Everyone’s opinions seem to vary within the motoring hobby. That’s not a bad thing at all, and in fact, it’s what usually makes this fun. You’re no doubt familiar with the Revell company. But how many times can you honestly say that a plastic model car was the platform that eventually led to the real thing?
David Mayans from Corona, California has a story behind his ’87 Camaro IROC-Z. In fact, it’s one that goes back to 1986, and unlike many car purchases, David’s decision to buy a 3rd-Gen was actually inspired by a Revell model of the same make. In 1986, Dave was snooping-around in a hobby store in Fountain Valley, California. That was when his eye caught hold of a bright red, 1:16-scale IROC-Z Camaro, and for Dave, it was one of his first exposures to the F-Body.
David recalls not being a huge fan of the 3rd-Gen, one that he says was space-age for its own time, “I recall thinking that it was very futuristic-looking, compared to the 1st and 2nd-Gen Camaros and Firebirds that I preferred at the time,” says Mayans. “I left the hobby store thinking that I was ‘not sold’ on the new gen’s look.”
That one statement might have been true for a lot of us at the time, but then the order of things would bring David to a real IROC-Z that was nearly identical to the Revell replica, and nearly a decade later. Mayan’s dad was a mechanic; one of his co-workers was selling a Z28, and for David, it was love at first sight. He bought the F-Body in 1995 with 67,000 miles on the gauge panel. But even as it currently stands, Mayan’s 3rd-Gen IROC is still a running machine, with 416,000 miles of memories.
Dave hopes that the carĀ will runĀ to its 500,000-mile mark, as heĀ drives theĀ Camaro daily. Nonetheless, it can be said that this clean, F-Body classic is collecting a lot of miles, but not too much dust!
Fanatical about everything LS and Buick Turbo-6, it goes without saying that Sal Alaimo Jr. is on it, when it comes to covering anything late-model. But his musclecar roots can be traced back to Chevelles, Skylarks and the rest of the A-Body family of GM performance!
