Sudsy

Hey welcome!!! You found the best site on the net and the MOST HELPFULL! I found it in 2008 when I bought my first F Body and its been the best thing I ever did lol. Recently I clipped the tail light of my 91 firebird formula and thought I would never find one anywhere but not only did I find one here but I found a entire set of three in show quality condition being sent to me today I feel like its my birthday lol. Hope you get the same feeling here!!

FinallyGotMyZ

It's been great. Everyone has been really welcoming and extremely helpful. Am looking forward to sharing progress I make as I go. Congrats on your taillights, gotta make you feel better!

Motown

Nice looking Z dude.

First of all, the steering wheel you have there is out of a 85-88 Monte Carlo SS.

Second, I also have B9K in my RPO. I have an 85, and I still cant figure out what it means for sure. I know I have multiple codes that cant decode. You'll eventually come across what they mean.

Again, Welcome!

lonestar7

iTrader: (1)

I found this previous discussion about the B9K RPO. Not sure if it will help or just confuse things more.

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/hist...o-rpo-b9k.html

JT

iTrader: (1)

Here is a thread about B9K:
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/hist...o-rpo-b9k.html

jermdm

Its perfectly ok to post a pic of the SPID sticker. Most people post them and then we go over them and help decode what they are.

FinallyGotMyZ

OK, that'll just be easier to do than putting them in one at a time. Will take and post the pic tomorrow.

Thanks! And I was curious as to what the wheel was out of, knowing it was not a Camaro wheel. And thanks for the welcome!

FinallyGotMyZ

While I'm thinking about it, I have a shot of one of the wheels. The pattern looks to be right, but it seems a darker gray than what I thought Z28s had. Anyone shed any light on the wheel? Did '86s have that pattern, or had they moved on to something else by then? Also, I don't recognize those center caps as correct, aside from the red background/crossed flags. OK, guys, fire away...

scottmoyer

You can post pics of your SPID if you want. It will also help us document these cars better when we find RPO codes listed for a certain car that GM states wasn't available that year.

FinallyGotMyZ

OK, here is a pic of my SPID. I said earlier in the thread, I downloaded the RPO Decoder, so I've got the basic gist of what this Z had, but any other details you could provide would be great. For example, Randy (FormerL69) mentioned that this thing came from the factory with the gray rocker panels. Is that the kind of thing you can tell from the RPO codes? Anything you guys can share I will absorb and will greatly appreciate it.

beths91camaro

iTrader: (35)

I've got some about that gray in my stash in the garage. Could be they were redone at some point, and the rest of us are driving around with faded wheels- LOL!
The crossed flags are normally used on a Vette. Those are the right center caps, just a different center medallion. Yours should say Z28.

FinallyGotMyZ

Hey, thanks for your input. I thought as I looked at/admired Zs over the years that the interior parts of the spokes were a lighter gray than what I have. I also thought that the borders of the spokes were unpainted and were the untreated aluminum. I'm at work on a break now, but when I get home I'll post some pics to show what I mean. I just think mine look a little dark. They're in great shape, though, can't complain about that.
As far as the center caps, I wasn't sure if the plastic center caps actually had a little flange to fit into the recessed areas around the bolts. If those caps that I have are OK, I've seen sites that sell the adhesive "Z28" medallions. I'll pick some up.
My OCD is really kicking in on this car. I have a feeling it'll be both a blessing and a curse, lol.

beths91camaro

iTrader: (35)

If they are original center caps, if you pull one off and flip it over, the tabs holding it in place are metal. New ones have plastic.
Someone probably painted them because the aluminum didn't look like it should.

FinallyGotMyZ

I'll have to pull the center caps of an look.
I found some pics to show what I'm talking about. Again, I may be just really OCD, but I think the ones I have are kinda dark. I'll repost mine, and then some others I found for sake of comparison.

