Vintage 'Clunker' Bus Gets Completely Transformed Twice Over By Genius Couple

For Ryan and Katie Lovelace, living in Santa Barbara was paradise. Nestled on the California coast north of Los Angeles and protected by the beautiful Santa Ynez mountains, Santa Barbara afforded the couple opportunities to live modestly and comfortably near the beach. To truly thrive, however, they needed a van.

See, Ryan Lovelace loved to surf. He also enjoyed making surfboards. On his website, he wrote: "I truly enjoy hand shaping surfboards. He was a craftsmen who knew his way around a workshop, and he needed a way to easily transport his surfboards. They didn't exactly fit in a car trunk.

Meanwhile, Katie Lovelace shared his passions. An illustrator and designer with her own brand, Psychedelic Honey, Katie made swim and activewear. She loved surfing too, and as a hands-on creative, the idea of renovating an old van to take them up and down the coast with their surfboards was too good to pass up. There was an issue with the plan, however.

Katie Lovelace planned out her designs, pulling inspiration for her products from old books and collections. Ryan was the opposite. His ideas came spontaneously, and he acted in the moment with limited pre-planning. Buying and renovating a van together would be a test of their creative philosophies.

Ryan was in Australia when he saw the perfect remodel subject on Craigslist: this 1948 Chevy Bus. The vehicle was a Frankenstein creation, a bus modified with parts from a Volkswagen, but Ryan asked the seller to hold it until his return from Down Under.

When Ryan and Katie returned, they bought the van and went right to work on a remodel. After examining the van, however, the project seemed larger than they'd imagined. Years of baking in the California sunshine, coupled with a lack of use, made the bus a complete disaster both inside and out. Nevertheless, Ryan and Kate began renovation #1.

A mish-mash of different paint colors failed to cover up all the rust coating the exterior, so they used a grinder to sand off years of wear and tear until only the bare metal remained. With the project underway, Ryan and Katie started imagining even more for their renovation.

What stood out to anyone who saw the van was the attachment Ryan and Katie fixed on the roof. Essentially, they mounted a small bedroom up there, supported by two beams welded to the bumper. Was it safe? Probably not. But it gave the bus a unique appearance, though, after the renovation, a look inside confirmed this was no ordinary bus.

Inside, Ryan and Katie put a lot of work into making their "surf bus" a place they'd actually like to spend some time. The floors, ceiling, and walls were all redone or touched up with redwood, and a small kitchen was put into the back, as well as a desk and closet. This was only the start.

As the couple worked, the barren space inside the bus was given a new life. From the inside, the sleeping cabin looked cozy (and less like a welding hazard). The makeshift bedroom fit a queen-sized mattress, perfect for resting after a long day on the waves. Soon, however, the interior looked completely different.

In fact, it looked like this: torn out and destroyed. No, this wasn't the result of a wild surf party, a band of thieves, or even a natural disaster. Just eight years after sprucing up the inside of the bus, Ryan and Katie formulated a new plan for the vehicle.

Before renovation #2, Ryan and Katie introduced friends to the vintage bus, which became known as Ophelia (the name came from a song by The Band, seen below). Eventually, the bus developed a reputation in the surfing community, where it was known as the Cosmic Collider. After 8 years, however, mechanical issues piled up.

Begrudgingly, Ryan Lovelace returned to Craigslist, the same site where he first found the Cosmic Collider, and put his creation up for sale: $18,200 or best offer. "I will be doing some serious vetting before I can make time to show it to anyone," he wrote. He wanted the right owner, though, if he were being honest, he didn't want to sell at all.

The first potential buyer to impress Ryan and Katie? A cannabis company, Old Pal, noticed the Collider was up for sale. Representatives swiftly contacted Ryan, hoping to prove themselves worthy of being the new owners of Ophelia, the "Cosmic Collider." But Ryan made a peculiar choice.

Letting go of Ophelia proved too much for the Lovelace's. They ultimately decided to merely lend the Collider over to Old Pal, which ultimately led to renovation #2. The company hired a team to turn the Collider into a pop-up shop for the approaching Coachella festival, which was in just three days! A frantic renovation took place.

Ryan and Katie wanted the new renovators to keep the vintage look of the Cosmic Collider, maintaining the spirit of the vehicle they'd loved for eight years. Jessie and Mike, the duo in charge of the new project, liked that challenge and went to work giving Ophelia her second makeover.

While the Cosmic Collider was first designed to travel from beach to beach, affording weary surfers a place to rest up before hitting the next wave, the new iteration needed to function as a store. Mike and Jessie removed a lot of the tables and couches, installing shelves in their place.

The attached bedroom stood out as another element that needed repair. Two beams welded to a bumper didn't inspire confidence in the Old Pal crew, so Mike and Jessie created an extended platform for the cabin to sit squarely on. For three days, they worked tirelessly.

When they were done with remodel #2, Jessie and Mike couldn't help admire their work. The cramped living space was gone, replaced with a wider, more spacious common area, perfect for supporting multiple milling shoppers. The space felt new and vintage all at once — just like Ryan and Katie requested!

