The Ark is a 1998 Bluebird Mini Bird bus built specifically for government use. It was born in late spring 1998 in Mount Pleasant, Iowa in a Bluebird conversion factory that is no longer in operation. It is built onto a Chevrolet P30 chassis which was manufactured between January and February of 1998 in Detroit, Michigan. The Ark entered military service just as many government vehicles do through the GSA or U.S. General Services Administration. It served in the United States Air Force for nearly a decade shuttling pilots to and from hangars on the ramp.

For one reason or another, probably just the estimated end of life for the vehicle type, the Ark was titled as “salvage” and sold at government auction in Atlanta, Georgia. The Ark was picked up by the owner of Five-O Motors out of Melbourne Beach, Florida and sat on the dealership lot for several months as a few buyers expressed interest in the Ebay listing. One fateful day as Matt was scouring the national Ebay & GSA auction scene, he stumbled upon the Ark on Ebay. John concurred immediately that it was the one. Actually he greed in his native language, which translates to “shut it down”. Who knows what that even means.

Two days later John & Matt flew to Orlando and rented a car to Melbourne Beach and bought the Ark on the spot. The first tank of diesel cost $150 and immediately we knew we just made a terribly reckless choice.