“Win on Sunday, sell on Monday” has been the rationale behind factory involvement in motorsports for eons. Whether or not success on the race track actually translates to higher sales numbers, I don’t know, but that doesn’t stop automakers from offering commemorative editions of cars with ties to racing. And if that racing involves a one-make series, the bragging rights are there for the taking. Both Chevy and Dodge cashed in on this one, in their time, and today we’re going to take a look at one of each of their special editions.
Both of our competitors yesterday were powered by the same engine, the venerable Chevy 350 small-block. One or two of you took umbrage at my calling the Jeep Commando “ugly,” but that’s tough; I stand by my assessment. The old green Checker cab is no beauty queen either, but enough of you preferred it to give it a slight win.
I agree. I love removable-top 4x4s, but the late-model Commando would be way down on my list if I were actually to go looking for one. I just can’t get over that front end, or see over it, probably. Besides, I’ve always had a soft spot for the Checker. It’s just so brutish and utilitarian that it comes across as charming. Plus, it would match my truck.
What would happen if you took the best racing drivers from all different series, who are all used to driving different types of cars, and let them race against each other in a bunch of identical cars? That was the idea behind the International Race of Champions, or IROC for short. (It’s “international” in the same way the baseball “World Series” involves the whole world, but whatever.) But what car do you choose for such an elite gathering of drivers? In 1974, for IROC’s first season, Porsche 911s were used. But from 1975 until 1990, the IROC series was run with Chevy Camaros. By 1985, the popularity of the series prompted Chevy to offer the IROC-Z package for the Camaro Z28.
In 1990, IROC switched from Chevy to Dodge, and the cars were Dodge Daytonas, at least visually. Under the skin they were RWD tube-frame stock cars, just like the Camaros had been. Seeing the success of the IROC-Z Camaro, Dodge wasted no time in creating an IROC package for the Daytona. But the Daytona IROCs are a lot harder to come by than the Camaros are. Our friend Stephen Walter Gossin found one for sale this week, though, so I had to go and find a nice Camaro IROC to pit against it. Let’s check them out.
1987 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 IROC-Z – $17,500
Engine/drivetrain: 5.0-liter (or maybe 5.7 liter) OHV V8, four-speed automatic, RWD
Location: Menasha, WI
Odometer reading: 62,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
If you’re close to my age, there was probably some guy in your high school who drove an IROC Camaro, and he was probably a dick. [Ed Note: This is a song reference and not a stereotype, I’m realizing. -DT]. But that’s not the car’s fault. The IROC-Z was as fancy as Camaros got in the ’80s, with bigger tires, stiffer suspension, and more power than a standard Z28. It also had the all-important “IROC-Z” lettering along the bottom of the doors, because what was the point of spending the extra money if you couldn’t brag about it? The suspension improvements really did help, though, and made the already-good-handling Camaro even better.
A few different flavors of small-block V8 were offered in the IROC. This one obviously has Tuned Port fuel injection, but I don’t know whether it’s a 305 or a 350. It’s a difference of thirty-five horsepower in the automatic cars, which is significant. We get very little information about this car, only that it has low miles, new tires, and a new battery. Any further assessment of its condition will have to be done in person.
I don’t remember seeing very many red-on-red IROCs, and I’m not sure I like it. It’s too much red, I think. It is in good condition, except for a little wear on the driver’s seat. It has an aftermarket stereo, which one would hope is good enough to make your Mötley Crüe CDs rattle the T-tops. Don’t have any Crüe CDs? That’s all right; there’s a CD holder in the back seat, and I’d bet a Bud Light there’s one in there.
With fresh registration, new tires, and a new battery, I suspect this car was just recently pulled out of storage, which would explain the low mileage. It also probably spared it from a lot of Wisconsin winters, so I wouldn’t be too worried about rust underneath. And for this price, there had better not be any.
1993 Dodge Daytona IROC R/T – $9,000
Engine/drivetrain: Turbocharged 2.2-liter DOHC inline 4, five-speed manual, FWD
Location: Bolivia, NC
Odometer reading: 103,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
The Dodge Daytona didn’t have the long pedigree of the Camaro, having only arrived on the scene in 1984, but it had a lot going for it. Performance-oriented versions of the Daytona were available from the start, with turbocharged engines, and later some suspension tuning by Carroll Shelby. Sure, it was front-wheel drive, and based on the lowly K-car, but the Daytona managed to hold its own performance-wise against the Camaro and Mustang. After IROC made the switch from Chevy to Dodge, the Daytona IROC hit showrooms, with all the Shelby goodies and special badging. But Dodge saved the best Daytona for last; in 1992 and ’93, a special IROC R/T model was offered, with a little something extra under the hood.
