GM leased the IROC-Z name for the Camaro from the International Race of Champions starting in 1985 thru 1990. To befit this racing pedigree, the Camaro came equipped with the special 305 TPI 5.0L V8 engine coupled with a four-speed automatic fun sponge, as the regular 5-speed manual proved incapable of handling the 215bhp the motor burbled out. The fun didn’t stop there however; the upgrades continued in the form of revised springs, a lowered ride height, Tune Port fuel injection, and a body kit complete with 80’s awesome stickers to remind the SVO Mustang who was boss. The Camaro didn’t need no stinking double wing, a lip spoiler would do just fine.
All these efforts resulted in an incredibly wheel spin happy, hard riding, shaky contraption built to thrill from stoplight to stoplight. Toss the overboosted helm into a turn, and you’ll realize how advanced even the most basic of suspensions are in the 21st century, as the IROC-Z followed the mantra of “harder is better” to an absolute fault. However, the tuned bits from the Corvette helped out where it’s really important: smoky powerslides. Sure the Mustang might possess a bit more technical sophistication, but the Camaro always outran it. The sheer grunt of the engine and the indestructible nature of the 700-R4 tranny made for an easily tuned, reliable drivetrain; shame about the rest of the build quality.
The interior of the Camaro reflected more muscle car than the Mustang, with sport gauges complete with an interesting double-needle speedo showing mph on oneside, kph on the other (in orange). The sporty looks continued on the outside to culminate in one of the meanest looking “folded paper” designs of the 1980’s. White Trash no, future classic, yes.
63 Comments on “Capsule Review: 1985-1990 Chevrolet Camaro IROC-Z...”
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“White Trash no, future classic, yes.”
Then why do I unfailingly envision a driver crawling out of pictured car, with mullet on full display?
Cool looking thing. I thought they used the 350 instead the 305 engine.
Can you make a review of the Firebird GTA?
Thanks.
Image aside, I think this is still a great-looking car. One of the few designs from that 80s that still looks good today. I can’t believe how ugly the Mustangs were back then either. On a scale from 0-10, I’d give the IROC an 8.5 and the Fox-Body Stang a 0.1
One of my favorite cars of all time, sadly, some of the facts aren’t perfect here.
The 85 came with a carbed 305, as well as the TPI 305 which did only come with a 4-speed auto as the article states.
HOWEVER – by 1987 the 350 TPI came in with 225 hp (and a bazillion ft-lbs of torque) in a 4-speed auto, and the TPI 5.0 came with a 5-speed manual option (which got 28 mpg).
The third gen was the best handling F-body of all time.
What Banger said. You must be joking.
I’m still looking for one of these at a reasonable price that hasn’t been hooned to death. There’s just something about these F-bodies that I love.
I hate to get on my soap box here, but…
Praise this car all you will, but that doesn’t change the fact that there is an F-Body of this vintage languishing derelict in the parking lot of my apartment. It seems that these cars have an amazing ability to wind up immobile in public view. I hate homeowners’ associations and for the most part, I don’t care what my neighbors do or display, but (for perhaps an irrational reason) I detest abandoned Camaros.
cretinx,
The third gen was the best handling F-body of all time.
This may be true, but to quote Major Winchester from TV’s M*A*S*H, that is akin to being the best ballerina dancer on all of Galveston.
One of my favrotie cars I have ever owned! I have an ‘85 Blue IROC-Z and man did my hair start going in the back once I signed the papers. It was fun, fast and totaly perfect for a high schooler. Most of my friends had hand me downs from the parents and some had the 16th Birthday BMW, Benz, etc but honestly none of them could beat ole’ blue.
I truly miss this car…until I see the gas prices and I would be spending about 3 times as much (13mpg vs my 35mpg on my Civic).
God speed Camaro, I hope the new one is a true winner.
How many of these mullet-mobiles are still on the road in decent condition? 25? They were built and sold to be thrashed to pieces. And thrashed like hell they certainly were.
Anybody who thinks that these F-bodies will always be transportation for the mullet class needs to come to some of the Carlisle Car Shows.
These cars are already showing up for sale, and the ones in good condition are bringing some serious money for a 1980s vehicle.
