The Ramper

  Restoration projects without a plan waste tons of time and money.   Knowing where you’re going helps you figure out how to get there.   A plan prioritizes spending money but more importantly it prioritizes where I’ll spend my time.   The Ramper isn’t going to be a show horse, but he will probably grace a few Cars and Coffee meet ups.   So, what’s the plan for The Ramper? Let’s call it a “patina” restoration or better yet, a “character” restoration.   He’s done the work, he carries the scars, and I’m honoring them. If a component is there, I’ll get it working.   For example, someone did a homemade heater-delete, but all the components of the stock heater are there, so it will work again.   Same with the windshield washer unit on the wiper motor. Drivetrain Will be immaculate and work perfectly!   Everything will be Corvair (meaning I’m not swapping the engine) but not slavishly original.   I have a chrome top shroud that I thou...

  THE RAMPER I’m not new to Corvairs , we go way back.   I was 15 in 1978, and my father was dumb enough to let me buy a derelict 1963 Monza 900 coupe, no floorboards, someone had poured white house paint in the engine, more dents than aluminum foil, and it barely rolled.   All for $125, my net worth at the time.   Two years later it ran with a garage paint job, and I loved it.   Corvairs are just a thing. My '63 coupe at a Corvair Show in Atlanta (around 1994) Since then, I have restored a ‘62 Corvair Spyder convertible and got ‘63 Spyder coupe back up and running, and I have worked on who knows how many Corvairs that weren’t mine.   I helped start and wrote a newsletter for a local Corvair club, I drank the Corvair Kool-Aid deeply.   But in 2006, I sold them and thought I was over Corvairs... My '62 Spyder around 1997 I didn't restore my '63 Spyder coupe but I should have! (Around 2006) Twenty years later, the itch came back.   I needed a new pr...