F-Body Europe

This thread could be some good reading and pretty long since EVERYONE has a story.

Mine went like this. 11 yrs old and a older kid up the street had a hopped up 78 w/ the big blower sticking out the hood. Blk on blk w/ Cragar wheels I'll never forget it. One day he gave me a ride and that's all it took. From that day on I wanted a camaro but what's funny is I didn't want a 2nd gen even though that's what got me hooked.

Once I became a adult I saw a guy and his buddy living in the dorms w/ the 3rd gens. One had a Maroon TTA GT and he was a E3! The other had a red Iroc that til this day I have not seen one like it. It was definetly a limited edition of some sort because his front quarter panels had gills on them and his interior was unlike any other and it wasn't aftermarket either. On top of that the Iroc had some special markings on it like 20th anniversary or something. It was trick. After that I knew I wanted a Iroc, Blk of course in t-tops and 5 spd since they were the rarest of them all during that time. Never found one though but when I did it was too much for me to buy since I was only a E2 in the AF. Really sucked so instead I bought a 88 Turbo Laser.

Time moves on and in 93 the 4th gens arrive and I was like "gawd their ugly!" But then I saw the commercial w/ the kid describing the car etc. I'd see them on the road and eventually they grew on me. Had a girl at who owned a V6 4th gen that would let me drive it and I was impressed by the pwr esp since I was driving a 94 EX Honda Accord Coupe at the time. I figure I'd get one one day. Then what got me was 1995 I was cruising down I-95 in my accord and out of now where I come up on this blk Z28. Freaking clean as all out doors w/ slightly tinted windows. Dude is like just chilling and we're crusing like around 80mph or so outside the NC Virginia border. I just wanted to see what it would do so I egged him a little and dropped a gear and drove past him all the while looking at him. He catches up and paces me at 100mph and then all I hear is him just drop it like it's hot and put 3 lengths on me instantly.
I was so stoked! I just looked at the infamous exhuast tips and tail lights and thought to myself "damn I've got to get one of those".

One day I drive by the local dealership to price a new one and it was like 25K but after their markup it's was more like 30K! I was like hell no. So I decided to go the used route. I've always had a thing for the 1st yr of any new model and I don't know why. It took 2 yrs to find what I was looking for. BLK, TT's, and a M6. 93's didn't come w/ leather or the skip shift so I was cool w/ that. Then the day happened. 97' I saw 2 fbodies at the local Chevy lot. Red 95 and a Blk 93. Test drove the red 95 and I couldn't keep it on the road it was just that powerful to me anyways. Then I drove the 93 and it was a pig. But since I didn't like red I got the 93. They wanted 17K w/ 29,000 miles on it and I was like hell no I know what it's worth. I drove off the lot and they haggled me for a wk straight. Got them down to 11,500 and traded in the accord. My life hasn't been the same since nor my wallet but I'll wouldn't trade it in for the world.

Now it's 04' and 7 yrs later.....4 paint jobs, 1 engine, 3 rebuilds, interior, rims, exterior, and suspension parts twice over I'm still running and have no plans on stopping.

So what are some of your guys stories and why you bought one?

Here's my story:

I went home on leave for the Christmas of '98. I hadn't been home in 4 years, so it was pretty exciting (off topic). Anyway, my cousin had just bought a '95 Z28 convertible, and I didn't think THAT much of it back then. I rode with him a few times, and I was impressed, but my cousin had also just gotten a 911, so I was much more interested in that at the time. My cousin with the 911 had just gotten a turbo put on, and when he let me drive it, I didn't know what to do. That thing had so much torque when that turbo spooled up. I knew it would be a while before I could buy one, so I just came back to Germany, and didn't think much of anything at all.

Then, later I think, in '99, when I went back again, my cousin had just had a fresh 355 put in his car, and he had it turboed as well. That thing was a freakin' beast. He had 315s in the back, and man it needed them. That thing was pushing like 600 hp, and when he let me drive it, I almost shat myself. I took off from this one stop sign, and when the rear swung out, I was like "holy $hit!". I could not believe the power that thing had. After driving that, I was seriously having the need for speed when I got back to Germany. The Quad4 Grand Am GT just wasn't cutting it. I raced a new Boxster on the autobahn, and he annihilated me. After that happened, I knew I needed something faster.

