The Cal-look Lounge

I remember back in the '70's, VW clubs would have one or two rallyes each per year. Once we formed DSK, this was our first one from spring of '77[attachment=1]
Judging by the turnout and enthusiasm at Nick's every year, it seems like there is enough support to have more now. Any active clubs in SoCal interested? How about DKP or DKK?
Also, if anyone has any old flyers, please share them. I have more to put up but they're too large.

Here is our second one from Fall '77[attachment=1]

Here is one that never got past the planning stages, we wanted to have it April 1, thus the title.[attachment=1]This was my rough draft of the flyer, I used Shubee's Ghia as the model.

We revived a navigational rally a few years back, but there was actually very little participation.

That's too bad John... maybe you guys could give it another try? ;D
Navigational rallys & VW caravans were always plenty of fun.

~DR

Bruce, do you recall how many rallies that we held our (in)famous "DSK Burn Out Contest"?
Didn't we do one in a church parking lot?, much to the dismay of the neighbors and the 'advisement' of the Police to cease immediately.

Hey Mark --- is it this one???  //// Hecker

[attachment=1]

you should do a slow cruise into LA, would be an awesome photo from a bridge looking down at hundreds of VW's on the freeway.

Rallys just seemed like way too much thinking for my liking.  But my brain is lazy.  And I wasn't there back then.  So I can't say for sure.

But I really like some of the flyer artwork that was done.

We ran a treasure hunt with Half A Brain a good few years ago, but we really only had 8-10 cars participate. since then the price of fuel has doubled, so I don't think they'd be popular for that reason - most people want to go somewhere rather than driving around looking for something.

Having said that, if I'd got a 'Looker on the road and one was organised, I'd love to participate! ;D

Next week in LA we have two fantastic FREE rallys for 75 and older cars.
These are 3 day rallys that cover about 800 miles each.
Directions are provided, simple navigation, no tricks just the best driving roads in California.
Expect about 80 cars of various makes.
Occasionally along the route private car collections are available for viewing.
We still meet for pizza and beer in the parking lot after everyday of driving.  8)
Next Friday is lunch at the Baja Cantina in Carmel, try and catch us.
http://www.targacalifornia.com/?page_id=74 (http://www.targacalifornia.com/?page_id=74)
http://www.bottombustermotortour.com/ (http://www.bottombustermotortour.com/)
Coverage of last years Targa California from Bring a trailer.
http://bringatrailer.com/2010/03/24/2010-targa-california-two-weeks-away/ (http://bringatrailer.com/2010/03/24/2010-targa-california-two-weeks-away/)

I can't understand the lack of interest now a days in a good gimmick or navigational rally. I think the best part of the mystique and folklore of the club scene from the late 1960's thru mid 1970's is the stories behind the rallies. "Shorty's" post years ago about DKP cars burning off tires, getting sideways out of Ward's lot, "getting Whitfaced @ Shakey's" all notwithstanding, was one of the best posts ever here on Lounge.
The club I was in during the mid 1990's was very active, as far as hitting up Sears Point dragstrip, putting on poker runs, navigational rallies and just simple caravans. I have to say those times were some of the most fondly remembered in my VW life. The few navigational rallies we set up were "club only" and one truly went down in flames when everybody got (really) lost out in the dark, foggy delta one Saturday night, before the cell phone was popular. Had some club members awfully grumpy with me the following day.  ::)
Our most successful and memorable club trip back then was a simple caravan we organized in Bay Area, which began at Buggy House, in Hayward, @ 7:00am, and took the stream of cars (I think over 50 VW's showed up, aside from club cars) across the Bay and into coastal mountain highway CA35, which snakes through redwood forests all the way down to Santa Cruz. It was a great day, everybody hanging out and having fun all the way.

My old friend Bryan and I were always coming up with schemes for night navigational rallies, most just turned into impromptu drag races out @ Raymond or crazy hillclimb attacks up backside of Mt Diablo. Lucky nobody ever got killed. Some of our ideas would have been cool if they ever materialized... the "It Came Out of the Sky" rally involving flare guns would have been a good time, though we probably would have ended up behind bars.

Yah, gimmick rallyes is what I had in mind. Steve, I can't remember how many burn-out contests we staged, but I think there were at least as many as rallyes we had. Most times at the starting parking lot we had an hour or more to BS before the start, and then after the rallye an evening of pizza, beer and street racing! What a combo. Seems like most clubs ran them through some scenic streets with some point of interest or special challenge. When I first joined DVB they we very enthusiastic about them. I remember John Fawley and his wife Linda were always top contenders for the win. I was never much good myself, I made my navigator "dizzy" LOL.
For those not wanting to torture themselves or endure the rallye itself, the end or last checkpoint could be found out easily by asking the right people, and Shubee always knew who to ask! I remember on occasion Roger Crawford wouldn't even come to the start or rallye itself but would just show up at Shakeys with his car on the trailer slicks mounted looking for a match race!
I guess now it's hard to get one going simply because they are a lot of work. It would usually take a month to write, edit and print the instructions, as well as getting all the trophys and raffles prizes together. This takes an active club with strong membership willing to make the sacrafice towards the club treasury.
I miss the Berg rallye before the Classic too, my vote is to bring that one back.
Maybe after Nick's we can all just drive to a nearby Shakeys to continue the evening and share a pizza and beer or two!