FinallyGotMyZ

This last one you can tell, the interior spokes are gold (not that I would expect mine to be), but the borders are left alone. Did someone maybe paint mine but not leave the borders unpainted? Is my gray too gray? Help! lol

beths91camaro

iTrader: (35)

Someone definitely redid them, because the borders are painted/powdercoated- I can't tell for sure in the photo.
The color is a little darker than what I like, but each person has what they prefer. I think I have 3 sets of those wheels sitting in my garage right now- LOL!
Don't sweat the small stuff- enjoy your car, and just keep looking for the right wheel to come along.

FinallyGotMyZ

Oh, believe me, I'm enjoying it. I'm just very detail-oriented. I wanna make sure that when I redo it, I redo it right and do it justice.
This is just a general question - who does wheel repainting? Is that something that a general body shop will do or are there people that specialize? I'm new to this whole thing.

beths91camaro

iTrader: (35)

Let me check with my OH when he gets home- he could tell me the answer to that one. I know he does everything else when it comes to car restorations- I just don't know about that.

FinallyGotMyZ

Great, thanks!

scottmoyer

There are companies that redo factory rims to factory specs. The pic below is what your rim should look like. This is an original NOS rim, center cap and clip.

JT

iTrader: (1)

The 1986 Camaro book does not show UX1 as available for the 1986 Camaro but instead it's listed as YE2:


This is the UX1/YE2:


But your radio doesn't look like either. It looks like the cassette-less B4K:

scottmoyer

JT, I'm glad you found that document because I noticed YE2 had the same description as UX1 and I wasn't sure why his SPID would list both RPOs. I have no documentation that states UX1 was available on the 86 until I saw his SPID. Another GM anomoly.

FinallyGotMyZ

WOW, what a great bunch of info! Your efforts, guys, are very much appreciated. As far as the wheels, I thought my wheels (1) looked a little dark, and (2) have borders covered that should have been left alone to leave the finish of the aluminum exposed. Scott, in the wheel you posted, is that gray indicated in the RPOs? Or does the paint have a name/code that is familiar to Camaro enthusiasts, and if so, what is it?
JT, based on the info you shared, my RPOs indicate that my Z did indeed have that top of the line head unit in the top photo? The second picture you showed is indeed the one that's in there now.

Oh, and the companies that do the redo the wheels - is it a national company with satellite branches or what?

FormerL69

iTrader: (2)

Scott - what year is that NOS wheel from? It is definitely cleared and I'm curious if it was from '86 or not. I know '85 did not have cleared 5 spokes. A woman who lived up the street from me back in the day had an '86 Z and I don't think it her wheels were cleared.

beths91camaro

iTrader: (35)

There's a company near me that does them- Keystone Automotive- the body my husband works for uses them all the time, and he's spoken highly of them. You can search for one closer to you, since this is a national company. This was nice because we could drop them off and pick up a new set ourselves, saving on shipping.

http://www.lkqcorp.com/auto-light-tr...ts/wheels.aspx

FinallyGotMyZ

Well, through the link, I was able to find two places very close to me! Thanks! Just to be clear, they will redo the wheels I have? You said something about "picking up a new set ourselves", so I wasn't quite sure what you meant by that.

Never mind just read the page, saw what they do. It would help if I would actually read, I guess.

beths91camaro

iTrader: (35)

That's ok.
He likes their work alot- and they stand behind it. At least the one here does.

FinallyGotMyZ

Guys, trying really hard to not be a newbie, but what someone mentioned a "NOS wheel" up in the thread. I looked at the abbreviations FAQ, and it said "NOS" stood for "Nitrous Oxide System", and I'm pretty sure that's not what it means in this context, lol. A little help...?

UNCLE TOM

iTrader: (1)

NOS , also means New Old Stock . an item that is old , but never used . good luck .