In February 2000, I saw the Z sitting up at the lot in Vogelweh, by the BX and I really wanted to drive it. I arranged a test drive, and my wife and I met Roy (the car salesman) and I took it for a spin. It was a little wet outside, and the stock RSAs were sucking a$$, but I just knew I had to have it. My wife and I made an agreement that if I bought it, I had to stay in Germany for 4 more years. I was so excited at the time, I really didn't spend too much time thinking about it. After about 5 seconds, I was like hmm....... OK!

That is my story in a nut shell. I hope you enjoy it!

first of all when I was 15 or 16 I fell in love with the first gen. didn't get to ride didn't know anybody with one just really liked it. after I got my license I kept bugging my rents for a ratted out 67. They weren't going for it cause they knew it would be to much work for a 16 yr old. well right before my 17th birthday I went home after school to change my clothes for work and I saw this white 85 Z sitting in our circle since our house was the only one in the circle I was kinda curious. so I went and looked at the car it was unlocked so I popped the hood. to my surprise no motor or transmission!!!!!!!!. So I call my mom up and say hey what is this car in front of our house. She tells me not to worry about it and to get to work. anyway when I get home they tell me that it is my birthday present. so my father and I put a nice 350 in it and had a 700 built for it. I have been hooked ever since. as a 17 yr old with a quick car I thought it was the fastest. ya know how it is. my best friend tells me about this girl with a 97 firehawk. I was like so I bet i could take it. anyways never really raced but I am married to her now. cars that I plan on owning when I am rich and have all kinds of money. first gen any and every one that I am allowed to buy. 97 SS 30th white leather 6sp, would also like a lt1 ws6 for me. if ya want i can go on and on about cars that I want or dream about at night.

Laugh

Cool idea John.

Well I bought mine for some weird reasons. I saw a 93 Firebird on the lot in Babenhausen. I was on my way to Burger King for lunch and heard it start up. That was all it took, I test drove it, loved it, and bought the 2nd 94 to ever hit the German shores. I knew all of squat about cars (some say still dont) but I knew what I liked.

She was stock as a rock for 2 years, but in the mean time I had PCS'd from Germany back to the states, back to Germany. My buddy Jeff (My96Z) said, Dude check out this dude from Korea (It was John). I did, and 2 weeks later Jeff was helping me put on my flowmaster, my first mod!!!!

Now, it is 9 years later, and I have a mucho modded LT4 with a Vortech. If I didnt have this disease called racing, I would keep it, but it has to go.

Take care all
Rob

Just had some free money to spend.

That's deep Roy, real deep.

My story:

I've liked Firebirds since I watched "Knight Rider" the first time some time in the 80s. In a 1993 "auto motor sport" magazine I read a story/test of a 4th gen V6 Firebird, and actually I liked it more than the 3rd gens.

Then in 1998 the new LS1 Camaro was tested in the same magazine. I was impressed by the horsepower/performance numbers AND by the price tag (I think like 58000 DM at that time) AND by the fact that it had a V8. However there was no way I could have afforded one at that time but I told myself "as soon as you can go for it". End of 2000 was the time... I was looking for 6 months for a good used car to keep the price down but just didn't find the right one. Main problem was, nearly all the decent Camaros (or Firebirds) had automatic and I wanted to have a manual!

Finally I was fed up searching without any result and went to the dealer to order a new one, configured with the options I liked... at least that was, what I was thinking. In reality the dealer told me that there are (that was in May 2001 I think) only 2 (TWO) European-spec Camaro Z28s with a manual transmission left, a 1999 and a 2000! And that was for whole Europe! Difference was that the 1999 had a CD player and the 2000 didn't (apart from the rest of the differences resulting from the years like steering wheel controls etc.). I had to think about that. Half a week later the dealer called me and said the 2000 is sold, only the 1999 left. So I bought it.

Nobody else here has a story to tell? Come on...

Ben

Nobody cares Ben. It has been viewed almost 90 times, but only a few of us have posted. At least Roy posted a one-liner. That is better than nothing. This is what makes this board so boring. Lack of participation and overall genuine interest.

Ain't that the truth. Can lead a horse to water..............

OK Jack, if you want us to po(ho)st, my story is somewhat different (why I don't have an F-body): when I lusted after a 1st gen Camaro I absolutely could not afford it. Now that I can, I lust after toys higher up the scale.

Posting once or maybe twice is not post whoring. You might not care, but you were not around when this board started, and it was fun- because everyone posted all the time. Maybe you think it's trivial, but some of us want to have a club where we can meet with new friends, and hang out, but it's boring as hell when only the same 4 or 5 people show up.

If you can lust after cars higher up the scale, then you are fortunate. I am happy for you. I will lust after cars higher up the scale in a few years myself.