In place of the usual 2.5-liter turbo or Mitsubishi 3.0-liter V6 engine, the R/T featured a twin-cam 16-valve, 2.2-liter turbo engine, making an impressive 224 horsepower. It’s the same engine found in the infamous Dodge Spirit R/T sedan, as well as a select few Chrysler TCs by Maserati. It was only available with a five-speed manual, of course, and probably yanks the steering wheel right out of your hands with the torque-steer it produces. But hey, a tribute to a race car should be a little raucous, right? This one has just a little over a hundred thousand miles on it, and the seller says it runs and drives well.
If there’s one place where this car is a step backward from earlier Daytonas, it’s the dashboard. I never did like this redesigned dashboard, which was also shared with the Chrysler LeBaron at the time. The switchgear feels cheap and flimsy, and some controls are in downright weird places. The old square dash was a lot more logical. Nevertheless, it’s in good condition, and those seats do look comfortable.
I love the seller’s attempt at some artsy shots in this ad, but the trailer under a tarp in the background kind of spoils it. Oh well, at least they tried. You can see that the Daytona’s paint is in great shape, and the body is nice and straight. I wouldn’t expect any rust issues on this one either, but take a peek underneath just to make sure. I love the fact that both this car and the Camaro have aftermarket louvers on the rear windows. That’s something you don’t see much anymore. Does anybody even make them for newer cars?
So that’s our show for next week. See, I didn’t get too weird with the choices. Well, except for those trucks. Next week, I think I’m going to go international and look at some cheap car options overseas that are old enough to import. Until then, you can choose which era of IROC you want to celebrate. Thanks for reading!
Feels like a lot of money for both these. I love a 3rd gen but a bargain basement price was part of the appeal when I was in high school. Voted Camaro just because its a clean low mileage example.
This is an easy choice – there are IROC-Zs everywhere, but that Daytona is pretty rare, and is likely to only increase in value. A quick search tells me there were only 553 IROC R/Ts built over two years, and only 212 in 1993. It’s not like this is your garden variety trailer park Daytona. This is a MOPAR Holy Grail.
this, a blue one sold last month on BaT for $28K but with a third of the mileage. No way this one would sell for less than it is right now unless the new owner lets it fall into disrepair
As a kid of the 80s’ this is a harder choice than my screen name would make it seem. I love FWD Mopar, but this is my favorite Camaro body style. But in the end, the Daytona R/T is the holy grail of FWD Mopars (at least until the SRT 4 came around) Lotus reworked head shelby connections hard to pass up. Plus I have driven both, the Daytona is more entertaining to drive, there is torque steer and turbo lag but spooling up coming out of a corner it is hilarious fun,
3rd generation F-Bodies being worth so much more than their contemporary and significantly less common 4th generation Corvette brother has always been so fascinating to me.
In no world would I ever pay that much for a Camaro, let alone an 80’s one, IROC or not. And yes, it’s too much red. There needs to be some contrast in there ffs.
Welp, in this world, they are legitimately trading for that kind of money these days.
Yeah, and I dig them for sure. But I just can’t justify that price no matter what. Nothing I liked growing up is in a price range I am comfortable with, which is sad (or I’m just cheap (or both)).
There is no such thing as too much red.
What’s unfortunate is red with a grey interior – Ugh.
That said – there are other cars I’d rather spend my money on which won’t make me look like I’m grasping for my high-school years.
Pass.
I’ll take an Iroc,a fake mullet,and a pack of Marlboro reds….to go please.
Hmmm… not often do we see such a price discrepancy in our choices here on Nice Price or No Dice. It does throw into stark relief, though, exactly how much of an emotional decision this would be.
