How cool is this 1949 Ford hot rod themed school bus? The bus was originally built in the late 80s, by hot rod builder Jerry Bowers, and it was used by Jerry and his wife to promote good attendance at school, along with excellent grades and scholastic achievements. They would drive around to the different schools in the community, putting the bus on display, and promoting fundraisers to raise money for school supplies for the less needy.
The hot-rod bus itself has some really cool design features, even though it looks like a Pro-Street funny car, it’s actually front-wheel-drive. That’s right, its power comes from a 403 Oldsmobile engine coupled to a Cadillac El Dorado trans axle and frame section. The reason for this odd power train combination, was that Jerry didn’t want to have to fabricate a transmission tunnel through the center of the bus.
To help complete the Pro Bus look, Jerry thought it would be the “icing on the cake” to have a great big 671 blower with two Holley four barrel’s sticking out of the hood.
Since the bus was completed, it has led quite the Hollywood lifestyle, being featured in several car enthusiast magazines, and a couple of episodes of Monster Garage. There is even a website called Shortcut High dedicated to the bus and its charities. After seeing the bus in the video, we can definitely say that if this was our school bus when we were growing up, we would have never ditched!