Even if I could lust for higher scale cars I probably wouldn't. I'm a cheapskate and buy used. I'll have P-car one day no question but I'm not robbing Peter to pay Paul if ya know what I mean. Anything above 40K for a car is too rich for my blood even if I'm sitting on a few mil.

Jack, cool down a bit. I takes some time to write a long text like that,
and that´s not done with a few daily minutes on the board.

So:

... i was young, stupid and had way too much money to spend j/k

When i was 15 i read my first "Chrom&Flammen" on a vacation in Greece.
I liked the look of american cars right from the beginning, big cars with big engines and big displacement.
Sure, i didn´t know a thing about tax, insurance, gas mileage, power, quality and whatever, but i was pretty surprised how cheap you could get for example a 79 camaro with a nice V8. (I also didn´t know about their bad reputation in germany as "pimp car"...lol)

When we returned to Germany and landed at Munich airport there was a brand new 1995 TransAm on display on a platform in the terminal.
Damn, i liked it... but i forgot about that in the following years.

5 years later, after driving around 2 years in my first car, a fucked up Ford Scorpio, it was time for my first own car.
I wanted something different, and after looking at german cars i was sure i wouldn´t find it there. It had to be something american.
Many people tried to talk me out of getting an american car (i guess you know all those prejudices), but i didn´t really care.
Just one friend told me that they´re way better than their reputation, especially if you take care of them (applies to every car, i guess).

In the end I chose the firebird because of the smooth styling and the great t-tops. (I also had a look at mustangs and camaros but i just don´t like the body styling that much)

Finding a good used one wasn´t that easy, i wanted t-tops, manual and preferable black or red color - and a V6, as a V8 was out of the price range.

On mobile.de i found a nice one in Halle at a Mitsubishi dealer,
he said it was loaded with everything (which was not true), but it was well serviced, a former company car from the "GM Service",
then driven by a woman and a cop. It had t-tops and manual tranny.
But it was sunfire yellow. Well, it took some time to get used to it, but at least its something different...
I could talk the price down a bit and drove it home then, getting the best fuel mileage ever, as i was afraid of crashing it already on the way home.

BTW the money for the car came out of a insurance meant to finance my further education....but i never regreted it (and i study engineering anyway today, without that money).

With my knowledge from now, i would probably have bought a V8, but it´s also a nice challenge to make a V6 anyway close to "fast"
And that v6 is just reliable, i bought it with 80.000kms on it in Dec 2000, I put another 100.000kms on it till now and it just runs (except a burned out clutch and alternator, but that seems normal to me).

Good point Chris, and good story. I'm sure it would have taken me longer if I had to do it in Deutsch!

Owkay and here I go

This was the story....

... I can remember myself as a 10-years-old boy sitting on the tree at the street and watching all the cars passing by. Like that I got to know every car. That was right when Moldova became an independent country and ppl were allowed to import cars. Untill then you could only see russian cars on the streets. Then I got this curiosity for foreign cars and everywhere I was, I was looking at the cars and like that and I really got to know every1 of them. Later we had an 91 Audi 100 and then a 95 BMW M5. In April 2000 I came to Germany, bcoz of Clymia and our love, but that's another way too long story to write . The first period of time was very hard for us financially and we didn't have a car at all. In 2002 I started wanting a car but we still couldn't afford one. One day, also in 2002, I saw a silver car with black top that I just "fell in love" with. I thought I knew all possible cars by that time, but I never saw, heard or knew anything about that car!! Then once I took my wife (Clymia) for a walk and we were just walking down a River in Augsburg, when accidently I looked left. There was a car dealer and there was that damn same nice looking silver car!!! It was a 97 Pontiac Firebird with 193PS. I think if I remember right they wanted 7999 or 9999 but I dont remember if it was DM or Euros, that's why now I don't know if it was 2002 or 2001! Doesn't matter, couldn't afford it anyways back then *g*. What's important is that this innocent Firebird had Camaro wheels on it! I wrote down on a piece of paper the name Pontiac Firebird aaaand the name of the Camaro wheels. I was so excited that right after I got home I looked in internet for pictures of that car and really really liked it. I liked it that it was big, had an awesome design and was not expensive. I had no clue of f-body or v6, v8, NOTHING! Then I saw the second name on that lil piece of paper and it said Camaro. Entered it too just to see what it means and here I go. Found another car that I liked even better! Since then I knew that whenever I'm gonna buy a car, it'll be a Camaro or Firebird.