The Camaro, at least to my eyes, looks better. The third-gen cars had their issues (the fact that they would routinely get smoked at the stoplight by the relatively staid and upright Mustang LX coupe with the 5.0 engine being one of the big ones), but aesthetically, GM won the pony-car wars of the ‘80s. That sleek, low-profile design with sharp edges and just enough creases, vents, and ornamentation to make the car visually interesting and distinctive without becoming completely overwrought (for the ‘80s, anyway) looked amazing in 1987 and still cuts a nice figure today. The Camaro’s association with your high-school bully (and nowadays with the meth dealer your high school bully very well may have become) is unfortunate, but I don’t hold that against the car, that’s not really its fault. V8 power is hard to turn your nose up at, and as a platform for modification, the 3rd-gen Camaro is about as welcoming as they come. 305 or 350, you have lots of options from mild to wild if you want to wake it up a bit. The automatic transmission is a bit of a sticking point, but of all the cars to try to swap a manual into, this is probably one of the better choices.
The Daytona, honestly, is probably the thinking-person’s answer here. While you won’t get that sonorous V8 soundtrack (and let’s be honest, V8s of this era were better at turning gasoline into noise than speed), the combination of punchy, in-your-face 1980s-style turbo power delivery and a well-sorted suspension can be a ton of fun regardless of the driven wheels (ask me about old Saabs). You still get the wedge-y Giugiaro style (I know it wasn’t him, but by the mid 1980s, pretty much everything kind of was regardless of his involvement), but in a package that doesn’t scream “SHUT UP, NERD” as loudly as a Camaro. And for, what, a bit over half the price for similar condition? Who could say no?
Thing is, though, I think, if I had the cash, I’d pick the IROC. I know it’s less bang for the buck, I know the Daytona’s probably the better buy, hell, I know the IROC would actually take more time, effort, and money for me to tweak it up just how I like it, but… I like the Camaro more. I like it better as a car, I like it better as a period piece, hell, I like it better as a statement. I have an emotional connection with a third-gen, V8 Camaro that I am just not gonna’ get with a Dodge Daytona, and that’s… kinda’ worth the extra scratch to me, even if that’s a bad-to-ruinous financial decision.
If I gotta’ pick one, I’m taking the Camaro, and then I’m digging out my Skid Row albums and driving around with the windows down and the T-tops off (they’re gonna’ leak anyway…)
A smiley for the Skid Row mention.
Tough choice. Neither of these cars are of interest to me, so I can’t imagine paying even half of the asking price for either. I’ve expressed confusion with the Radwood phenomenon before – there are ’80s and ’90s cars I like, but in general, those are my 1st and 2nd least favorite automotive decades. I don’t get the appeal.
Plus, neither of these cars offer much to write home about in the performance department. It is hard to get excited about performance cars that would struggle to beat a 2026 econobox around a track and would lose a drag race to many modern 3/4 ton trucks.
I voted for the Camaro because I like the red interior. Also, I suspect it is more fun to drive. I have a hard time believing the Daytona is fun to drive – turbocharged, FWD, and ’90s are a terrible combination.
It’s nostalgia, so if you were born too early or too late, I understand the bewilderment around ’80s and ’90s cars. Nostalgia isn’t logical, but neither is auto enthusiasm.
I suspect I was born at precisely the wrong time to “get” Radwood cars (particularly ’80s and early ’90s cars). As a kid, I remember ’60s and ’70s cars being the cool, old cars and ’90s cars being the interesting, modern cars. ’80s and early ’90s cars were too old to be new and cool while simultaneously too new to be vintage and cool.
I have a strange fascination with ’70s cars, so obviously it is not an issue of thinking ’80s or early ’90s cars are inherently bad. I freely acknowledge a lot of cars I love are objectively crap.
If I recall the Daytona is quite a bit faster than the Camaro. Remember the Daytona weighed 2800 lbs and had 225 hp. It will dust something like a modern Sentra or Altima easily. They have 6.1 sec 0-60, which is quite a bit faster than a lot of modern cars including lesser model V8 trucks. Also 90’s turbo cars are a ton of fun. they have turbo lag but that means you need to be good at keeping them in the power, which is part of the fun. Driving something like the Daytona or an Eclipse Turbo or a Ford Probe Turbo, is really kind of hilarious. I had a friend with a Shelby Daytona modified with more boost and a few other tricks that likely got it around to 250 hp. Not the most reliable doing that but in the early 2000’s it would embarrass a lot of cars. smoky FWD burnouts, passing c4 corvettes on on-ramps, that kind of thing.
I’m almost certain a new set of modern, high performing rubber would be enough to make it faster.
Some commenters are claiming they are both overpriced, Really?
The Camaro looks pretty good (inside and out), appears to be all original and has low miles..asking $18, most likely to sell for $15…And 3rd gen Camaros are still appreciating.