I always thought the Firebird/Trans Am side of this platform was better looking. But I do agree it’s one of the best looking cars out of the ’80s.
White trash yes; future classic no.
Sorry.
After reading this, I wanted to see more interior pictures. Onto ebay, search “iroc” three down. White trash, now that is funny.
230291441456
Is the car’s dash supposed to have that much overhang? Looks like a baseball hat over the gauge cluster, a/c vents, glove box, etc.
I owned two Z28’s, the second one had t-tops. To this day I’d still love to own a convertible late-model RS in Blue as I thought that was always a nice looking car.
After a while, though, the automatic chirping into 2nd EVERY TIME YOU DRIVE got tiring.
I had an 83 Z28 305 4 barrel auto and it was slow as a dog. I had nothing but problems with it so what did I do? Went out and bought a new 88 T/A with the 305 and Tuned Port Injection. Another slow sled that spent 1/2 it’s life @ the dealer. That was the last GM I ever bought. They lost me forever. After selling the T/A I bought a new Eagle Talon turbo AWD. That was the fastest car I ever drove/rode in up to that time. I always thought IROC stood for:Italian Retard Out Cruising. Lighten up I’m 1/2 Italian
If that car comes with the lady… screw the cellulite, mullet, white trash BS, whatever… I’d hit it… er buy it.
How is this NOT white trash, again?
So, about the handling. It’s very Nova-ish underneath, specifically 1975-1979 X body. Leaf springs in the back and half of a frame up front, connected to the body by six body-to-frame mounts. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but the Nova never really had sporting intentions. In fact the body mount bushing replacement kit I have on my ‘77 Omega said “Firebird” on the box, and my dual exhaust system was listed for Nova and Camaro!
I know the early 80’s F bodies were this way, not sure if the IROC series is different.
I LOVE this body style of the Camaro, but I don’t think I’ve ever been in a car with a rougher ride–and that includes off-roading in a Jeep. My sister was considering buying one, but the stiff ride put an end to that. Thank goodness, because she would look terrible with a mullet (though she does have room in her yard where she could have put one on blocks).
IROC stood for:Italian Retard Out Cruising
Thanks that was funny.
I remember this car being slow and very uncomfortable from the few owners I knew. And as I remember they were missing school or bumming rides 50% of the time because their Camaro was “getting performance mods”, tranlation “I can’t afford to fix the broken POS every 2 weeks.”
Most of the people I knew who had one weren’t mullet trash at the time, but they all barely graduated or didn’t graduate HS along with the T/A owners at our school.
@Redbarchetta: I grew up in New York. Until I was in highschool and started learning about cars, I really thought that is what IROC stood for. It seemed to be the perfect description of the owner base on Long Island.
“Most of the people I knew who had one weren’t mullet trash at the time, but they all barely graduated or didn’t graduate HS along with the T/A owners at our school.”
Hey I take offense at your comments. I graduated high school! Six of the toughest years of my life!
…the Mustang might possess a bit more technical sophistication, but the Camaro always outran it.
Stock? No. A 5-speed Mustang would always beat both the 350 auto and the 305 5-speed F-bodies.
I had an 88 5speed. So much fun. It had the unpredictable combination of stiff suspension with a twist-and-shout unibody. T-tops made it worse (and increased the rattles twofold). Damn thing would flex so much that a buddy of mine cracked his windshield turning into a steep driveway.
But it was fun. Always willing engine, posi that would not only power-slide on command but on accident too. And driving it sideways was easy because the rear was located by a predictable panhard rod and torque arm setup. It also sounded great and had good seats for its day. Too bad everybody wanted to steal the wheels for their El Camino, Monte Carlo, Regal, you name it.
Like all other V8s of its day, its overbuild, but underperforming engine responded well to mods. With exhaust, a chip and a few intake mods the car went from running lazy 15s in the quarter mile to high 13s on crappy all-season street tires.
agroal you obviously didn’t go to my HS, and kudos to you for sticking it out for 6 years, a few could barely handle 3 years before they were “outta here”. Off to pump gas and clean pools I guess.
People need to get two things straight:
1) People with mullets couldn’t afford an IROC. IROCs cost more than Mustangs (like Camaros in general).
