(first posted 12/16/2018) This is just what I needed back in the day, as in the early ’70s I never stayed in in job or place for more than a few weeks or months. And I hated paying rent (no wonder I became a landlord). I’d couch surf, camp, even sleep in my car in the most dire circumstances given that I had a Corvair and VWs. I talked my way into someone’s attic for a while, and a basement or two.
But if I’d had this, I’d have been set. Of course it would have taken a lot more gas money than my VW to go anywhere. I might have ended staying in one place after all.
Whatever. But this recent conversion of a 1946 (or so) Chevy school bus got me to stop and admire the handiwork.
Let’s step back and get a better look at what we have here. The sun was strong and low in the horizon, so my shots are not all very good.
Here’s the pilot house. The steering wheel looks very original; the seat obviously not.
It looks to be a very recent construction, and the interior is still mostly empty.
That stove caught my eye; it’s got to be the smallest wood stove in existence. It’s a miniature, but is obviously functional, given the double-wall chimney and stack up on the roof. Does it burn pellets, perhaps? That’s my guess.
An old treadle sewing machine stand and another old van seat.
The view from the rear window shows the big loft over the cab.
There’s a little porch back there too.
I was curious as to what was under the hood. The original 216 inch Chevy “Stove Bolt” six? Hmm. Let’s take a look.
At first glance, it rather looked that way.
But it’s actually a GMC six, which is a very nice upgrade. The GMX sixes were bigger and tougher, and came in a variety of displacement sizes, from 228 all the way to 302 cubic inches. The 270 was probably the most common one in the 50s, and found its way into quite a few Chevys as well as hot rods. The “Jimmy” was in fact a major force in the immediate post-war years until the Chevy V8 came out, due to its displacement and ohv head.
These engines even found their way into a number of “specials’ like this 1954 Sorrell-Manning,
Needless to say, this is of course just a contemporary version of the classic “hippie bus”, of which there are still several around in Eugene. A lot of genuine early hippies left San Francisco in 1968-1970, and a good number found there way here. just a few blocks from my house, there’s one in a back yard, a testament to their early years.
They really don’t make good vehicles for the hard-core restless, like I was. But that didn’t keep me from wanting one.
That’s a great-looking setup all around. The woodstove is really a nice touch; I’ve seen similarly-sized ones for boat use. Perhaps they repurposed one of those for the road.
Did you meet the owner of this splendid rig? Looks to be well engineered, the cantilevered loft over the cab and front clip is testimony to that (I hope) Regardless, a fine piece of home crafted mobile art/architecture. Right down to the clapboard siding and metal standing seam roof. Many actual permanently rooted homes should be so well wrought.
Top heavy much?
Gotta admire the truly excellent craftsmanship and wood work on the inside; but looking at the outside pics makes my head sway right and left and my stomach roil.
It’s very nicely done, and I love the dorm-sized wood stove! A stained glass window somewhere high would really finish it off. He got the outside done over the summer and can now spend the winter inside finishing that as well. Well done so far!
Sailboat stove, likely.
http://www.marinestove.com/sardineinfo.htm ?
I like this idea better…
http://titaniumgoat.com/cstove.html
Microwood oven?
Every time I see a tiny house I think that if it had been built on a truck I’d be keen, I’d prefer a 90s Japanese brand 6 or 8 wheel chassis just for the driveability and diesel power train but that old Chevy is nice, GMC engines were a popular swap here too as was the 214 cube Bedford six, good for another 1000rpm over the stovebolt and full pressure fed crankshaft, a bolt in swap into a Chevy car, and truck, they were very tough engines.
You can go to a sawmill and get mill ends for a stove that size, I suppose. I’ve seen one of these in a Vanagon. I like that it even has a back porch. Someone back in the late ’80’s built something like this onto a nice ’71 Chevelle coupe.
For more Oregon House Truck Porn, check out Some Turtles Have No Shells (forget the author’s name). Or go to the fountainhead: Rolling Homes by Jane somebody, that came out in the sixties or seventies. That’s the one that infected me into building a house truck on a ’55 International chassis back in 1980.
(I have both books, but they are not with me where I am right now, so I forget some of the details).
That bus has a profile only an Elvis impersonator could love.
Kind of out of luck at an intersection with only hanging signals.
I’ve rewritten this first sentence several times. I am unable to choose a proper adjective to describe how much I admire this creation. I keep wanting to say it’s the most awesome thing I’ve ever seen, but that’s not actually true, as I’ve seen many awesome things. It is a work of art for sure, but I don’t know much about art so maybe it’s not, since it’s functional and art is supposed to exist for no other reason than to exist. It looks like a fancy sauna, but since I’ve only seen those on TV I’m not sure about that either. I don’t know much about the truck so I’ll assume it’s a good solid base.
I just know that it makes me want to look at it, ride in it, and keep it forever. So I guess love at first sight kinda fits, but makes me sound weird(er). The front view is spectacular. The mix of 40s style and whatever-style the overhang is just fits together so we’ll it is like yin and yang, balancing out visually so well. So, I’m going to give up on finding the right first sentence, and just say I think this creation is brilliant. For all those reasons and some I haven’t thought of yet.
Words don’t do it justice. There’s my opening sentence! But I already wrote so many words…
I wonder how much it would cost to build such a thing in materials alone! It is certainly cool though.
I do believe I would have to downgrade to cedar shakes and a potbelly stove. Did anyone catch the sewing machine treadle without the sewing machine?
Wow, I can imagine the creaking sounds as the structure moves to accommodate the forces that are transmitted through the suspension and frame. But I must say that I admire the Craftsman.
Looks very well-done. Wonder if any identifying marks for the original bus body manufacturer were still around the windshield? This looks like a vintage Wayne body.
I’m guessing the acceleration is only slightly quicker than a house.
A real time machine ! .
I remember the 1970’s in California hippie buses lie this were everywhere, maybe 1/3 were well built .
I hope whomever owns this understands the necessary maintenance all that wood will be needing .
-Nate
What a great creation and built quite well. The clear plastic container on the floor appears to hold either woods pellets or maybe dog food. The box of Duraflame fire logs might also be used as you can saw them down to size no problem. Eugene is so full of these creative vehicles that I must admit to being envious as such vehicles are few and far between, at least parked on the streets in Minnesota.