the look of my 87, but the simple look of the 82-83 TA is just killer as well.

yaj15

iTrader: (3)

You are lucky. Where I live in California I think now its the pre-1976 vehicles that don't have to get emissions tested.

patricklav

iTrader: (7)

I like the look of the 91-92's the best, but my first car was an 87 Iroc and if i had the opportunity to get another one over my current car, i would.

Im sure that year probably wasn't the best 3rd gen for options or performance but that was my favorite car of all time so im always going to want another same excat model as that one.

Maybe when i have my first mid-life crisis in a few years i will but another 3rd gen and get that same exact car.

Phenom-1

Here in L.A. its cars that are '75 and older that get smog exempt I believe

patricklav

iTrader: (7)

Here in NH, its 92 and older!

Phenom-1

DAMN YOU LUCKY ! but you don't have sunny days, the beach, Hollywood, Baseball, Basketball, & College football, not to mention All the girls in bikinis

Phenom-1

I'm willing to live with stock manifolds & having to smog them every 2 years in exchange for that.

Phenom-1

And we don't get snow here, so the only time we have to worry about traction is during rain, which is sprinkling today.

lozantius82

iTrader: (1)

I agree with 89 being the most desirable year! You could get dual cats, the 9 bolt with PBR's, old style dash and the true Iroc z 80's look. The 90 may look like a Iroc but once you get inside it does not look 80's due to the dash and bulky steering wheel. There was nothing wrong with the maf system, GM just cheaped out big time!! They tossed out the maf and the borg warner 7.75 for cost reasons!!! Bad mistake!!! 89 all the way because GM did not cheap out on the Iroc

lozantius82

iTrader: (1)

Your wrong bro 3.45's were available in the 87-88-and 89 Iroc G92 optioned 305 5 speeds! Key RPO codes are G92, MK6, and GM3
Which are all present in a G92 equipped 5 speed Iroc Z from 87 to 89. G92 was also available in the 87 Iroc Z 305 auto's but it came with 3.23's and the weak 10 bolt.

Phenom-1

Everybody feels a different way, the '90-'92 interior is my favorite

oddscrounger

thank you for clearing that up, knew i was right... i got me a lil G92 package in near mint condition...

SolarGoldRaptor

In my opinion, the most desirable 3rd Gens are the early ones. They look like the cars that were thought by the designers since the beginning.
They may be the slowest, but among those 80's car, looks is what matters the most. They were the years of money and show off. They're still good handlers and fun cars in all aspects.

NCGuy68

From a desirable standpoint, 1982 because it was Motor Trend magazine's 'Car of the Year'.

From a collectable standpoint, the '82 Pace Cars, RPO 1FP87.

In the future, 'Desirable' will mean a low milage, unmolested car.

Ask me how I know.