Elvis Presley had quite the collection of vehicles, including a 1974 Cadillac Fleetwood, a De Tomaso Pantera and a Stutz Blackhawk. He also had an old private jet that sat rusting away for several decades before a YouTuber swept in and saved it from the scrapheap. Instead of returning it to the skies, they did the next best thing and transformed it into a glorious retro camper.
The YouTuber in question is Jimmy Webb, who hosts the Jimmy’s World channel and creates all kinds of intriguing aviation content you can waste a few hours watching. For his latest project, Webb took on Presley’s old 1962 Lockheed Jetstar.
When Webb acquired the jet, it had spent more than 30 years sat forgotten in New Mexico, where it was left without engines or any cockpit controls. After buying the jet for around $260,000, Webb did begin looking into what it would take to get the plane into the air once again, but found that many of the parts required to do so simply weren’t in production anymore. As such, making it airworthy was a tough, if not impossible, task.
So instead of repairing the plane and taking it on all kinds of aeronautical adventures, Webb did the next best thing and turned it into a gorgeous camper. The first step in the new plan involved chopping the tail off the old jet and removing its wings in order to transport the fuselage to Webb’s workshop.
Since then, he’s been documenting the whole build on his YouTube channel. Once safely stowed away from the elements, Webb mounted the fuselage of the plane onto an old motorhome chassis so that the new plane/RV could move under its own steam once again.
Progress then moved inside, with Webb and his team completely gutting the interior of the aircraft. They started at the front, repairing the rotten old cockpit and replacing all the aircraft controls with the kind of things you would use to drive a plane/RV. This means there’s a steering wheel that looks like a yoke straight out an aircraft cabin and all the dials mirror the kind of readouts you’d get in a vintage jet – it’s all very slick.
Further back, work has been done to refresh the interior that Elvis specced his jet with. There’s still the original TV that Elvis installed as well as the red velvet finishing that was specced by the King. Now, however, the whole place has been thoroughly cleaned of the dirt, dust and grime that built up over a few decades in the desert.
Now, Autoevolution reports that the jet is set to be unveiled in all its glory at the 2024 EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, which runs from July 22 until July 28. After this, there’s no set plan for its final destination. Webb reportedly considered putting his creation in a museum, but is also said to like the idea of touring the country in it to let people witness his creation in person. What do you think, if this RV popped up for rental near you, would you spend a night?
It’s not the first aircraft conversion we’ve uncovered here at Jalopnik, and follows an aeronautical school that transformed an abandoned jet into student dorms and a wedding venue in the UK turned the front of a 747 into the ultimate party venue.