In 1985 Chevrolet introduced the IROC-Z Camaro which became known as "the Camaro that thinks it's a Corvette".. The name IROC and the styling features were adapted from the Camaro IROC racing cars that were developed for the International Race of Champions.
The general idea behind the IROC-Z was to take the Z28 and turn it into a true high-performance/handling Camaro that anyone could own without having to hold a SCCA license.

In 1985, the IROC-Z became avaible as a $659 package avaible only on the Z28 platform. Several distinct differences between the Z28 and IROC-Z were performance-calibrated front struts and coil springs, Bilstein reat shocks, and the famous 5 spoke 16 inch aluminum wheels with good year 245/50/R16 tires, these performance boosting items made the IROC 1/2 an inch lower than the Z28, and gave skidpad numbers in the .90g range. Under the hood started out with 155HP LG4, then came the 190HP High output 4 barral 305, and finally the top 305 Tune Port Injection with 215 Horsepower, and 275ft/lbs of torque. Appearance wise the IROC had a redesigned front fascia, with a more rounded appearance, Halogen Fog lamps, and on the sides were more agressive ground effects. Fake louvers were found on the hood. IROC's received Monochrome paint treatment.

In 1986, Not to much changed on the overall appearance...except for the Goverment mandated third brake light, which was found on the top of the rear hatch. A few new things were the base coat/clear coat paint system was now standard, and the 140MPH speedometer replace the 85's 140kp/h speedometer. For engines, the 1986 got screwed, the Tune Port 305 lost 25 HP which meant 1/2 a second longer run to 60MPH.

1987, the big news was the widely avalible Tune port injection 350, producing 220HP(but this was only avaible with the 700R4 Automatic transmission). Under the hood, the new centerbolt heads, and manifolds had a revised bolt angle to accomodate the different heads. These motors also recieved hydraulic roller camshafts, whicn gave an extra 5hp, and a 3.5% increase in fuel milage. Appearance wise the 86 and 87 were identical, except the third brake light moved from the rear hatch down to the spoiler.

Chevrolet didn't let anyone know there was a 20th aniversary Camaro, the 1987 IROC convertible, recieved a leather pouch with a commerative 20th aniversary logo on. (This can be told by the VIN# with the sixth digit as a 3, if the sixth digit is a 2, then the car is a hard top adapted to convertible by ASC.)

In 1988 the Z-28 was dropped from production and replaced with the IROC-Z. For the first time in Camaro history, there were no carburated Camaro's avaible. The 350 got a small Horse power boost to 225 HP. The exteriot recieved slight updates. First the wheels were changed, with one line throught the center instead of two. The 16 inch rims were now an option, and 15 inch rims were standard. The IROC-Z decal became smaller and moved to the rear of the door, instead of the front as in previous years. The stripe along the GFX now had a black line above the silver, and the small Z-28 badges on the exterior were replaced with ORANGE IROC-Z Logos.

In 1988 Chevrolet secretly produced 4 1LE(option level 0 IROC-Z) Camaros(like to find one of those). Then 1989 the 1LE performance package option became better known. 1LE package was obtained by ordering the following: * Level 1 IROC-Z with 5.0 TPI engine with 5 speed or 5.7 TPI engine * Optional axle ratio (G92) (305/3.45, 350/3.27) and its required options. * Air conditioning delete (C41) (standard heater)

1989

Visually, Nothing changed on the 1989 model compared to the 1988 model, but were some nice HP increases. The 305 Tune Port Injection with a 5 speed jumped to 230 ponies, meanwhile if you ordered the dual catalytic converters for your L98 350, your horsepower jumped to 240 ponies, with 345ft/lbs of tire shredding fun.

For the first time the Tune Port systems were changed, withe the 9th cold start injector no longer used.

1990

Once again visually, the 1990 IROC did not change. However the Tune Port Injection system changed from Mass airflow system, to the Speed density system. This new system allows for 5 more ponies on the 350. Also there was a revised intrument panel and a driver sides AirBag, new to 1990. 1990 was the year the world widely knew about the 1LE performance package. the 1Le consisted of 4 wheel disk brakes, large 12" front rotors and aluminum calipers, aluminum drive shaft, engine oil cooler, larger anti-roll bars, and a 3.42 posi rear end. This package could only be ordered without A/C, and Fog lamps.

The 1990 model IROC-Z production ended on 12/31/1989 due the end of the IROC contract.



1991 marked the return of the Z-28 replacing the IROC-Z.


Interesting facts:
IROC-Z's shipped from assembly plant with no IROC-Z decals? Thats right, seems some California buyers wanted the monochrome paint job but without the decals in order to have something different. The Van Nuys assembly plant produced 502 IROC-Z's this way. The RPO code for this option is IC5.

I need more IROC-Z Pictures for this part of the site, please send me one if you have one.
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