The Cal-look Lounge

 Okay don't hate me for admitting it... I have to speak my heart... I just don't get it...
 It seems to me that everybody is sooooooooo excited about 1967 lookers...
 A '67 is IT...  THE year for a looker... why?????

 I mean everywhere I look, everyone is building a '67 looker, at a Drag-racing/Cal-Look event the year most represented in number is the year '67..
 Okay a '67 is a bit special due to the quasimodo rear-hatch and some other stuff, but still at an event half of the lookers are '67 lookers, shining in the sun, all being the unique '67 looker like the rest of the '67 lookers in the row...
 
 Okay I'm exaggerating a bit, but I hope you get my point...

 I don't mean to be "degrading"  and it's not that I don't like '67s, I mean the best looking looker of Holland is a blue '67, but still...

 I don't quite get it...


 I mean... Dare to be really different/unique and build something other than a '67 looker like every other person in Cal-Look-land...  ;D
 
 

Because 67`is an especialy year: only 1.5 million of the 1.2 millions VW build survived...... ;D

Well, I would love to have a 67. Can't really put my finger on it, but a US 67 looker just looks so right.. Anyone have a good one for sale  ;) Or want to trade in a 54? ;D

I also think it's the US 67 thing, the combo off a long hood with straight standing headlights!
Just too sexy

67's is like a woman, if you never try this, your not a man !!
 8)
Without joke, I think Dirk / DFL your right ! ::)
There're most 67 now that 1967 ! ???

They were probably all at Woodstock too.  :D

(http://www.peacefence.com/happyavevwbugwoodstockfestival69M.jpg)

hey Jordy.....

you know what, i totally agree with you, a nice car is a nice car, i dont really see the big deal over a '67. :)

I dont see it like a hype.
The '67 model is special because the one year only parts, and as specialy the decklid.

My next car would be a oval window or a '67 model :)

Cheers

 Way over 900.000 of those '67 beetles were built, that 3 times the total amount of splitwindow beetles produced in 15 years of numerous details and changes. So rare?

 In my opinion '67 beetles are overrated...

 

( I'm not saying this because I own a split myself...
As a matter of fact I don't think splitwindow beetles make good lookers.
Unless you add some balloontyres and a 6v 1500cc engine with double
zenith/dellortos (whatever) and a California muffler... that'd be nice)

There are numerous reasons why people like to use the 1967 a a base car for a project, most of which are very sensible. On a US '67 you've got 12 volts - and that saves having to change from 6 volts. They were the first Beetles to have upright headlights but also the last (outside of the USA) to have sloping headlights.
On all '67s you have the Z-bar set up from the factory. The engine bay is bigger and that's good new if you are fitting happy things like 48 IDAs. Also the '67 was - in Europe - the first Beetle to have disc brakes (on the 1500) and the last to have a ragtop sunroof (on the Standard 1200).   
They are the last of the pre-Euro bumper cars - which were seen as nowhere near as 'cool' in the looks department. It is nothing new to use a '67 as the base for a project - they have always been popular.
The thing is though - they have never been the only year - some of the most memorable cars in the history of the style we know and love as California Look are not '67s.

The main thing is to to the best job you can to build the best car you can from whatever year model you chose to base it on - the Split is a Beetle in its purist form and will always make a great Cal Look car.

Don't worry if you don't get the '67 thing - so long as you get the Cal Look thing - nothing else matters.

People are talking about '67s a lot as they are 40 this year.


The thing I really don't get is when people start telling you about all the one-year-only parts on '67s - it's not like every model year of the Beetle can boast to having one-year-only parts - or any other vw for that matter.


Oh, and if you guys look closely you'll see the blue Bug at Woodstock is a '68!

Anything else I can help you with?

67s blow!!  ;D

You didn't finish your post...

Didn't you mean to finsih it with 'the doors off Chevy Novas'?

Finally somebody asked the question I have been thinking about for a while....I hear all of my friends drone on about their sb12 headlight rings & broken push button door handles...All kidding aside, some of my favorite cars happen to be 67's. Art G's car ,Greg B's,  Mike Billing's , Mark Dean's and a host of others..  I would put some of those smiley faces on here, but I am not bright enough to do so.
     Later  Bill

Jordy your right after reading this I have decided to abandon my 67 project ;D

I love your post. Remember all bugs are equal but some are more equal than others ;)

Have these ones on me! ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

Hey Now Lets Watch The Cracks On 67 Novas I also own One 327/350H.P. 4 Speed take a look its been a long time Project http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/forest/3713   as soon as My nova is Done The 67 Bug is getting the same makeover I will admit My 67 Bug is a Bit Faster then the nova but with both cars you can go to any cruise night you want without getting funny looks as far as the 67 's Go  There are alot of differences in them even early and late in the same year I have had 48 VW's  37 of them being 67's  So I Do Like The 67 Year Alot but all years from the 50's threw72 standard beetle they all make Great Cal Looks as Long as you stick to The Old School Cal Look...  with the right wheels,tires,bumpers,paint and body and Drive Train They all Look Great.