$9k for the Daytona looks like a great deal, when was the last time you saw one on the road? What else can you buy for that money?
Do you think that Daytona will ever be worth LESS than that?
Do you think that Daytona will ever be worth LESS than that?
Almost certainly, at least when you adjust for inflation. Cars go up in value as the people who love that particular model get older and wealthier. Eventually values will peak and go down. Cars from the ’80s and ’90s are probably nearing that peak at the moment. Plus, the Daytona doesn’t even have universal appeal among people that like ’90s cars. It is a niche car.
It will be worth more than that, but it might take longer to sell. There are K-car (and its derivatives) fans out there. This one, in David Tracy’s words, is the holy grail of K-Cars along with the Spirit R/T. Its engine, believe it or not is more special than the Camaro’s SBC. Lotus got their hands on that 4 cyl, it’s got a Heavy Duty 5 speed only made for that engine, it’s something special.
Actually a blue Daytona sold for way more than this in BaT. It also has way less mileage than this Daytona but it still sold for more than either of these: https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1993-chrysler-daytona/
Camaros are a dime a dozen (even though this one is in great shape!) so I’m going Daytona just to be more unique.
Fixing it is going to be a PITA, but dude, a Turbo 3 Daytona?! Against an automatic Camaro?!
Sign me up!
Today’s choice is between plowing into the tree on the outside of the curve or the rocks on the inside.
The only difference between oversteer and understeer is which end goes through the fence first!!! Lol
I was going to vote for the Daytona before reading about the shocking engine. No brainer!
It always surprised me Chrysler put the giant minivan steering wheel in the Daytona and LeBaron (sometimes? I’ve definitely seen the LeBaron with the smaller 3-spoke version)
It’s just the least sporty looking thing and I know they were making the 3-spoke at the same exact time.
Both of these are overpriced 🙁
I really want to want the Daytona. I wasn’t even really aware of these, the manual is better, the price is much better.
But…. this is my favorite gen Camaro, and this one is pretty damn sweet. I would like a manual, of course, but something about being able to power brake it and really flog it without having to worry about doing a good job shifting just fits the personality of the car.
I owned a Z-28 and a Chrysler product of that era. They were like the women I dated back then: Their high-maintenance and neediness eclipsed any pleasure I derived from them. Therefore, no thanks to both of these cars.
Awesome, you missed the point of the exercise and managed to work in some casual misogyny at the same time, all in three sentences. Thank you for that.
You read way too much into what is nothing more than owning up to my poor decisions. It’s all on me. Hopefully, you have the ability to do the same.
Camaro for me as long as it is someone else’s money. I’m a fan of Third Gens but prefer the Firebird’s more rounded lines and slightly nicer interior. Too bad it’s an auto but the ol’ T5 manual in those was nothing to write home about so not a big loss.
Camaro – I figure that it’s not that bad priced if Gen-Xers have any money to finally buy their dream cars when they start retiring.
What’s this word, “retire” you talk about?
We’ll be doing that with the RAV4 before winter. Need plenty of tread depth for the snow, you know.
Oh, wait – is that not what GENERIC_NAME meant?
Nice.
The Daytona is cheaper. It’s a manual. It has enough miles that show it was actually driven and likely/hopefully maintained. I almost bought a Daytona in 1994 when my Camaro was ready to send a rod into space.
I’ll still take the Z-28. The heart wants what it wants.
Camaro, but only just. I’ve owned several F-bodies, though never a third gen even though I’ve wanted to, but that isn’t what is driving my choice – I’ve been there, done that with those Chryslers and have no desire to go back. The Camaro is idiotically overpriced, but so is the Daytona, so I’ll go with the overpriced option that I don’t hate.
Also, the Camaro is a 305, as the 350 cars had a little script that said something like “5.7L TUNED PORT INJECTION” under the Z28 badge on the sides and back.
There can be no question on this one. Automatic or not, ridiculous price or not.
Camaro is the only IROC.
Preferring the old Daytona/LeBaron dash to the 1990+? Eww
Interesting car today but massively overpriced. Another neither day for me.
That IROC was basically my dream car in high school. Being from a lower working class area there were none in my high school parking lot even in the early 90’s when I was there. Had to visit some private prep schools across town to see them in school parking lots.
The problem is price. Objectively a 80’s Camaro is no a good car. There are SO many better options to consider when spending almost $18K. Including a late model Camaro that would run circles around it’s grandpappy.