2) The reason people see 20 year-old Camaros around is that they were built better than Mustangs. How many old Mustangs do you see around, outside of California?
The reason people see 20 year-old Camaros around is that they were built better than Mustangs
Yup – GM cars run bad longer than most cars run at all.
I had a Japanese friend who had one. He was a gear-head in Japan, and wanted a taste of American muscle for the 3 years he was here. His IROC was pretty fast, but heavy, and, yes, it was in the shop a lot. It was also starting to look pretty ratty by the time it got stolen from the parking lot at his apartment. I told him to pray that it was never found and I guess Buddha was looking out for him. The cash he got was a lot better than the car.
Still he loved that V-8. His wife, who spun it two or three times the first winter, wasn’t so crazy about it.
Awesome Car!!!! I had a 1991 Z28 with a 5.7 tpi V8 engine. The IROC name was dropped after 1990 for some business reasons. The car was AWESOME. Never had a problem with it and the thing looked badass and hauled ass. And that is what a muscle car should do. The mustang was always a cheaper piece of garbage compared to the big bad boy the Camaro. The 5.7 corvette engine put out so much torque and sounded amazing!! (especially with a Flowmaster muffler).
I thought I loved the 85-90 Camaro models.
But then I discovered “Knight Rider”.
I refer all of you to the Top Gear US special, where Jeremy chooses to buy a ratty IROC for the trip from Florida to Louisiana. Pathetic hilarity ensues.
The “Handling” on these cars is non-exsistant(It’s also pretty slow, a 300E from that era was actually faster than this car). I have driven one of these, and it handles FAR WORSE than my winter car, which is a 1985 Subaru GL-10. Some performance machine, it can’t even outhandle a shitbox from the same era. Thnakfully, these abominations have all but dissapeared from the roads in my area. Good riddance. I’m not flaming(I’m really not), nor am I questioning your judgement, but why on earth was this car reviewed? What’s next, an Alliance?
“People with mullets couldn’t afford an IROC. IROCs cost more than Mustangs (like Camaros in general).”
-Money has nothing to do with taste. A guy driving a Hyundai Pony would get more respect from me that a person driving this…this..thing.
-The fox body is 1000 times the car this thing is. In SVO guise, it was not a bad handler, proving at least that the fox had some, if very limited, dynamic capability.
Ok, full disclosure. I grew up on Long Island. I’m not Italian but I’ve been called a retard and I was always out cruisin’
I bought an 86 back in 1992, Black/Grey with the 305/4bbl 5-speed. Not at all fast, I think it was rated at 165HP. The hood struts didn’t work. It was involved in a collision much to my dismay (and I was so good at spotting bondo, so I thought). I noticed the steering wheel was bent on the test drive but I had to have it!
I kept it for about 8 months or so, sold it for what I paid for it (almost) and followed my girl to grad school. Now THAT was a smart move.
I grew up in Baltimore and there too it stood for Italian Retard Out Cruising. They look better to me now than they did when they were new.
Funny how a 80’s total piece of junk can somehow become a classic. This is the car that ruined the Camaro name. There is a reason you don’t see many of these around anymore. They all made it to the crusher.
A well cared for, low miles IROC may be a collectible but most are like the one my HOA is working on getting towed out of the neighborhood…..
Been sitting there disabled so long it has a curved sand bar built around it from the street sweeper. Once it’s gone my house value should jump up…
After all no one wants to live in a neighborhood with IROC drivers…
Mike, are you feeling okay? The 5.0 Mustang absolutely destroyed the IROC and Z28s in the car rags and on the streets. It was faster, thousands cheaper, more practical and so much easier to modify. Even if GM offered the 350 TPI with a stick, it would be a tough battle.
But the 305 is and has always been a boat anchor.
The 5.0 was the beast to beat in the 1980s.
JEC: That wasn’t an IROC, it was the RS. Top of the line as far as Clarkson was concerned though.
These cars do look the part and the Camaro was always a better car than the Mustang in my opinion. It’s easy to look good when you always show up late to the party though.
It draws the kind of people that want to look a certain way but don’t have a lot of money. The Mustang never did look good after the first generation, certainly not in the 80’s.
