Little Red Caboose
Marilyn and J.C. Ash of Sand
Springs, OK, purchased this Rampside in 1993 from the estate of Walter
Schwamb in Broken Arrow, OK. They also own another
'64 Rampside and a '62 Loadside. Marilyn had
the following to say about this '64 Rampside:
"This truck was painted red with a white belt when we
got it. I named it 'Caboose' and when we get it restored, which will be very
soon, it will stay red with the white belt. We believe it was turquoise when
new.
The truck had a car engine in it when we bought it. It now
has a truck engine (replacement
block). It has a 4 speed transmission.
Overall, the truck is close to original. It has
a radio and I think the dash chrome is original '64. It has vertical fine
stripes on the dash and radio.
The glove box is smooth.
The factory-delivered price, according to the original
invoice, was $2300."
Marilyn is quite correct that the truck was originally
turquoise--the paint code confirms this. It was solid color originally. The
vertical pattern in the dash and radio bezel is correct for '64 and the smooth
glove box door is correct for a vehicle with standard trim.
This truck also has a delivery date stamped on the
driver's door pillar. The June, 1964 date agrees with the production month,
which is documented here.
I can't wait to see the results of the restoration. The
truck looks pretty good already!
Marilyn shared the following in early November 2005:
"I'm enclosing a picture of Caboose at Christmas. The
little truck is a big hit in our area during the holiday season. We light
him up with red and white lights and moving wheels. Santa sits in the
driver's seat and the bed of the truck is loaded with huge wrapped packages
and a bike.
We live just off a busy highway so he is visible to a
lot of people. We usually turn the lights on December 1, but if we are a
little slow, the phone starts ringing and people stop me on the streets
fussing about it!
We have been doing this for about 10 years but once he
gets his new paint job, he'll retire, and we'll have to use another truck."
What fun!
Information from the data plate
