Van Nuys born

As I've had my 89 IrocZ almost a year and a couple thousand miles.... I'm getting to know the car pretty well and there are several things that stand out that I like.

A few things in no particular order are: Visability while driving....the A pillars are nice and thin looking forward, and to the rear isn't bad either. Theres not alot of blind spots like alot of cars today.

The side mirrors work great and the design is killer looking .... Porsches of the same generation should be so lucky.

I like the dash and gauges... their easy to see and read.... and even the Z28 emblem on the right side looks cool..... That was a nice touch...and just right IMO.

I like the power window & hatch switches located on the center console only, fuctional and simple.

What do you guys like about your cars ?

mcbitchman

I like that it stays flat in corners. I like the well in the back to put stuff in. I like the six way adj seats. I like looking up and seeing the sky/sun/moon. I really like the self opening hood and hatch back. I like the interior appointments, incl dash and doors and console look cool. the little ext mirrors suck but that's Ok....

((Mike))

iTrader: (1)

The one thing I have always liked about third Generation F bodies is how the wind blows behind the driver when the windows are down. You can roll both windows down and never mess up your hair.

chazman

iTrader: (4)

This is true!

1991sleeper

iTrader: (-3)

I really like the interior in my 91 bird ... everything about it really ... especially the dash with the 4 big gauges with the reddish orange backlighting .. seats are really comfortable even compared to a lot of newer cars I've been in ...

Van Nuys born

Yep.... I noticed this after Chazman mentioned it once before. Even at Fwy speeds the noise and wind are not bad at all.

eseibel67

You got that right. All attributed to the long doors and sleek mirrors.

I love driving with the windows down, but on modern cars it's impossible due to safety regulations. My daily driver is a 2014 Equinox, and the "B" pillar is so thick that even at low speed, driving with the window down just blasts compressed air directly into my left ear.

FrankieRider2

I love it all.... from the tip of the nose to the rear aerowing spoiler and the exhaust rumble. I must or I wouldn't have kept it for 25 years and counting!

RedLeader289

iTrader: (2)

I love how low I sit in mine, even before I did the 4th gen seat swap. I've never sat in a 5th gen but they look like they put the driver much higher. Weather is nice so I drove mine into work today and the fact that I had to reach out my window and ABOVE the roof of the car to bring my badge to the gate sensor made me happy.

Also love the t-tops, and just the sharp lines/corners of the interior in general.

lonestar7

iTrader: (1)

I love the gauge cluster and gauge faces on my Firebird. I also like the aircraft style dash pad. I like the original wheels too.

Dens71TA

iTrader: (5)

I like the rear hatch wiper on my '82 Recaro T/A. I wish that option was kept around longer.

Van Nuys born

The Rake of the windshields is awesome, as is the front end and side mirrors. The wipers tuck in nicely and the door handles aren't bad either. ... their pretty slippery in the wind I would think.

Aerodynamic design at the leading edge IMO.

Scorpner

iTrader: (4)

T-tops
Rear hatch
Automatic lights (Berlinetta)
Arm rest position, fits perfectly while cruising
Adaptability, and last of the old school rwd's
Handling
Thumb recess on Berlinetta steering wheel

((Mike))

iTrader: (1)

I also have to agree on the T-tops. I am not a fan of convertibles but A T-top is great because it gives you the feeling of being topless but you have the security of a hard top in minutes. I also love having a big glass window over my head. Makes the interior bright and not so confining. Sadly T-tops seem like an old school thing of the past. Having had two hard top cars and 3 T-top cars, the hard top don't flex as much and handle a little better but I will always prefer a T-top.

Van Nuys born

I haven't owned a T-Top but I can see how cool one would be .....

Do you gain or loose head room with T Top's, or is it about the same as a coupe ?

RedLeader289

iTrader: (2)

More or less the same but leaning towards gaining a little (no headliner...just a quarter inch this piece of glass (or plastic, depending on which year you got)

*EDIT* well, there is a headliner, it's just not above your head lol.

NowhereFast

I really like the cockpit-like interior. Feels like your piloting a jet with the glass over your head and the crazy handling.

Even with the T-tops off it isn't that bad. I love it, mainly because I like to style my hair and the wind blowing through it is irritating.

stealtht/a

iTrader: (1)

Ttops and pop up headlights! Long live the 80's!
Oh yeah, factory body kit and wings!

lonestar7

iTrader: (1)

I like my pop-up headlights too. Wish I had T-tops.

Gumby

but makes it suck in summer when ya got no AC and its hotter inside the out as you can't get any air on you........

how ive dreamed of making that small forward triangle section of plastic in widow frame into like a trucks flip out window to grab air n force it on you.

RedLeader289

iTrader: (2)

yeah....as a fellow black car-no A/C driver, I would love to have something like that, haha.

Gumby

if ya check my post, that is why I put functional T/A HoodVents in the SailPanel to try and get more air in the cabin. It helps a little but I could still use more. [ back seats get even more air though, since it has an escape path.]

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/post...68-post68.html

RedLeader289

iTrader: (2)

Nice!!

1991sleeper

iTrader: (-3)

Man them old flip our windows on the old cars n trucks .. are the shizzle y they ever got rid of those I'll never know ... that and floorboard high beams ! Stupid engineers lol

Gumby

Good old foot stompers, I put one of them in the car too

just made sense, like a horn, often used in anger, some butt blinding you, so ya stomp on the floor twice quick.

But GM wants you to take a hand off the wheel and gently click the bar or break it off.........