The drive train in this generation of Camaro was bullet proof and they get driven HARD by the people that own them. Even a clean example has probably been thrashed and crashed and rebuilt by some high school shop class several times over.
Goodness, it’s like being in high school again: “Mustang GT is faster than Camaro IROC, loser!; IROC is faster then Mustang GT, moron!”. Well luckily in the 21st century we can go back in time and get some data:
http://www.thirdgen.org/rt-camaroiroczvsmustangho-1988
This article is from the latter days of the Camaro platform we’re talking about. Overall, both cars are pretty close with the nod barely going to the IROC in a few instances.
Sorry, but these cars were grossly inferior to virtually anything at that time or since.
The quality was atrocious. We’re talking bottom of the barrel, “The Machine That Changed The World citing, plasticized piece of trash. Even in the late 80’s, these Guido-mobiles had more defects, and defectives, than virtually anything else from that era.
I grew up in Northern New Jersey and the future “APEX Tech” students were the overwhelming candidates for this car (which their parents paid for in exchange for the lack of healthy parenting).
Am I being harsh? I’ll give you a hint… HELL NO! If you think these vehicles are classics then I know a fecal brown 1987 Hyundai Excel with only 48k that I can get for you real cheap. Well, it went for $925 at the sale tonight… but anyhow.
Ding-dang! When I was 17, some folks in my neighborhood were selling a black, drop-top 1990 IROC-Z. It was the prettiest damn thing I ever saw, and I would drive past it extra slow every day on my way home from school, wondering how I would ever scrape together the money it would cost to buy. For months they were selling it, and I was just awestruck by the absolutely gorgeous proportions, the long hood, RWD monster, damn it looked like Darth Vader’s weekend ride, like a Star Destroyer or something.
Prudence won out, however, and I knew I would just get arrested in that thing, so I ended up with a 1992 Chevy Cavalier Z24, but man this post gives me warm feelings all over and happy memories.
All the mullet heads at my school couldn’t afford a real I-ROC. They all had to upgrade their previous generation Camaro type LTs to Camaro Berlinettas.
Usually in primer black or that red color, with not matching iroc side skits from a junk yard, and of course with a sloppy 350 swap, carb’ed still. No reason to convert their junk yard 350 to fuel injection, it was still kind of new then.
I think it was a punctuation problem, what Mike meant to say was “white-trash, no-future, classic-yes”. Meaning that if you’re white trash with no future, this car is a classic. Suitably framed on four cinder blocks. Seriously though, I thought this was the greatest car in the world when I was ten, and the 3.8 turbo model is still the hottest Camaro ever.
Sajeev it was the “peanut” cam the 305 had. An aftermarket cam really woke the 5.0 liter up.
My buddy from high school in the early 90s bought an 88 IROC A4 with the 305 with Tuned Port Injection. My 89 Mustang GT was so much faster as it was a 5 speed with some bolt on mods but his car handled so good. I couldn’t believe how quick the steering was and how flat it took the corners. It also had those great ttops that I don’t think he ever had on the car. They were always out.
Another friend of mine had an all black 91 Z28. It looked menacing with not only that wicked “killer face” but even the windows were blacked out. The “5.7 Tuned Port Injection” badge on the back always got my respect. That car was super fast and was an easy match for the Mustang. We used to swap cars and got crazy. I’ll never forget him in front of me in the Mustang lighting up the rear tires from a left turn light and getting sideways while I did the same in the Z28. Or running a marked off quarter mile behind a business park for a drag race that was dead even to the finish.
The 91 was better built than the 88 IROC as GM added glaze/putty in the manufacturing to help with creaks and chassis flex for 91-92.
Then in 93 we got the world beating 4th gen Z28, Trans Am and Formula. A real mind blower for a fox body Mustang fanatic. Here it was Ford was carrying over the 5 speed/302 while GM had 275 hp Camaros with 6 speeds. I was sold. 4th gens are one of the best values for the money ever, even with the passenger side floor hump. :) I drove two, a black 98 Trans Am and 00 Camaro SS. I still miss them.
