This was originally a Black 1982 Dodge Rampage that I purchased in 1984 with about 42,000 miles on it. It has a hood, a fender and a front clip from a gray 1982 Rampage. I also pulled a few interior parts from a red Rampage I found in a junk yard.

I drove this car until 1988 and then parked it with just over 150,000 miles on it and still running strong. I saw an article about Boyd Coddington and I knew immediately what I wanted to do. My wife then bought me a book on automotive restoration one Christmas and I got started. The entire project took me about 11 years because I only worked on it when I had time and money. I seldom had either and never had both. I did almost everything myself except the paint, with coaching from an old pro. The old pro painted it.

To restore the car from years of Minnesota snow and salt required a lot of rust removal and steel replacement. I sand blasted the entire undercarriage and inside of all body panels. I cut out severe rust and welded in new steel, fabricating and shaping it myself. I treated the underside with a rubberized sound coat to prevent paint chipping after painting it.
All steel was removed and replaced from the first bend in the middle of the doors down to, and including the rocker panels and all the way back to the tail lights. The curve of the lower half of the body is not the factory look, but its close and nobody seems to notice.

I also fogged the inside of all body channels with rust inhibitor and then foamed them to prevent moisture from returning to these areas.

The top was chopped, door handles shaved, a popper kit installed, and a hood scoop added. The top was reinforced with 1/16th inch plate to keep it from moving when doing body work.
I had the inside door panels made by a local upholstery shop. I cut the back window from Lexan and I am custom ordering new passenger windows from a specialty shop that does bent glass. The windshield was chopped by a local automotive glass replacement shop. Glass was the biggest challenge.
I added red neon�s all around, which provides an almost �floating down the street� effect.

I have a decent Pioneer stereo installed with some small enclosures for now. I do not understand the whole �base pounding through my skull� thing, but I would like to add a few watts to the stereo some day. These young kids with the car stereo you can feel two cars away in your own car will all be deaf in 10 years.

I had a new/rebuilt engine installed which was provided by Tri-Star Engines in Baldwin Wisconsin. I also had a rebuilt 5 speed transmission installed, replacing the original 4 speed. I had a performance exhaust kit installed for a throaty sound.
True to the factory specifications the engine only has about 100 horsepower but the car ways next to nothing and I am not racing it on the street or the track. I treat it like the rarity it is and I can get a speeding ticket just fine the way it is.
I did almost all of this work myself because I thought it would be cheaper. I was wrong, but the sense of satisfaction I have received is beyond words. I have never seen a car attract so much attention. I cannot go anywhere without hearing numerous people yell, waive, or watch them smile and mouth their approval. I am proud, not only of the work, but because over the years so many people question why the heck I was doing this to a Rampage. Here�s the answer to all of them now; �Because I have vision!� This is the Rampage Dodge wished they would have built.

If you would like to drop me a line you can at rjohnschneider@hotmail.com

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