From the opposite angle, Jessie and Mike could appreciate the skylight that kept the bus flooded with that famous California sunshine. In keeping the spirit of the vehicle alive, the queen-sized bedroom survived the second renovation. Even as a pop-up shop, there was a bed to sleep in!

Since its grand entrance at Coachella, the Collider has since traveled through the desert and highways along the California coast. Despite a sterling reputation among surfers and Coachella attendees, Ophelia didn't turn heads the way Ryan and Katie imagined.

In the book Surf Shacks, Ryan said: "Driving [Ophelia] on the freeway is an adventure, but what surprises me most is how little people seem to notice it when it’s on the highway. I always look at people because I’m so stoked while driving it, wondering if they find it as novel as I do." A lot of vehicle renovators would agree.

Michael Talley is a graphic designer from Austin who loves repurposing old vehicles with cool makeovers. He's DIY'ed buses and vans, and even lives and commutes in his refurbished rides (How cool would it be to drive your house to work?) His creations take on a different look than the Cosmic Collider.

After a year of living in one of his van homes, Michael began to get the urge to revamp another vehicle. He started browsing used-car websites, looking for buses, but one morning he opened Craigslist and saw this odd little ambulance.

He was intrigued by its history. As it turns out, after the ambulance was retired, it was sold to an AstroTurf company in Texas. They used it as a mobile shed for tools and spare rolls of fake grass, and it was still cluttered inside. The truck was in bad shape.

At this point, Michael had every reason to ditch the ambulance. Like the Cosmic Collider, the vehicle had so many issues, and, for the most part, wasn't exactly the most coveted car on the market. He wondered weather renovating the truck was smarter than just buying something with the features he wanted.

But the engine was a 1992 Ford Diesel engine, in great shape — and as Michael said, "one of the best engines ever produced." The boxy ambulance had potential, so he bought it and started cleaning it out.

The cleaning process was sobering for Michael. The countertops were rotted, the wiring needed work, and he realized the vehicle had seen many sick or hurting patients. But he was determined to turn it around for the better.

After he was done cleaning, Michael's first step was to draw out plans for his new mobile home. He wanted wood walls, ceiling, and floor; he wanted a TV and speakers; and he wanted to build a bench that would extend into a bed.

Michael also wanted to make sure he could cook on the road. The ambulance's countertop nook would provide plenty of space for a sink and a portable stove. There was room for cabinets, and even space on the side for a fridge!

Michael got to work on the essentials first. He fixed up the ambulance's electrical circuits, and installed solar panels on the roof to charge the batteries for interior power. He cut a hole in the roof and installed a vent fan to keep the air fresh.

Now that the necessities were taken care of, it was time for the fun part: the interior! Michael built the floor first, using a pneumatic staple gun to install these beautiful hardwood boards, which he got at a great discount from Habitat for Humanity ReStore.

Next up was the fridge. In the wall behind the passenger seat, Michael replaced the old shelf storage with a wooden buildout to hold the fridge (raised, so Michael didn't have to bend down). Above it, he placed these nifty Bluetooth speakers, to sync with his phone or TV.

Michael then moved on to his cooking space. He installed a faux copper backsplash, complete with riveted accents to add some color, and laid down a lightweight concrete countertop to take the sophistication to the next level.

Michael added more useful features to make the counter space extra livable. He installed a magnetic knife holder to keep all his gadgets organized, and put a stainless steel sink into the countertop — complete with running water!

This running water was one of Michael's proudest modifications. In order to make it work, he kept several jugs of fresh water in the compartments outside of the ambulance, then rigged piping through the walls to the sink, making sure to include a jug to drain waste water.

These exterior compartments kept coming in handy. In one of them, Michael hung a rack for camping tools, and a handheld shower-head which he could hook up to water jugs. In another, he installed a trashcan with a little flap to dispose garbage from indoors!

Back inside the ambulance, it was time to build the bed. Michael decided on a telescoping bed that could be folded up into a bench during the day. For the base, he built three heavy sliding drawers together.

Once this was done, Michael installed plywood on top that could be laid out with the bed. The sliding drawer compartment would hold his pillows and blankets, and the bench to the side of the room held the mattress.

Just a few more finishing touches were left to put on the ambulance. Michael painted the exterior in a retro Bakelite green-and-white scheme, to add a cozy touch to its appearance.

And he'd kept some of the old Astroturf, too, which he added to the top as a removable roof rug. Originally he meant it to be a joke, but he said that "it quickly became one of my favorite features".

Nothing was left but the final reveal! The interior, once cold and boxy, became warm and inviting with some LED lighting and that pine wood. As a finishing touch, Michael added a bookshelf on the right above the bench.

The paint job turned out lovely, too! The ambulance was ready for adventure, and now Michael was set to hit the road in his fresh new abode, with a friend along for the ride...

...Michael's dog Bumper, who was just as excited about the bed as he was! Michael has listed the ambulance for sale, but until it changes hands, these two are enjoying their travels in style.