Basement finds: Uncovering a pristine 1990 Chevrolet IROC Z28 Camaro

We’ve all seen the stories about the cars that become “accidental” barn finds. These are cool rides that were stored away to be worked on eventually, or maybe ones where the owners didn’t have time and sort of forgot about them. But what if just the right car was bought and hidden away on purpose? Well, then, what you end up with can truly be spectacular. Such is the case with the 1990 Z28 1LE IROC Camaro that’s been hidden in a basement for 34 years. Oh, and get this: It has six miles on the odometer and was never plated or driven! 
Yeah, you read that’s right, six freaking miles! This perfectly optioned third-gen 1LE Camaro was bought and then rolled into storage, where it was forgotten for over three decades. The result is what must be the most perfectly preserved, lowest-mile 1LE IROC Z28 Camaro on the planet.  
Our story starts out with Camaro lover Donald Toalston. Toalston first read of the “Ordered to Go” Camaro 1LE in Car Craft magazine in March of 1989. Later that same year he read a story in Super Chevy magazine called The Secret Camaro. These two stories convinced Tolston that this was the Camaro he HAD to have (see the letter from him in the gallery). 
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He hit up Lavery Chevrolet in Alliance, Ohio, to get the properly optioned Camaro. If Lavery sounds familiar it’s because it was a high-performance dealer in the 1960s and sold COPO #65, a 1969 Camaro with the ultra-rare 9737 option! The 1990 Camaro was delivered by Cassens Transport Company from the Camaro plant on January 4, 1990, to Lavery Chevrolet. Notice the rare radio- and sticker-delete options. 
Once delivered to Lavery the 1990 1LE Z28 IROC Camaro went through their pre-delivery inspection (PDI). Toalston made sure the dealership carefully removed the window sticker, and found the car’s build sheet, which clearly shows the 1LE option code along with specifics such as the decal and radio-delete options. After the PDI the rare Camaro sat on the dealer’s showroom floor for two weeks before being transported by flatbed to Toalston’s attorney’s building and maneuvered into a corner of the basement. At this point it had 6.3 miles on the odometer and was never even plated! 
And there it sat, properly stored on jackstands, under a car cover for 34 years. It was at this point that collector Jeff Makovich entered the picture. (You might remember Makovich from the story we did on his 1969 Camaro COPO barn find.) Well, he received a call from a racing friend about a low-mile 1LE IROC Camaro that was available at an estate sale, since the owner had passed away. Makovich got in contact with Merrily, Toalston’s niece, and the pair struck a deal for the time-capsule Camaro. Makovich was the first person to pull back the car cover since her uncle passed away and it was an emotional moment for everyone involved. 
Makovich assembled a small team, including his dad and best friend, Matt, to extract the Camaro from the basement tomb. After removing the cover and opening the doors the crew saw that the interior was absolutely mint! The dealer floormats were still in place and all the original books and paperwork were in the center console. The car was perfect, without a scratch, and the engine had all its original belts and hoses. The tires were aired-up and the Camaro was removed from the jackstands and put on wheel dollies to make getting it out of the basement easier. The team also had to remove all the bookcases and other items that filled the basement so the Camaro could be removed. 
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Makovich recalled, “Once we got the car free and clear we pushed it down the long hall. When the car was originally delivered there wasn’t a ramp, just a loading dock that the flatbed backed up to, so we were lucky that in the last 30-plus years someone installed the ramp.” This was the first time the 1LE had seen daylight since January 4, 1990!  
Once it was safely relocated to Makovich’s house he had Shawn from Next Level Auto Detailing bring the Camaro’s finish back to life and give the 1LE Z28 IROC Camaro a careful detailing.
It turns out the Camaro was indeed perfectly preserved thanks to the foresight of Donald Toalston. Makovich is currently getting the 1LE Z28 IROC Camaro ready to fire up by replacing the oil, flushing the radiator and attending to other long overdue maintenance items. Once it’s ready we’re sure to see this preserved piece of Camaro history on display at events around the country.
Photos provided by Jeff Makovich