Eye of the beholder

“Big Ugly” was bought by a 17 year old kid in 1965 for $500.00; it was sitting on the street somewhere in Los Angeles. The kid used it for several years on surf trips between Mexico and his home in Santa Ynez, California.  He even used it for his honeymoon!

A few years later, he realized it was time to stop surfing and go to college so his father commandeered the camper from him and it was his dad who made all the improvements; remodeled the interior with beautiful mahogany wood; put in a gravity feed water system; installed a proper RV toilet; put in a wood burning stove for heat in the winter; pulled out the original Studebaker six cylinder engine and put in a 1970s era Chevrolet V8 and four speed transmission; put in dual gas tanks; put storage bins underneath; everything a modern and proper RV would have.

… dad applied for one of the first vanity plates issued in California; BIG UGLY

For forty years the dad and his lady friend used the camper constantly on trips within California as well as several trips across country.  In the mid 2010s, the father passed away and the son re-commandeered the camper. In 2021, at 74 years of age, the son donated the camper to The Murphy Auto Museum in Oxnard where it now resides.

The camper was affectionally known as “Big Ugly” to friends and family back in the 1970s and with that inspiration, the dad applied for one of the first vanity plates issued in California; BIG UGLY.  Those plates are still on the camper, although people who tour this camper call it Big and Beautiful.

… the son donated the camper to The Murphy Auto Museum in Oxnard where it now resides

THE MURPHY AUTO MUSEUM
Address: 1930 Eastman Ave.
Oxnard, California 93030
Phone: (805) 487-4333 For General information
Email: info@murphyautomuseum.org

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