FinallyGotMyZ

Ah, got it. Thanks!

burnout88

Ok, what happened to the car's original 16inch wheels? Because from what I can tell this car is an 86 IROC and not a base z28 car. Those 15inch wheels appear to be totally wrong. It has the B4Z rpo for IROC package which in 86 included 16 inch wheels.

Also, if the lower spoilers where originally gray then it would have had a lower paint code listed in addition to the red paint code. Which it does not.

The car is an 86 IROC with factory 16 inch wheels that came in Bright Red. The car has the wrong rims and steering wheel.

JT

iTrader: (1)

I don't see the B4Z RPO on the SPID. Also, the SPID shows QYZ tires, which were 15".

gdwrnch

Where did you download the rpo decoder from?

FinallyGotMyZ

Right here, on this site.

Also, I went back to the RPO decoder, and my SPID had a "B97", which read, "ORNAMENTATION, EXTR MLDG, LOWER ACCENT". Would that indicate different colored rocker panels/ground effects/lower body? TO me, "accent" means different from the rest. I'm obviously new to all this, but that's what I get out of all this.

82RZ

And allow me to add:

The part has been discontinued by the original manufacturer. But..............

it might be available from a after-market manufacturer - sometimes good, many times bad.

82RZ

And the instruction sheet that was in the 'hub cap' box noting that 1/8 inch must be trimmed off the end of each alignment post.

This sheet is dated 1989.

gdwrnch

Thanks, I did not look at the home page close enough I just always go to the message boards to see if there is any information that might help me with my car

FormerL69

iTrader: (2)

Interesting that you have to trim the alignment posts. I was wondering about that when I looked at the original pic. Those things are waaaaaaay too big!

burnout88

Yikes!! I am seeing things!! Up to late on the internet. There is no B4Z

FinallyGotMyZ

OK, guys, another originality question. My seats and door panels - are those patterns original to an '86 Z? I have no reason to doubt, just not all that familiar. What's making me question is that sometimes the black looks blue-ish, which I wouldn't think would've gone into a red Z. Just trying to figure out if you guys think these seats and panels are original. Thoughts?

FinallyGotMyZ

For some reason, won't let me load more this one pic at a time to a reply. Here's a pic of the door panel.

scottmoyer

Both are original to your car. The problem that you have is the black has gotten some sun damage causing them to turn blue. They should be black. You have probably seen red cars with orange interiors. Like yours, the sun has discolored the fabric.

FinallyGotMyZ

That is good to know. I can handle that kind of visual aging, if it means originality to the car. With the black looking blue, just wanted to verify that they weren't taken from a donor car at some point. Thank, Scott.

FinallyGotMyZ

OK, guys, been a few days, been busy AND decided to give you all a break from my questions. I went back through all the responses in this thread, and unless I just flat missed it, I didn't see an answer to my question about the rocker panels/ground effects and their original colors. Is there any way to tell from the SPID and the listed RPOs what color the rocker panels, etc., were from the plant? Was it red on red as it currently is, or was it the standard red on gray?

FinallyGotMyZ

Ok, it's been almost two weeks, wanna give this thing a bump, see if anyone can help me out. Trying to find out if the RPO codes (or if anyone with general Camaro knowledge can) tell me if my Z came two-tone (red body, gray ground effects) from the factory, or if it is possible my Z came from the factory all red, as it is. Any help?

scottmoyer

Forgot to respond to a few questions.

Randy, I don't know what year the rim is from in the picture. I do have to say that if 1986 was the first year for base/clear coat paint, then that would probably be the first year for the clear on the rims also.

FormerL69

iTrader: (2)

As far as I know, the only Z28s that were monochrome were IROC-Zs. I think we determined that your car is not an IROC, so the ground effects must have been painted red to match at some point.

FinallyGotMyZ

OK, thanks. There was some question from other posters in this thread. That, and the fact that my Z has pinstripes on the ground effects and the presence of the "Tuned Port Injection" emblems under the Z28 emblems, just seemed like a lot of work for a repaint.