Later in 2003 still not having a car, I was like having a car fever. I was looking day and night at cars in the internet still knowing that we can't afford one. I even forgot about Camaro/Firebird, I was looking at BMWs and Calibras *g*. Later once at work, smbd asked me what cars I like and why I don't have one yet. I right away answered BMW 850, my dream. But then I somehow remembered again about Camaro. We looked together in the Internet and I found a black Camaro convertible 2000 with 19" wheels that was at a dealer around the corner from my working place. I went there in my lunch break and looked at it and was like "WO-HOOOW". I called Clymia immediately and said, "Schatzi, I WANT A CAR, and I WANT IT NOW!!!!!" *gg* At home I was like bringing a lot of arguments why we should buy a car. We didn't really need one and still really don't, coz she was working 5mins away from home and me too about 10mins away. But she agreed that we need a car and I showed her the Camaro in the Internet at Mobile.de. She liked it very much too and we went to see it. When we arrived I almost had tears in my eyes coz it had a SOLD plate on it. I asked the dealer if it's really sold and it was. Well since then I knew I want a Camaro and a 98up, even tho before I saw the black convertible I was liking the 93-97 better. After a while of looking, I really thought I was so unlucky, coz it was really no nice Camaro there. After a couple of months there where like 4-5 98+ Camaros there that we wanted to take a look at. To 2 of them we got to late, they were already sold. Then we almost wanted to take a stock 3,8 v6 that we saw at Geiger Cars, when we found another one in Munich. When we saw it, we just knew this is it. It was so low (2" lower), agressive and nice, 2000 (99 built) Camaro Z28 with 25k miles on it. We didn't even negociate with the seller (Rampage), coz we wanted it so much and the other ones from dealers were anyways more expensive and had less power (v6). So we took it, and lucky we, not having any clue and not knowing any difference between a v6 or v8, it was a V8! I just knew it had more power, but I also thought that 200PS from the V6 were way more than enough!
We are really happy with our Maro, we drive it now over 1 year and nothing broke or made problems yet.

cheers

Vadim

Good story Vadim, well told and very emotional for me to read.

Great stories! Would contribute, but I've never owned an F-body, just a '95 Mustang GT and my '02 Corvette Z06.

We'd like to hear your story too. Maybe you have one for the Z(06)????

I'll give you one for the Mustang and the Z06. Will keep it brief though.

My wife had an 87 MR2 when we lived in Bamberg, around 1997. She drove 3 days a week to Nuernberg on A73 to her job. One morning, around 04:00, she was heading to work when a rabbit dashed acrossed the bahn. Instead of flooring it to run his @ss over, like any sane American would do, she swerved to miss it, lost control of the car, drifted off the bahn, and totaled the car. The only other car we had was a Daihatsu Rocky, which is similar to a Suzuki Sidekick. We needed a car quickly. Saw an ad in S&S for a 95 Mustang GT in Hohenfels. Hooked up with the seller, she took a look, and we bought the car. She drove it for about 2 weeks and she said she didn't like the long hood. I told her I'd do her a favor and let her take the Daihatsu. I was never into the car tuning thing, so it stayed stock for a while. Then one day, I picked up and issue of Muscle Mustangs and Fast Fords from the bookstore and I've been hooked HPs ever since.

This past August, I took a week of leave to spend some quality time with the kids at home. My son had been bugging me all week to take him golfing, so on Thursday of that week, I decided to take him to play 9 holes. On the way there, there's an Auto Exchange (off-post military sales) dealer and a partnering used car dealer. As we drive by, I see the Z06 and think to myself, "They're gonna want WAY too much money for that thing!" I quickly forget about it. Then on the way home, I drive past the dealer without any intention of stopping, but seeing that Z06 one more time just got the better of me and I ended up turning around. I go into the dealership and ask him how much they want. He gives me the price and I'm thinking to myself, "No f00king way," while keeping my emotions to myself. I tell the guy that I need to do some research and will call him back. That night I check the web and find out that their asking price is about $8K under book value and even a couple $Ks under trade-in value. I call him on Friday and ask him how much he'll give me for the Mustang and he offers me $1K less than what I feel is fair and tell him that if he gives me my asking price for the Mustang thal I'll be in Monday with the check. Well, that was one of the longest weekends of my life, but Monday came around and I went to the credit union got the financing squared away. Then took a couple of more hours to get the customs paperwork done and was back at the dealership. Saw it on Thursday and it was mine on Monday...most expensive impulse buy I ever made and I don't regret any of it!