Homer Walker's 1954 Chevy Short Bus

"Hotrod RV"

From Robert: 

       This is the ‘54 shorty bus that my neighbor and I have been working on for the past couple of years. It’s finally finished! We call it the‘"Hotrod RV.”

       When I first ran across it, it had been sitting under a tree in the outskirts of Austin, TX for years. The previous owner had built a sort of “back porch” out of angle iron and pipes so that he could sit out over a creek and fish. I bought it ($500) but soon realized that restoring it was a project that would take me way out of my depth in terms of my skill level and experience. In the end, I made a deal with my neighbor, Homer Walker, which he couldn’t refuse -- I GAVE it to him. Then we set out to restore it together.

       The “porch” was the first thing to go, quickly followed by the rear end and the front clip. We grafted on the front clip of a late ‘70’s 1-ton, which gave us IFS, disk brakes, and power steering. A rebuilt 454 big block with a R-400 tranny took the place of the dead 235 straight six and manual gear box.

       We put in a rear end from an RV, which gave us the gears for highway driving.

       The body work took forever, since the rust, particularly on the top, didn’t give up without a fight. In the end, fiberglass, bondo, and Cool Seal were all needed to make it stop leaking.

       The air conditioning unit that sits on top came out of another RV, and the power for it comes from a huge generator that we fit into the driver’s side.

       Inside, the bus has a bed, sink, stove, toilet, microwave and cabinets.

       Homer and his wife Lucy are making plans for some road trips in the Hotrod RV, but not before he and I take it to a couple of local shows.

Robert Lewis
Austin, TX

       Thanks for helping Homer get his Bolt in the Gallery, Robert. BTW, Robert's got two Stovebolt projects (and a 1960 Chevy Brookwood station wagon) he's working on -- a 1950 Chevy 1-Ton Delivery Truck and a 1950 Chevy 1-Ton Suburban. ~~ Editor