Many people who start a restoration or a build of this type get discouraged and give up after realizing how much time and effort has to be spent on the details. Not so with Ken, obviously. Patience and persistence are essential to a great result, and it's becoming more and more obvious that the finished product, in this case, will be impressive!

The close up shot at right shows the hinge and latching hardware on the tail gate. Ken sourced it and all the latching hardware on the Rampside from new old stock (NOS). There was no other practical choice, Ken told me, as it's getting pretty difficult to find good used specimens. That makes sense when you consider the duty cycle of these parts during the service life of a pickup truck.

Detail work wasn't quite finished when this article was written in late January of 1999. Ken still had some work in progress on the truck's interior, specifically with the original instrument panel, which was being re-chromed.

Update: May 8, 1999. The photos are back from a trip to Corvair Atlanta's 16th annual Springfest. Ken's completed the original dash and installed the 1977 Corvette shifter in a hand fabricated, leather covered center console. Seeing all this "in the flesh" was a treat I won't soon forget. The ride was unbelievable.

Stock instrumentation in the Rampside was sparse, including only a speedometer and a gas gauge. Adding a more complete gauge package called for modifications to the center of the dashboard to include the grouping of auxiliary gauges by Auto Meter seen in the photo. They are high precision mechanical gauges, and monitor oil pressure, coolant temperature and electrical system voltage. The clock sitting on top of the dashboard is a stock Corvair unit.

The bezel surrounding the gauges was shaped to fit the stock indentation in the dash, which normally accommodates an ash tray. Ken shaped the panel out of 11 gauge aluminum, polished it and applied a clear-coat finish.

I was amused to hear that Ken made the gauge bezel out of material from an old road sign. Reduce, re-use or recycle!

Ken's attention to detail is superb. Notice the two-tone paint scheme of the exterior is carried over to the Rampside's interior door panels. Latch hardware, door seals and rubber bumpers look as good as they did when this Corvair left the factory in the early 60s.

The windshield, vent windows, side glass and rear window were replaced with new, tinted, tempered glass. The seals and weather-stripping are also new.

Seating is provided by reupholstered original Corvan buckets. Seats belts have not yet been installed.

Well, the time has arrived to take a look at the full exterior view. On the next page, we go to the front gates of Evander Holyfield's mansion, just a short drive from Ken's neighborhood, and a perfect destination for a shakedown cruise!