8t2 z-chev

I like the way the car is very smooth and stable at high speeds

Van Nuys born

All pre A/C stuff..... I had a 35 Ford that the front windshield would crank out at the bottom and it had a cowl vent you could pop up..... crack the back windows and you had a nice breeze through the car.
Some of these vents also had smokers in mind... which people did alot more of back them.

Van Nuys born

I agree, and as was mentioned above they stat pretty flat in corners even in stock form.
No surprise why they were chosen for the IROC series.

Zeifer

T-Tops (I love them and I hate them)
Not getting suffocated with the windows all the way down
No air bags
No traction control
No ABS
That old-school exhaust smell
Courtesy lights
The hatch (even though trunk space sucks)
Fold-down rear license plate (wish it was for the gas filler like older Camaros though)
Power everything
The gauges (although I despise the way they're lit)
The fact it handles like a go-cart but rides nice
The way the body shakes at idle and rocks when you rev it.

RedLeader289

iTrader: (2)

Yes to all. It actually threw me off the first time I saw mine(before purchase) because I'd spent alot of time around the trucks of the same era and always thought them to be pretty plain, so to see this car with all the newer-ish technology in it was pretty cool.

Van Nuys born

I like that if you don't run a front license plate it has a Bow Tie or Camaro plate .... keeps it clean looking.

The exhaust is great for a Stock V8 car... it's one of my favorite things. Not many cars sound like that anymore.

FormerL69

iTrader: (2)

T-Tops are absolutely at the top of my list. Open air feel without the odd convertible top (when closed) look. Sorry convertible guys. Love the convertible third-gen lines when the top is down.

Zeifer

The lack of blind spots is also a major plus.

Motown

I like the fact there is no glovebox in the dash. It puzzles people when they find it missing.

chazman

iTrader: (4)

The factory N10 exhaust, coupled with the L98 cam in our cars sounds awesome. Even the best sounding aftermarket exhaust is hard pressed to sound as good...IMHO.

Zeifer

I love how when you're sitting in neutral and you rev the car the body rocks.

Gotta love torque.

nosajwols

iTrader: (1)

Shape and Handling.

Then the lack of three letter acronyms... SRS, TCS, ESC, ABS, EFI....

Zeifer

This. I have EFI though.

Van Nuys born

Quad headlights.... the headlights are still old school cheap to buy at any auto parts store. And all four come on at high beam, so even with the regular Halogens they throw out alot of light.
Then you have the fogs too if so equiped. High performance lighting for low bucks......

puma1552

iTrader: (1)

I like the genuine coupe feeling you get sitting in it…you are sitting towards the back of the doors, damn near the rear wheels, and the front of the doors are far ahead in front of you; I've sat in many a coupe where I was sitting towards the front of the door which really killed the coupe feeling altogether. My old '98 Mustang was like that.

The other thing I like is the low profile rear end of the car. I can see the corner of my spoiler when looking over my shoulder, so I know exactly where the back of my car is, unlike all new cars that have such tall rear ends that it's absolutely impossible to tell where the back of the car is, virtually necessitating rear view cams and park distance control sensors.

Van Nuys born

Corvette is in the DNA

Veaceonee

iTrader: (1)

The sleek notchback. And getting into arguments with people about why I have an AFTERMARKET trunk hatch.

RockinGTA89

that's funny.

I always loved 3rd gens but birds mostly.. the sleek style body lines. Always, love em ttops! Both of my 3rd gens i owned came in ttops...My GTA came with sunshades and when it was put on, it made it look like i had a hard top!

I always loved the 4 pod gauges. It's a call out from the 2nd gen design, transferred into the 3rd gens. I love lumbar support! and the multi adjustable seats!.. AQ9 all the way! Very Confortable seating, especially for a sports car!
and of course the handling with the WS6 suspension package. I can take on ramp at 45 and hug it like no tommarow...making it feel like i'm pulling a G and still be stable. Literally no blindspot too! Torque! Torque!! Torque!!! For a stock car with a L98, man i loved chipping the tires from 1st to 2nd and even in 3rd a couple occasions! For what it was designed for it fit the mold for being an all american sports car for sure!

Reid Fleming

iTrader: (2)

The pull back cover that keeps the hatch area safe from prying eyes. Also keeps the carpet from fading from the sun.

SolarGoldRaptor

I love everything, except the W62 ground effects which I'm not too fond of, and the B pillar height, it would look even better if it were a bit lower, but you need head room for the rear passengers.

The sleek fuselage...uh body, the assymetrical buldge on the hood, the functional intake, the jet inspired gauges, the edgy design, the tail lights as wide as the car, the T-Tops, the high rpm V8 with 5 speed,...
What's not to like

rusty vango

I fell in love with 3rd gens when they came out.just a cool looking car. I test drove a 86 IROC back when they were new,but at $18,000 couldn't afford one . now 28 years later I have the car I always wanted and im loving every minute of it

DJP87Z28

Thing I like about my 1987 IROC-Z28 is I still own it after 27 years.

Van Nuys born

The rear hatch automatic pull down is cool....

What year did that feature come out ?

DynoDave43

iTrader: (11)

I don't think I've had mine long enough yet to have a favorite feature, although I love quite a few of them....sub, 6 way manual seat, t-tops, WS6....but I think the thing that drew me back to owning another one is the overall design. I have felt since the 4th gens came out, that the 3rd gen. is a very timeless design. To my eye, it would not look out of place on a showroom floor today. I think they look every bit as good today as they did when introduced.

1991sleeper

iTrader: (-3)

Agreed .. everyone looks at me go in down the road (I mean at the car) ... u c a few third gen camaro around me but hardly any birds

91' bird 305 TBI T-5, trick flow heads, 4.10 gears, full UMI setup, track times coming soon!