Cross-continent traveler
Mark Luther, of Geelong West, Victoria, Australia, purchased this well-traveled Rampside in July, 2016 from Chris Shade, of Shade's Classic Cars in Hastings, NE. Chris purchased it, to re-sell, in October, 2015 from Steve Frendin, of Fergus Falls, MN. Steve purchased it from Dick Tetzloff, of Hackensack, MN in November, 2013. Dick had ownerd it for at least 20 years at that point.
This truck is among the more famous '64 Rampsides because its cross-continent journey, after Mark bought it, is documented in a feature article in the March, 2017 CORSA Communique. It is reprinted here by permission.
The Great Rampside Adventure
by Mark Luther, Andrew Marshall, and Diana Marshall
Introduction
It all started with the purchase of a shirt--two shirts, in fact. These were not ordinary shirts, but those of extremely high quality and deserved respect, illustrating our premier Corvairs of all types and ages on a canary yellow background. Those of you who read the Communique and attend the CORSA convention know what I'm talking about. Yes, the special design and master fabrication of Jeannette Alberte.
Mark wanted to surprise his friend Andrew, and thank him for his Corvair mechanical efforts for Christmas with one of these fabulous shirts. After all, Mark probably gets several hundreds of dollars worth of "free" servicing a year on his cars.
Background
First a brief background of the owners and participants of the story: Mark Luther (born in Chicago and lived in Birmingham and Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA) moved to Geelong West (near Melbourne) Australia with two '63 convertibles over 21 years ago. Andrew and Diana ("Di") Marshall are from Leopold, Victoria, Australia. Andrew is a qualified mechanic and fitter & turner (tool and die maker).
Andrew has known Mark, after moving to Australia, for over 20 years and converted one of Mark's '63 Corvairs (see April 1998 Communique, front cover and story). Andrew now also owns a '66 and a '65, both convertibles, thanks to Mark's influence over the past three years.
In 2013, Mark and Andrew were at the Kalamazoo, Michigan national convention, where Andrew acquired his '66. This was given to him by Mark's mate who, conveniently considering this event, lives in Kalamazoo. It was at this convention where their first adventure in cross-country travels started. They were at the convention only two days, buying parts and looking at Corvairs at the Saturday car show event. Upon leaving Kalamazoo, they headed out to travel on Route 66, west to California. That adventure took them up to San Francisco, where the car was shipped back to Australia. The experience from that trip led them to the latest, which we call the "Great Rampside Adventure". Presented here is that story.
The quest
Late in 2015, Mark decided to search for a Rampside to fulfill his long dream of owning one. That search resulted in teaming up with Andrew and his wife Di, to find one in the U.S., pick it up at the 2016 national convention, and drive it on a road trip through the southeast U.S. As stated earlier, the search began with the purchase of Jeannette Alberte's shirts. Through the e-mail correspondence, Mark and Jeannette (and her husband Ray Morales) started an online and Facebook search. Over the course of many months and many texts and Skype calls, one was found and delivered "as-is" to the 2016 Springfield convention by Chris Shade.
At the convention
Parts purchases were made in advance from Clark's Corvair Parts. Andrew brought his tools and Ray set up his trailer for repairs in the parking lot of the convention. Immediately upon arrival, Andrew started working on the '64 Rampside, replacing all brake components, installing a new gas tank, carburetors, and getting the truck going safely, to drive to their hotel that night, four hours later.
Within a matter of minutes, Andrew became the main attraction in the parking lot. Many a Corvair "expert" poked his head into the event and offered advice. Andrew was quick on the spot, planning ahead for the big trip, constructing a wooden locker in the tray of "Rampie" (as it is now affectionately known), to accommodate all the purchased parts, spare fuel tank, and luggage. This proved to be very useful, for the entire trip.
Andrew, Mark, and Di were able to strike up friendships with other Corvair enthusiasts at the convention. As international travelers, Mark, Di, and Andrew were overwhelmed with the hospitality and friendliness of everyone they met. They went on a driving tour and met so many folks who were eager to be called if needed. People were willing to help by lending a hand or providing tools and parts to get the truck ready for the trip, and, of course, to buy them beers!
Several business cards were handed out at the convention, so that "phone a friend" calls could be made in the event of a breakdown. The convention also gave them the opportunity to look for parts, and on the first day, they came across new quarter panels, which are very rare. That was an exciting find. These were piled in the Rampside lockable crate. They even had enough time to participate in the road rally where, right in front of the second checkpoint, they broke down with a dead battery from a disconnected wire. The checkpoint personnel came through and gave them a jump, and they were on their way again.