Ahem....Ahem!  :'(

 ;D

You have had 38 VWs and 37 were 67s and they are my favorite year. Sorry if you got upset that I mentioned a VW being faster than a Chevy Nova but you admittted they are your Beetle is a bit faster. We don't get many Chey Novas in England but we have a lot of Vauxhall Novas and they are rubbish. My friend drives one. I have only had one Beetle and it is a 1972 But i will be buying a 1967 netx year.

thats 48 not 38  lol

All of those cars I mentioned have the package trays intact Dave ...Although I admit I would have to run & hide from that 40mm valve motor of yours. 
   PS.. please don't tell the others on the turbo race car forum about this place.   See ya    Bill

The metallic green car owned by Art Guttieyez is one of my top VWs ever. Did he crash it and rebuild it? The other car which I really like is owned by Ivan Mccuctheon and has real BRM wheels

For me its the same alot of my favourite cars are 67's and after spending a LONG time wondering what it really was that made me like these cars I still can not put my finger on it, I do think it has alot to to do with the one year only parts Boot lid, hood, etc And the fact that you still get the COOL wide 5 bolt pattern. just my 2 cents really  :)

Hey... he didn't mention mine either!  ;D

Ever since moving to Fresno in 2002, 67's come to me like lost puppies.  I've owned  upwards of 10 since then.  Actually I prefer 66's, because the first car I owned in 1978 was a 1966 java green sedan with empi fenders on the rear and a weird dark grey magnesium wheel in the trunk.  Sold it in 1982 with a 2 liter and ida's.  Wonder what became of it?

Why? Its the best of the old (-'66), and the best of the new (+'68). I was going to buy a '66 until I read the Cal Look Bible, after that I knew I had to have a '67. There is no substitute!!

It's simply the combination of old and new, that's why I like '67 bug ...

I love all the one year only parts, handles,decklid,valance,trim,starter motor,axles,winders,dash knobs,door pulls,brake reservoir and if it wasn't for this forum, I wouldn't of known about the US wings ;D I know there are loads more that I've missed and I'm still descovering them with every '67 I see ;D

67s? nah, everybody knows that 64s make the ultimate looker ;D

I think, that's the ultimate statement and the thread should be closed right here :-)))

2nd that!  ;D

(@jordy, in the winter edition of "Boxertje" is a nice article about the '67s)

the American model is different from the model produced for the Italian market.
naturally you consider the 67 American, but what do you tink of an European model 67  to make a cal?

Starter motor? All 5 of the 67s I've owned have used a regular old 12 volt 200mm SR15x. Don't forget the rear bumper overriders, back up lights, air cleaner and breast plate tin, front seats (late 67 only), wiper motor, flasher box, along with a few other obscure parts.

I'm pretty sure on 6v cars, they've got a 6v starter with a 12v pinion :)

Here in the U.S. the Ghia and maybe the transporter got a 6 volt 200mm starter and flywheel in 66.

I have a 67 fetisj. My first car was a 67 Volvo Amazon. My first vw was a 67 Bay pickup, then later i bougth a 67 Notch. And ever since i got in to Cal-Look a wanted a 67 beetle too. So i got my 67 1500 for a few years ago. And i love it

67.......overrated :o...................well truth is.......as long as it haul ass, it's in my book 8)

The first time I saw Hector Bonilla's looker, I knew I had to have one... It's not about hype, it's about love!

I have always thought that the US 67 looked strange, there ´s just something odd by having upright headlights and the long hood. Used to think that the engine lid looked strange to! But the years go by an you get feed up with the things you used to like and you look for something else, to spice things up, and there´s the 67, "ahh what a standout car!"
You know all pre -66 to -58 cars respond really well to the cal-look treatment. But when you line them up they all look similar, all perfect wheels and engine and the perfect rake. Put a 67 in that line and you see a bunch of lookers, and one that has something extra... "its a looker AND a 67"!!

Come to think of it I have had four all ready... BUT I would love to have a pair of those fenders!!

I agree with all that's been said...the one off year car, the headlights, the 12volt system, but Jordy's question is what makes a 67 THE Cal-Look choice for a lot of us??  I'm thinking maybe it has to do with the year things started for performance modifications...guy's like Don Crane (DKP) who bought a brand new 67 and straped some 48 IDA's on a 1500 cc engine...Mike "Bananna" Bonilla was another that comes to mind.  Personally, I wanted a new 67 so bad I could taste it, but I got drafted instead; so when my Datsun pick-up was stolen in 1984 from the VW dealership I was working at, the 67 in the used car lot became mine.  Oddly enough, I bought that 67 for transportation without any thought of Cal Looking it...but then push came to shove.  My feeling is a lot of what happens nowdays has a lot to do with what's been written about the good old days.

 My feeling is a lot of what happens nowdays has a lot to do with what's been written about the good old days.

I also think this does have a BIG influence  :)

'67s have the early look still- the long hood, no gas door, metal dash, slim bumpers, smaller taillights, lowback seats, wide 5 wheels. Big glass to see out of easily and see through the car when parked. And the upright headlights :) I once envisioned making my car a clone of a Standard Ragtop '67. I bought a ragtop roof section, then installed the early sloped fenders. I never grew to like those fenders! With the sloped lights the car looked like a puss!! The upright lights just look more agressive. Thankfully I did the fenders first instead of cutting the roof for the ragtop!! Now all big windowed ragtop cars just look odd to me. Since then Ive grown to appreciate the car for what it is- not try to change it into something it never was. I love the challenge of finding all of those one year only parts, hood, decklid, doors, door locks, window cranks, headlight rings, front fenders, dash knobs, seats (early and late!), pretty much the entire car. ;D Best of the old, best of the new. "Transition year" cars are most always popular, even from other marques.

Its when i was born!!!!!!!! must have been a good year :)    While i do like 67s it isnt my ultimate choice for a modified bug,it would be 58,cant really explain it but thats just what does it for me,cheers richie,uk   PS I havent owned a 58 yet but have had 67s

I can't see why anyone would ever base a Cal Look project on a '67, I certainly wouldn't....

 

I don't need to, I'm happy with the I already have one. ;)  ;D