1985 Retro Road Test The Big Three
1985 Trans Am-Mustang GT and IRCOC-Z Road Test, back in the 80s there was a weekly TV show called Motorweek and they would test the new cars of that era. We just so happened to come across the one they did for the big three back in ’85.
First and foremost we have to show a little love to Motorweek for the video be sure to check out their You Tube Channel and check out their videos they do have some interesting road tests.
Click Here to Check Out Motorweeks Channel…
1985…
Was a big year for automakers performance was starting to comeback and most off people were buying it again. The late 70s were horrible except for you 1979 Pontiac Trans Am pushing out 225 Horsepower and the L-82 Corvette with 220. Then you had the Z28 boasting about 185 to 195 Horsepower yea ummm no..
Around 1982 they were bumping up power in many brands and GM finally redesigned their F-Bodies in 82 (Camaro-Firebird) then the Corvette in 1984. The Mustang just got different front and rear treatments and power bumps as well. Dodge was coming out with nasty little 4 cylinder turbos that were matching the V-8 cars. It wasn’t much but a start.
But for ’85 the big changes were starting to emerge another design change for the dynamic duo with lower ground effects and optional Tuned Port Fuel Injection, the Trans Am would get 10 less horsepower than the Z28 and IROC-Z due to the lower hood line. ( The IROC-Z was basically a sticker and rim package with standard Fog Lights the engine choices were the same as the Z28 I had a ’86 Z28 with the factory Fog Lights)
The base 305 was at 175 Horse then you had the 190 Horse 5.0 HO for both the horsepower was the same for both due to the fact they both used the same air cleaner set up. The Tuned Port was different because the IROC took its air from behind the headlights the duct was on top of the radiator. The Trans Am air duct was curved and took warmer air from the fender-well.
The Trans Am’s lower sloped hood-line prevented the use of the less restrictive air duct the IROC/Z28 would use.
Both had beefed up suspension and handled really well they were low and wide cars which helped a lot as well. The Trans Am had the better WS6 package which gave it a slight edge over its Chevy Cousin.
The Mustang GT had its own 5.0 HO but it was three cubic inches smaller coming in at 302 cubic inches and 210 Horsepower. But the Mustang was much lighter and was a little pocket rocket now due to its small size the handling was not all that good. And that back end would just get away from you.
All cars you had the option of automatic or 5 speed and T-tops, it you wanted a convertible you had to get a Mustang.
These cars were really starting to come in to their own sadly for 1986 if you were a GM fan you had to deal with the fact that the power would be down to a camshaft change you see after a certain amount of miles the camshaft lobes one or two would go flat and you had to replace the cam. My cousin worked at the local Chevy dealer in Belleville NJ and always talk about it.
This only affected the Tuned Port Motors not the 4 Barrel Carb 5.0 HOs they were still at 190 Horse the 215 Horse TPI would go down to 190 and that made big difference. My ’86 had the TPI they gave it a 2:56 rear and it was a total slug. The HO cars got the better rear and quicker acceleration.
The Mustang would get fuel injection and 200 horsepower it lost 10 horse but gained it back in torque so by far this was the quicker car but the GM F bodies were 1 to 3 miles per hour faster in the top end.
But lets get back to 1985 in the video you will see The IROC with the TPI and Automatic you could not get a 5 speed and 305 TPI until later in the 80s. the Trans Am has the 5.0 HO and 5 Speed and the Mustang is a 5 speed as well .
The IROC is the slower of the two in the quatermile blast due to those shitty gears I told you guys about. Then the Trans Am gets beat bad but the Mustang GT because of that lighter weight. And that would happen for the next 3 years on the street if you had a 305 Trans Am or IROC/Z28 .
By 1987 GM would start offering and optional 350 in the F-Bodies and by ’89 they would start bumping the horsepower in the 305s . In 1989 GM came out with a dual catalytic converter option that really freed up the power.
But again the Mustang with lighter weight and better factory goodies usually was the victor at the stoplight to stoplight runs in your daily driving. My ’86 was always getting smoked until I did a little work of my own heh heh.
Well there you have it the younger generation may look back and laugh, hell even I do my 4 cylinder GMC Terrain puts out just as much power the base models of F-Bodies.
But when I was a teen I loved and dreamed about these cars, I would drool over every one that came into the gas station I pumped gas at. Just waiting for the day I would have my very own.
I eventually did get my ’86 Z28 had my fun and stupidly sold it for a dumbass reason. But man for the time I had it I loved every min of it, was she the fastest no hell no. But the most dependable car I ever had, give or take a few glitches in 80s technology. And I would do it all over again.
Not only am I the founder of The JRX Foundation I am also the host of JRX Reviews. I love driving my Trans Am everywhere even state to state when we are helping people. Well weather permitting, She puts a lot of smiles on people’s faces and I love seeing that. This site does contain affiliate links at no extra cost to the customer we get a commission and that goes to keep the doors open and the people fed at our charity.