On the Road: Camaro Stories

In the history of the Camaro and its IROC series, 1986 had several firsts.

It was the only year Chevrolet installed a centre high-mounted stop lamp to the outside hatchback glass. It was on all of its base model Sport Coupe, Z28s and IROC-Zs.

It was also the last year for the L69 5.0 305 HO 4-bbl options, with 63 built for racing in Canada's Player's series and 11 sold publicly, according to General Motors. Also, 1986 was the last year for the Berlinetta trim level of Camaro.

And it's the model year for Cleveland, OH-based WD Detailing's recent restoration project.

On Aug. 2, WD Detailing posted on its YouTube channel its work on an abandoned 1986 Chevrolet Camaro IROC-Z that had only 18,692 original miles. The car was in storage for almost 30 years and was owned by a man who died and whose brother did not know auto repair.

The company set out to transform it into something that looks brand new and lives up to its name which stands for International Race of Champions. Calling it a "crazy three-day restoration plan," the team transformed the muscle car back to its original black beauty lustre.

At the end of their YouTube video, they surprised the owner and met with an appraiser who valued the car at $20,000-$22,000 US from its $4,000-$6,000 US condition before the restoration.

The detailers took a car that was covered in dirt and debris for decades and pressure-washed the exterior, followed by a wash, clay bar and paint polishing as well as full interior detailing. Among the many jobs they packed into those three days was changing the fuel pump and pumping out the old gas in the tank, as well as fresh oil, coolant and a new battery.

"Wow, that looks crazy good," the owner Chris said.

The car was getting ready for auction to help support the owner's mother, according to auto.yahoo.com.

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