The 91+ police package RS/350 would hit 150mph. The 3rd gen could move. I still have dreams of one day building a black 3rd gen 91-92 Firebird and adding a Buick 3.8 liter, (er, litre per Buick) turbo V6 with around 500bhp. Upgrade the suspension, brakes and wheel/tire combo, add a chassis stiffening roll cage, subframe connectors and all the other Firehawk stuff and insure it as a V6 Firebird. :)
I went to high school on the early 90’s. The late 80’s pony cars were coming down into the price range of the recently graduated high school student looking for something fast. I knew at least one person who had the GTA, the IROC, GT, LX 5.0 etc. I think they all had their good qualities. And despite what the haters in this thread say, beetlebug showed they were pretty quick in their day, mid 15’s was decent performance. And sure the Camaro was crude, but with the right options (4 wheel disc, LSD, good suspension, 16″ wheels, port injected engine) it drove pretty well.
Miata is a chick car, Camaros are for mullett-tard rednecks, Volkswagens are for gay guys….blah blah whatever as far as I am concerned. Sometimes you have to endure some unflattering assumptions about yourself by others if you want to drive a car you like. The Camaro had it’s merits depstie the reputation.
I had a low 13 sec Turbo Regal. With the chrome trim. All my friends with the IROCs, GTAs, GTs couldn’t keep up with my Old Man’s car.
@joe_thousandaire:the 3.8 turbo model is still the hottest Camaro ever.
No such animal. You might be thinking of the ‘89 Pontiac Turbo TransAm. Easily the best 3rd gen F-body, the best of both worlds, Buick Grand National power (GNX-spec!) in the far superior F-body chassis, with the “race only” 1LE goodies to boot.
Anyone else notice that this particular IROC is living in Europe?
I know that doesn’t mean much; there are some pieces of Detroit iron over here, but I just thought it funny that the photo for such a quintessential “American” car was taken in Europe.
Hint: You can tell it’s white trash by the McCain sticker on the back.
The 3rd gen f-body was one of the best handling cars on the planet in that era, harsh ride quality or not (people who owned one didn’t care)… Their pedigree in road racing was virtually unmatched, except possibly by the Corvette at the time.
Mustang more sophisticated? The engines were virtually equal in terms of performance, with an advantage to the Chevy in terms of fuel economy, while the Mustang was lighter.
The fox-body Mustang was, from the start, a drag car chassis that could barely get out of its own way in a corner–the front suspension geometry in particular was designed to transfer weight right off it and onto the back tires. Most modern fox-body road racers switch to an aftermarket k-member that completely redesigns the front suspension pickup points. The F-body was the all-around better car in every aspect (interior being subjective), the Mustang was the better 1/4 mile car.
What made most f-bodies flimsy and creaky were the T-Tops… option a car without them and things improved dramatically. And, like most unibody cars, a set of sub-frame connectors for $50 significantly improved torsional rigidity and turned the car into a completely different animal.
After graduating from college!, my first new car was a brand new ‘85. It was the worst car I’ve ever owned. In the shop 10 times in 10 months, towed in 3 of those times. The back hatch popped open when cornering hard. Thankfully, at the end of 10 months, it was stolen. But it was way more fun then than my TL-S and short haircut are now! I loved that car.
I worked in a car audio shop while in college and I worked on tons of these cars.
What was with the door design of these f-bodies? Inevitably the doors would sag in their openings and require lifting the rear of the door to close.
I guess weak hinges and an 8 foot long door just don’t work well together.
-ted
Adub: The reason people see 20 year-old Camaros around is that they were built better than Mustangs. How many old Mustangs do you see around, outside of California?
I see plenty of Fox-body Mustangs around, and I don’t live in California. Ford build quality was better than GM’s in the 1980s.
tigeraid: The F-body was the all-around better car in every aspect (interior being subjective), the Mustang was the better 1/4 mile car.
The Camaro was the better “performance,” car, while the Mustang was much better to live with on a day-to-day basis. Better interior layout and much better “real world” (meaning, off the race track or skidpad) ride-and-handling combination.
Even more striking than the claim that that car will be a classic (which I agree with), is the fact that the photo of that pristine example was taken in a European or South American location. Look at the background…a Peugeot, a Hyundai Atos, a VW Polo…was this taken in Brazil? What is the term for a Brazilian Mullet?
Truly, anywhere outside of the USA (or Canada), this car probably pulls in a lot of attention.