[Norwood]

Paul, Good luck on the sal yourself.....

[goatmanmitch]

Great news, Chris! Looking forward to some new pics.

[The Boss]

I sold it in the fall of 89 shortly after I got married and when I bought my 1st Pathfinder.

Check out the radio delete plate I've got in my NOS parts stash....that will be going back in. Now thanks to the bluetooth stereo's I'll still be able to have music!

[The Boss]

Pictures from today - needs paint & the interior of an 88 has been swapped into it. 109k on it now. 8-10 will have to get spent on it for it to look decent.

Honest car, with nothing to hide - just what I was hoping for. I've got some work ahead of me but I still can't believe it survived!

[6TEE8GTO]

Too cool!!!

[steve v]

Congrats on finding it!

[Old Blue 66]

This whole story is great. Quite a few people search out a car they had in the past. Very few ever find them. Your a lucky guy Chris. Keep the posting as yo make progress getting it home.

[The Boss]

So we got it on a lift last night & there's good news & there's bad news....

1st the good news - after spending it's first two winters in Boston & the last 16 years in Wisconsin there is damn near no rust on the car and no major accidents/repairs. What little there is can easily be fixed and the minor dings & dents can be handled with the full repaint. That's the easy part!

The bad news - the current owner who's had the car for about 11 years has a dog that he brings with him EVERYWHERE and the dog TRASHED the original interior. The interior will need a complete re-do in the hard to find, 1 year only grey custom cloth with deluxe luggage compartment trim.

I'm not overpaying for what it is especially considering the rare combination of options & my history with it so I guess it's not that bad. Just more work than I had been expecting.

The first picture is the rear body panel where the bumper cover attaches to it, 2 - is the driver's floor seam where the firewall comes down, 3 - back seat now, 4 - front seats now, 5 - what it should/will look like.

[Baron Von Zeppelin]

WoW
Cool ordeal there Boss
I remember you telling about this car in the past at different times.

I had an 89 350 Auto IROC for about 4 years and it was a fun good looking car.
Since it wasnt a prized Pontiac i never minded giving it hell at will.

Almost bought an 87 IROC Convertible same configuration and colors as yours until i found the 89 in much better condition. Was back in 98.

Congrats on the Recovery !

[Baron Von Zeppelin]

I might still have the factory rear window louver, and maybe an extra set of t-tops if you have need for such things - cheap.

[The Boss]

A few more details have come out and unfortunately I have to be honest with myself that this was not meant to be. Current owner's wife has upped the price to a stupid level and won't budge, owner says he's got to live with her. Rear main seal & valve guides are both shot so add engine rebuild to the list, clutch is still the original so add that while we're at it.

It's not the cost of the car that is the deal breaker it's the 15-20k that would have to come after it for paint, interior & driveline. Add to that the non-numbers matching SR block & heads & I'm really paying way too much for this story. I spoke to a couple friends yesterday (members here) and they kind of brought me to my senses. If I was just buying a car - I needed to walk away....if I was buying a story - it was going to be expensive!

I'm still looking for a nice 87-89 T-top or convertible 305/5spd black over grey IROC, but I think my time with this one is long gone. Thanks everyone for following along, I wish this had ended differently.

[Baron Von Zeppelin]

Have to agree on those terms.
About same circumstances on the Black 87 Vert i tried to buy in 98.
His wife got in the way with final negotiations.

2 weeks later he came to my job ready to beg me to buy the 87.
Already had the 89.

You can probably find a cream-puff turn key Vert for less than you would be into your old car for at the finish mark.

The IROC's were the only time i liked the chevy offering better than the pontiac.

[goatmanmitch]

I too have been following this closely and also remember you reminiscing about this car. Extremely cool that you found it, many could only wish they got that far. It sounds like the wife got dollar signs in her eyes, despite your very generous offer. Greedy people. Perhaps this chapter isn't closed yet, time will tell. Thanks for sharing this story!

[Old Blue 66]

Sorry about that Chris. The investment into the car along with the price of the buying the car and shipping well exceeds the value of this one. Sometimes the numbers don't work no matter how much you want them to.

I wish it could have worked out. Ya never really know. Maybe the owner will just grow tired of it. Its been off the road for sometime. Maybe he'll call you and offer it to you just to dump it. He knows what it needs to get it back to where it needs to be (or at least Im sure you educated him). Theres a chance that he wont want to spend that kinda money.

I learned a long time ago, never count someone out. People will surprise you when you least expect it.

[goatmanmitch]

Still the same outcome?

I just thought of this while watching Counting Cars with a black 86 Iroc.

[The Boss]

It's haunted me all year long Mitch - I'll be calling him again next week to try to work out a reasonable deal and plan on bringing my trailer out to the MCACN show to pick it up.

Some things aren't about the money.

[Old Blue 66]

Originally Posted by The Boss

It's haunted me all year long Mitch - I'll be calling him again next week to try to work out a reasonable deal and plan on bringing my trailer out to the MCACN show to pick it up.

Some things aren't about the money.

If you come to MCACN, let me know. I'll be there and buy ya lunch Chris. Or if you need help in Janesville let me know. I'm only an hour from there.

[PMD1969]

So a woman screwed this up .... sorry man.

[The Boss]

Originally Posted by PMD1969

So a woman screwed this up .... sorry man.

Ain't that always the case?

We'll see how it goes.

[The Boss]

Originally Posted by Old Blue 66

If you come to MCACN, let me know. I'll be there and buy ya lunch Chris. Or if you need help in Janesville let me know. I'm only an hour from there.

Thanks Paul, I'll be at the show regardless and if I get the car it should be an easy pickup. See you in Chicago!