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Re: 1987 IROC-Z convertible. Are 4 IROCs too many?
Originally Posted by 86blackiroc
Agree!
But I also love X11's their A-body brother too. Have you shown pictures of it here before? If so, I missed it.
I might have, somewhere. Here's one.
I guess you can call it a "barn find". I got it from the original owner, in non running condition. It was sitting in a storage building for well over 20 years, so lots of dead critters and nests to clean out. Got it in January. Original EVERYTHING, including 40 year old Eagle GT tires. It also has all of it's rubber seals for the cowl induction which today is unobtanium. They started failing California emissions so GM started deleting the seals in midyear '81, making the cowl induction not very functional. Mine actually had two. One was stuffed into the other, thereby also blocking the cowl induction. 37K miles and 4 speed.
It's an '81 which is the one to have, according to it's developer, John Heinricy. The high output motor has bigger intake/exhaust valves, bigger cam, higher compression, specific exhaust, 2X larger air cleaner which ducts into a function cowl hood and different final drive and transaxle ratios as well as other interesting X-11 only features like welded on steel rod to stiffen the engine cradle and an auxiliary vacuum canister to to keep the brakes boosted at low RPM because of the high lift cam. It was developed to win it's class in SCCA racing. Amazing that GM gave Heinricy so much leeway on this package, because - you know GM.
It's been a bit of a project, maybe more than I expected. It's almost there. A couple of gremlins to still track down though. In addition to me working on it, I've had about 6 months worth of Friday night "Garage Nights" with my friends which has helped immensely. Even with all the joking and ballbusting, we'll get a ton of work done when 4 guys are working on it simultaneously.
Regarding the IROC, yes I'd like to have it back, but there is no way I'd pay $20K for it. I don't want it that bad.
Re: 1987 IROC-Z convertible. Are 4 IROCs too many?
Originally Posted by chazman
I might have, somewhere. Here's one.
I guess you can call it a "barn find". I got it from the original owner, in non running condition. It was sitting in a storage building for well over 20 years, so lots of dead critters and nests to clean out. Got it in January. Original EVERYTHING, including 40 year old Eagle GT tires. It also has all of it's rubber seals for the cowl induction which today is unobtanium. They started failing California emissions so GM started deleting the seals in midyear '81, making the cowl induction not very functional. Mine actually had two. One was stuffed into the other, thereby also blocking the cowl induction. 37K miles and 4 speed.
It's an '81 which is the one to have, according to it's developer, John Heinricy. The high output motor has bigger intake/exhaust valves, bigger cam, higher compression, specific exhaust, 2X larger air cleaner which ducts into a function cowl hood and different final drive and transaxle ratios as well as other interesting X-11 only features like welded on steel rod to stiffen the engine cradle and an auxiliary vacuum canister to to keep the brakes boosted at low RPM because of the high lift cam. It was developed to win it's class in SCCA racing. Amazing that GM gave Heinricy so much leeway on this package, because - you know GM.
It's been a bit of a project, maybe more than I expected. It's almost there. A couple of gremlins to still track down though. In addition to me working on it, I've had about 6 months worth of Friday night "Garage Nights" with my friends which has helped immensely. Even with all the joking and ballbusting, we'll get a ton of work done when 4 guys are working on it simultaneously.
Regarding the IROC, yes I'd like to have it back, but there is no way I'd pay $20K for it. I don't want it that bad.
You'd be surprised how many of those parts and features were used in the GM sister cars as well. With exception to the cowl hood, you also described a well optioned Eurosport Celebrity. You'd also be surprised how many handling and brake parts were designed and put into use later on that would have made the X-car even better. But, that's a whole other discussion that probably doesn't belong here.
But, if I already had some really nice third gens, I certainly wouldn't want to buy one back that I already decided to sell without any regrets, if it meant selling an uncommon and nicely optioned X11.
Re: 1987 IROC-Z convertible. Are 4 IROCs too many?
Originally Posted by 86blackiroc
You'd be surprised how many of those parts and features were used in the GM sister cars as well. With exception to the cowl hood, you also described a well optioned Eurosport Celebrity. You'd also be surprised how many handling and brake parts were designed and put into use later on that would have made the X-car even better. But, that's a whole other discussion that probably doesn't belong here.
But, if I already had some really nice third gens, I certainly wouldn't want to buy one back that I already decided to sell without any regrets, if it meant selling an uncommon and nicely optioned X11.
Oh, I know. Lots of the X-11's development, trickled down to other FWDs and the Fiero.
When I sell a car, I often make money on it, because I've fixed a bunch of things which needed fixing and bring it up cosmetically. These are things the previous owner won't/doesn't want to do, and I can imagine a diamond in the rough. That's really the fun of it for me. If I make a few bucks in the end, that's cool too. But if I have to pay ALL THE MONEY or more for something, well that just drains the fun away for me and makes me lose interest.
I'm still a hobbyist and not an investor. So, I'd have to get an absolutely screaming deal on my old IROC to make it fun for me to get it again.
I may sell the X-11 down the road, but I'd have to have something in the pipeline waiting to take it's spot, first.
Re: 1987 IROC-Z convertible. Are 4 IROCs too many?
many moons ago I had a 1986 Z24 cavalier I bought from my sister. It was a convenient purchase as she was ready to move
on to something else. That was my first front wheel drive vehicle & to be honest I enjoyed it & kept it a lot longer than I thought I would. Had a 3.8? and a 4 speed, digital dash. Was kind of a cool little car. Looked very similar to your X-ll door handles forward.
Re: 1987 IROC-Z convertible. Are 4 IROCs too many?
Originally Posted by F-body-fan
many moons ago I had a 1986 Z24 cavalier I bought from my sister. It was a convenient purchase as she was ready to move
on to something else. That was my first front wheel drive vehicle & to be honest I enjoyed it & kept it a lot longer than I thought I would. Had a 3.8? and a 4 speed, digital dash. Was kind of a cool little car. Looked very similar to your X-ll door handles forward.
That would have been 2.8L. A fun, torquey package.
I have noticed that as 3rd gens, Fox Mustangs and G-bodies start getting less affordable, '80's and '90's FWD cars are coming onto the scene and going up in price. Last week, a 1981 X-11, with over 100K miles and a repaint sold for $8,000 on eBay.
There is also a big community for Chevy Berettas, especially the GTZ, Z26, GTU and Pace Cars.
06-28-2021, 12:49 AM
