Heading home from a Sunday outing, I passed by a familiar car in front of a speed shop / garage that’s painted up as a police car when I spotted a new addition – a Dodge Rampage! And that wasn’t all.
We’ve already gone in depth into the compact truck sold by Dodge enough that I don’t need to add to our body of information. Suffice it to say that the body looked to be in good shape and the price is right if you’re so inclined to take on a $1,800 OBO project…what’s that parked next to the Rampage? I don’t recognize it.
Cool! What model??
A Commander? I want to say that this is a 1965 model, but I’m sure the StudeCognoscenti among us will quickly verify the correct year.
The hood patina is impressive. The cartoon eyes aren’t. Judging by the F-body beside it, the proprietor was going for a Cars theme.
There’s no radiator and I suspect no engine. (ED: the engine is quite visible through the grille)
What are the possibilities of finding a replacement Commander script for that fender?
It’s been a local car for some time, I live in Van Buren.
One last look.
Next is the Plymouth. Early 50s, but what model and year?
The interior needs work
And, as promised, the Ranchero. It’s a 1968 or 1969 model. No engine badges on the fender.
Some rust here and there. I would have wanted to take this on as a project when I was young. Now? I’m wiser and more realistic about projects.
The door panel seems to be customized since the rest of the interior is white-ish.
The requisite non-functional hood scoop. Was this a requirement back then? I know my ’68 Mustang with the transplanted 170 six had one.
One last shot…is that an actual Deuce body? Are attic finds a thing? You never know.
Finding a replacement ‘Commander’ fender emblem for the Studebaker might not be quite as hard as one might first think. Unlike Iacocca, who unceremoneously dumped all of Chrysler’s pre-1980 parts inventory after he took over, when Studebaker went belly-up, they offered all of their NOS parts inventory at fire-sale prices and the Studebaker faithful scarfed them all up.
Consequently, to this day, there’s quite a good selection of available Studebaker parts (which has only gotten better with the internet).
Thankfully IH did the same thing when they shut down the Scout Business Unit. One of the guys at one of the dealers had put together a catalog of parts for Scouts and moved more Scout parts than any other dealer in the nation. So they approached him and he and a partner bought it all, including some tooling and a license to reproduce items.
The fact that he still made Scout emblems from the original tooling under license factored into the reason that we got the Honda Pilot instead of the Honda Scout.
It is my understanding that Newman & Altman, probably the largest dealer and distributor for Studebaker bought the parts inventory. Nate Altman saw a viable business in keeping the many cars that were then in service in a supply of parts. It is really one of the most unusual arrangements from any “orphan” brand and has resulted in an excellent resource even to the present day.
As pickups go, the ‘sporty econocar’ looks of the Rampage are waaay out of fashion. Brawn is king. It gives the Rampage much uniqueness.
The original tonneau cover offered on the Rampage/Scamp didn’t look bad. This Rampage, with a vintage white bed cap and roof rack, has the same visual effect as socks with sandals. 🙁
I always thought that if the Rampage had been successful enough to continue into the mid-90s but not replace before that, they could’ve altered the nosecone to take both early and late Dodge Shadow grilles and headlights.
Or what do you think if the Rampage had instead adopted a look similar to the four headlight nose design of the Shelby Lancer? I think the four headlight design the Rampage adopted in 1984 (for its last year), was an improvement over the Omni 024-like earlier two headlight design. And would look sportier, and more elegant than the Shadow’s original 1987 nose. More El Camino-like as well.
Perhaps visualize this Shelby Lancer nose on the Rampage…
This is the nose design the Rampage did adopt for 1984.
68-69 are probably my favorite Rancheros, the Torino front end worked much better than 67s Fairlane front end that looked oddly disconnected or 66s plain Falcon front end, and the 70-71s seemed cobbled together with the swoopy new front end and still boxy cab/bed. The scoop may be fake but at least it’s factory correct(Not to say factory installed), I find it one of the more attractive scoops Ford used, they even have turn indicators on the back. And rust? Hard to say without looking underneath but from the outside this appears as solid as a late 60s Ford product gets
I’m a fan of the Rampage as well, funny thing is both of these are halfcar/half trucks I prefer to their regular car bodystyles.
Interestingly this era Ranchero is at the bottom of my list. I definitely prefer the 67s over this but my favorite is the 73s. Heck I’ll take the LTD II front end models over these.
The 72-79 bodys look the coolest but for their size and weight they may as well be F100s. This bodystyle seems like the best compromise for me over that and the more economical first gen Falcon based predecessors. 68-69s stand out to me because I’m not really a fan of the car bodystyles, even the fastback.
I do agree that the car is pretty lackluster and the Ranchero is the best of that generation. While on the last generation a Sportsroof is ahead of the Ranchero in my book.
Might have to take a look at that place, the next time I’m in Fort Smith.
The Plymouth police car is a 51, while the Ranchero is a 68.
That Purple Durango and Green Commander at the two vehicles I find most interesting here along with the Plymouth. Wonder what did in the White F-150?
If I had to take a guess, I’d say it puked its spark plugs.
Studebaker dropped the Lark name after 63. Commander replaced Lark Regal for 64.
I have a soft spot for the Rampage (or its even harder-to-find cousin, the Plymouth Scamp). My ’83 Omni was one of the best cars I’ve ever owned. And I like utes/El Caminos/Rancheros.
Despite the dents and severe paint burn, that Studebaker looks remarkably solid. It’s a 64-65 model for sure, I don’t think there’s a good way to tell the difference from the exterior.
I’d be tempted, but luckily it’s way too far away from my garage!
The only way I know to tell a 64 from a 65 Studebaker from the outside is paint color. This one looks to be a non-metallic light green, which would make it a 65. The 64 color looks like the attached. Oddly, they called both of them Horizon Green.