Ophelia the Cosmic Collider is looking for a new home. Photo: Ryan Lovelace
Santa Barbara-based board builder and craftsman, Ryan Lovelace, is selling his insane converted 1948 Chevy bus on Craigslist and searching for a handy owner that will adore it as much as he has the past eight years.
“This is a hard one, but necessary,” wrote Lovelace in a Craigslist post. “I bought this bus on my 24th birthday, and have spent the past eight years working on, living in, around, loving, tinkering on and periodically toiling over.”
The bus, nicknamed Ophelia the Cosmic Collider, has a 60s VW bus roof added to the top – extending the floor-to-ceiling height to about eight feet. It’s 29 feet long, but according to Lovelace doesn’t require a specialized license to drive.
Plenty of room in the interior of the Cosmic Collider. Photo: Will Adler/Indoek
“When I bought her, she was in need of a good home,” the post goes on. “The ad said Starts, Runs, Stops, Registered. Armed with that information, I bought her and began our journey. Now its [sic] your turn :).”
Indoek recently featured the Cosmic Collider in their beautiful coffee table book Surf Shacks, which profiles surfers around the world and their interesting homes. In an interview for the book, Lovelace reflected on some of his most memorable moments in the Cosmic Collider.
“Honestly some of the drives close to home have been the most moving. I love driving it down tree-covered canyons and through oak forested areas – and we have a fair bit of that here. It feels right for the bus,” he said. “Driving it 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.”
Lots to love here. Photo: Will Adler/Indoek
To be sure, Lovelace isn’t about to offload his pride and joy to anyone with the cash to blow. No, he wants the Cosmic Collider to go to the right home. “Please be patient with my email response time, it may be a few days and I will absolutely get back to everyone though I will be doing some serious vetting before I can make time to show it to anyone,” reads the post.
The bus is currently listed for $18,200, or best offer. And just think of the possibilities. Says Lovelace: “With a handy owner, she could easily become the worlds best Air B&B, a mental camping machine for your weird family, or the central figure in the best road trip movie ever made…your call.”
