Rags to Riches
Kirk Johnson of
De Soto,
KS purchased this Rampside
from Bill Bernard of Canby, OR in May, 2007.
Kirk had the following to say about his purchase in August, 2007:
"I am the truck's
fourth owner. Bill Bernard, service manager of Canby Ford, drove it
to work almost daily. His parents owned a salvage yard and Bill is still
driving a '62, I think, Rampside. He was going to restore my truck, but he
has no place to work on cars. Apparently the Ford dealer would not let him
use the shop! The three previous owners lived in the
Salem/Portland, OR area.
I bought it for $1025,
which included a driver’s side skin and an unholy
“new” ramp.
I took time off from work in June to drive the truck home to Kansas.
In the 1900 miles from Jefferson, OR, it
did not use a quart of oil. I only had to downshift from fourth gear near
Cheyenne, WY. Bob Hill of Jefferson, OR, took the pictures from the
trip. He followed me to Kansas City in a new Dodge pickup because he and his
friends did not believe the Rampside would make it. I drank free beer during
the trip every time someone lost a bet. One was the Oregon border, one was the
Rockies, and one was Kansas City. I sure wish I was a drinker; I 'd still be
drinking.
I plan to take care of the
rust ASAP and plan to have it 'done'
sometime in the spring of 2009. It runs really
smooth right now. It might be running a bit rich,
but I have been spending too much time trying to get it registered. The
Kansas Highway Patrol had to find the 'secret'
serial number and could not. Corvair Kid to the rescue!
'Rags,' the ratrod Rampside, is
now legal."
Kirk, great story. I was more than happy to help you locate the hidden
serial number for the KHP. Keep us posted!
In April, 2008, Kirk wrote to say that he had completed a quick repaint of
the truck, to help protect the body and even out the color. In Kirk's words:
"I tried the 50 dollar paint job. If you are fifty feet away, it
ain't too bad!"
I agree. It looks just fine. Nice for it to be all one color! Kirk also
mentioned that the engine unfortunately blew, which is the main reason he
decided to go with the $50 approach for now.
Information from the data plate
