I've been looking for a 1982 Camaro Pace Car replica for 30 years. Yeah, 30 years. That's long before I could drive but I always thought the 1982 Pace Car replicas were some of the nicest looking third gen Camaros ever built. I owned an '84 Z28 back in the late 80s, a couple of 4th gens in more recent years, but never bought my dream car.
Early in 2011 I decided I wasn't getting any younger and if I ever wanted to get one of these cars to enjoy that I needed to do it now. I had two requirements: the car had to have the much-criticized Crossfire Injection system and it had to be rust free.
I don't know why I have an attachment to the Crossfire system. I remember when the third gen Camaros debuted -- they were beyond modern for the time. I guess the CFI system, with dual throttle bodies, represented cutting edge technology at the time. Also, knowing that a lot of people junked the Crossfire systems, I figured it might be a novelty at car shows and such. And it looks kinda cool too.
So I started a serious search for a car locally and across the country using eBay, Craigslist and various internet forums. I tracked at least a dozen or more cars in varying conditions, price points and options throughout the year.
I had a budget, of course, and while there were some really nice cars in original shape, the asking prices were well north of where I wanted to be.
I almost pulled the trigger on a few different cars over the summer of 2011. One was sold before I got to it, others I couldn't come to an agreement on price. As summer turned to fall, the number of cars for sale decreased and I figured I'd have to wait until 2012.
In early November, a listing popped up on camaropacecars.com for an original, 67,000 mile Pace Car in Florida. The seller had owned the car since 1984 and was moving on in life, so he no longer had time for the Camaro but wanted to make sure he sold it to someone who understood what it was and who wouldn't destroy its originality. And the price was right.
Several weeks and emails later, on Sunday 11/27/11, I agreed to buy the car. That's a picture of it at its former home in Florida. Fortunately for me, we had friends who lived five minutes away from him and were able to inspect the car in person and assist with getting payment done.
After 30 years -- I had my Pace Car.