On the road
After leaving the convention, heading towards St. Louis, the Rampie encountered engine problems and stopped in a conspicuous neighborhood in East St. Louis, where Di and Mark pushed the truck into the gas station. The looks were quite overwhelming but all was rescued with a "G'day mate! We need help." The motor was overheating and blowing smoke from a cylinder. We nursed the Rampie to Memphis, and phoned Ray and Jeannette, who sourced parts from Mike Hall and Jim Allen (who drove an hour each way to make a handover) so that Jeannette and Ray could deliver them on their way back home to Dallas. (Memphis, just a slight detour!)
After an Elvis sighting in Memphis, they headed over to Nashville and took in the Johnny Cash museum. A broken fan belt didn't deter them from dropping Mark off at the airport to return home. Now a less crowded front seat in the Rampie, Andrew and Di then headed out to Atlanta, catching up with Billy and Eleanor Bruce, whom they had met in Springfield. A few minor problems (loose carb, developing oil leaks, and the muffler falling off in a storm) on the way were fixed and they enjoyed the Southern hospitality of Corvair owners. That oil leak was pretty persistent (approximately three gallons) so there is probably a trail of oil all across the southern states of the USA.
Andrew and Di enjoyed their visit to Savannah, Daytona Beach, and Orlando/Disney World (where Di achieved her childhood dream by visiting). Just outside of Savannah, Andrew had to change a universal joint, with the local police looking on. Andrew kept the oil filled and they continued on their way, down the turnpike to Miami, and then to Key West. It was a beautiful drive and the slow speed through the Keys was from traffic, not the Rampside. From the Keys they traveled up the west coast of Florida, to the panhandle, where a spark plug blew out of one of the heads. After repairing the spark plug thread by installing a Heli-coil, they also plugged the oil pressure switch to try to reduce the oil leaks.
Big trouble
Back on the road, they finally needed a tow! Outside of Pensacola, Florida, the engine gave up. Andrew dismantled things and found a broken connecting rod cap, which jammed and broke the camshaft in two places. Knowing this was bad news, it was now time for some big repairs. They found a truck and trailer rental (U-haul) and continued their journey with the Rampie, just not in it. After all, as Andrew and Di kept saying, "It's all part of the adventure."
Corvair friends to the rescue
Arriving in Dallas, at Jeannette and Ray's house, the Rampside went on the lift, SOS calls were made to North Texas Corvair Association friends and, as Andrew, Di, and Mark learned at the convention, Corvair people help each other out!
A motor was sourced from Billy Bruce, which was in the hands of his mechanic Louie Pinard. Louie gladly drove 2 1/2 hours to Dallas to deliver and help Andrew and Ray install the motor.
On the road again
Di and Andrew stayed with Ray and Jeannette for three days and did some sight-seeing around Dallas, before heading off to Phoenix, Arizona to buy parts from John Seaman at his Corvair Corral. On their way, they came across endless miles of oil pumping rigs; what a sight. Further on down the road they encountered endless miles of hot desert with no air-conditioner in the Rampie. Hotter than hell--thank God for the Eskie (cooler with lots of ice) and wet cloths. Again, "It's all part of the adventure."
After Phoenix, it was a long haul to San Diego, through miles of desert. While driving through California, people were offering to buy the Rampie at intersections. Imagine that! After almost 5,000 miles of travel and shortly before getting it to the docks--no way was there any thought of selling it!
An anxious detour
On the way up from L.A., heading to San Francisco on U.S. 1, Andrew and Di took a wrong turn, expecting a shortcut and ended up traveling for four hours of winding and very steep roads, just making the hill climbs with the additional weight (now two spare motors, plenty of parts, and luggage), only to end up back near where they turned off! During this irritating and anxious exercise, without any other cars on the road, no cell phone, and no gas station, running on empty, they "bloody" made it back to civilization. Again, all part of the adventure.
No time to spare
On the way to San Francisco, to the shipping dock, they developed a noisy wheel bearing, which was nursed because time was running out with only 1 1/2 hours to spare before the shipping dock gates closed.
Looking back
Over 5,386 miles of travel were covered in the Rampside. The engine replaced in Dallas made it the rest of the journey without a drop of oil lost and no major problems. Di and Andrew flew back to Melbourne and waited 13 weeks for the landing of Rampie on Australian soil.
Mark and Andrew drove the Rampie from Melbourne to Andrew's house in Geelong, about 50 miles, but not without having a fan belt break just two miles from home. As Andrew and Di now always say, "It was all part of the adventure!"
The friendships made at the convention are a huge part of the Great Rampside Adventure.
Information from the data plate
Description |
Description |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
5Z60GA |
Custom equipment, fawn interior |
5559AC |
Gray-green, two-tone |
none |
N/A |
(Click on a heading in the table for more information on that item.)