Ron Casadei poses with his Best in Show-winning Camaro. Photos by author.
Ron Casadei has spent the past three-plus decades brewing beer for Anheuser Busch in Newark, New Jersey, so perhaps it’s no coincidence that his latest 1967 Camaro is finished in red (Bolero Red, to be exact) with white stripes. One of 602 Z/28 models built for the 1967 model year, Ron’s recently restored Camaro stood out from the pack at last Sunday’s Musclepalooza XXIV, sponsored by Dark Horse Customs, picking up the Favorite Chevrolet award on its way to Best in Show.
Ron is no stranger to early Camaros, having owned several examples (including two other first-year Z/28 models) over the years. His latest, acquired in a divorce sale circa 2009, was found in garbage cans at a storage facility, but Ron was hesitant to call the car a basket case. “The owner had started the restoration, so the quarter panels were done,” he told us, “but the rest of the car was in pieces.”
A bit of research proved the car to be a genuine Z/28, but its first engine had been lost to time, requiring a period-correct 302-cu.in. replacement. Both the Muncie M21 close-ratio four-speed transmission and the Positraction rear with 3.73:1 gearing were original, as was much of the Camaro’s interior. Though some would have shied away from the project (fearing the parts missing from the garbage cans), Ron saw the bones of a solid first-year Camaro, built with both the Z/28 and Rally Sport packages.
As the reproduction window sticker shows, this was a high-option Z/28, delivered with disc brakes; the deluxe interior package; the Z28 “Special Engine & Equipment Package;” tinted glass; a tilting wood grain steering wheel; rear window defroster; a center console; a console-mounted instrument cluster; the Rally Sport package; the M21 transmission; vacuum assist power brakes; the interior style trim group; the push button radio; courtesy lamps; and the 3.73:1 Positraction rear axle. Given that Chevrolet did little to market the Z28 in its debut year (as the package was intended to be for road-racers only), it’s likely that this example was ordered by a buyer looking to be fast at the track, yet comfortable on the way there and back.
As with past restorations, Ron entrusted the work to Albert Galdi of Central Jersey Musclecar, and the process stretched out over three and a half years. The end result was worth the wait, as Ron calls the Camaro “the nicest car I’ve ever owned.”
Which creates a problem of a different sort. Edison, New Jersey, isn’t exactly a motoring mecca, meaning that Ron drives the Camaro sparingly, taking it to shows as his schedule allows. We’re certainly glad he opted to attend Musclepalooza XXIV, and with two new additions to his trophy case, we suspect that Ron feels the same way.
See original article at" https://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2016/09/07/restored-1967-camaro-z28-rs-takes-best-in-show-at-musclepalooza-xxiv/
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