“I’ve been a car enthusiast since my early days in Cuba,” says Tampa plastic surgeon Dr. Ernesto Ruas, “where I grew up with great classic ’50s and ’60s cars. A while back, I was looking for a ’59 Chevy Impala, the one with the big wings, but sitting next to it in the showroom was this 1968 Camaro convertible. It was like my very first car in high school, and I bought it on the spot.”
Ruas drove that Camaro through college “until the seams came apart” and while he may no longer have that particular Camaro, he does own a similar car that he’s restored over the years.
He drives his present Camaro weekly and has updated the 327 V-8 with fuel injection, “resto-modding” the car with everything from a new fuel tank and radiator to gauges. He smiles: “It’s now cleaner than an operating room.”
Dr. Ruas should know.
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