here's the 1st krazy karavan by DVB ;)

my dash plaque from this one.[attachment=1]

First let me say PLEEASE excuse my scribbles, I've never had any art school but have always drawn cars. I was elected to make the flyers for the club and did it with some earnest, but looking back they are certainly "outsider" art.
There are other much better club artists that I met and have great respect for such as Harvey Woo, who did the DVB flyers as well as the clubs logos and Irwindale Drags flyers. Another is longtime friend Vince Ito who not only made a lot of flyers for DKK but also did a tee-shirt for Rollings Automotive with an awesome rendering of the famed "Imagination" dragster. (Sadly I've worn mine out long ago,Vince if you have any more, please let me know!) If anyone has any of their artwork or any others I've failed to mention, it would love to see it, with their blessing of course.

BTW, the rallye above that we planned was of course on a Saturday night, so in what year was it April 1 on a Saturday? '77, '78or '79?

I always considered Vince's fliers true classic, Cal-look works of art.

I remember a DVB rally I was on in the late '70's where you had to catch a goldfish out of a cooler to pass the check point and then if you wanted extra points you had to swallowed the fish! Those were the days. It was easy to get a few hundred cars to participate.

-jeffrey

[attachment=1]Note the $2.49 entry fee, for $2.50 you also got a raffle ticket!

I always thought a rally where contestants get eliminated along the route would be fun, something with drivers either having to meet other drivers at various meet points, via different routes, and having to "pass something on" (relay style), and so on, or drivers trading cars or something, then on to next meetpoint, whichever driver/car gets there first piles into another car, etc... complicated, yes, but would be a hoot.
Cars that don't make it to meet points first (again, along various routes, or maybe no route given, just a destination!) are considered late, and are out. If you do get there, you have half a playing card or something, given to you with route instructions, you gotta match it up to one of the cars already @ meetpoint. If nobody is waiting there or nobody has your match, you're out.

I have to agree, the best part of growing up in OC Ca was the rallies. I got into VWs in 1972 and always looked forward to them, nothing goes better with VWs then, good friends, Pizza, Beer and an occasional Street Race, but I don’t condone the Street Racing Part ;D

I love rallies and we still occasionally do them here. But you cannot do it for a/c vws only - not enough participants.
I think it is one of the best ways of spending time in your car driving it. And that's what this hobby is about, isn't it?
I love the old artwork and I like to look at it while I am at work ( ;) ) or in bed. But that can't be more interesting then really driving a Beetle, can it?

Funny thing is that when we're participating in a rally with my girlfriend (and usually her sister and/or some friends) we are arguing all the time. Whose fault it was that we've made a wrong turn, things like that. And still, we have a great time.

Photos from the best free rally in the California.  :)
http://bringatrailer.com/2010/04/10/targa-california-2010-an-incredible-day-2/ (http://bringatrailer.com/2010/04/10/targa-california-2010-an-incredible-day-2/)

more photos included a few stops at private collections.
http://socaltt510.shutterfly.com/ (http://socaltt510.shutterfly.com/)

Would be cool to get DKP, DKK, and other Cal-Look clubs from the hay day, get together with a Ralley or Big Cruz of some kind. Make it a joint venture of the club's. Just my 2cnt's.

Ted

See my post above.

Ya John I saw that, just thought I spark up some more interest, seem s like there is some, but maybe not enough. Still would be cool to get something going. Oh well!

Ted

your santa's little helper cruise is very successful though.  we need a summer cruise.

                                                       The cruises aren't the problem. The rally's are the problem. Most just want to go to the end and attend as if it were a cruise night. That's why our cruise nights remain successful, I guess.

Now there ya go. Got my vote! (what Low Oval said) John, you definitely have a point there, your monthly Cruz night's and the pre-Bug-In and pre-Classic are always top notch successful, I guess it's the idea of going through directions to get to a place, to much trouble for some. Easier just to know where ya going.

                                                 FINALLY, you make sense. Thank God for you!

What was the VW caravan event like?  I have a couple of plaques from 1985 for this event.  one is from a club called DSSK

If you are talking about the VW caravan from Costa Mesa to Sacramento I went on that with my wife in 1987.  That was the last year they did the full length trip.  In 1988 they started at midpoint and went on to Sacramento.  We had a blast.  We didn't know anyone, but directions were clear and there were so many VWs you couldn't get lost.  I do remember one guy with a ratty bug who had a case of oil in the back seat.  He figured he had enough oil to cover his engines consumption on the trip.  There were a lot of cars that were poorly prepped and died along the way.  I remember a number of cars falling off the pace going up the Grapevine.  CB Performance supplied a pizza lunch for everyone.  That was cool as we got to check out the other cars.  My car at that time was very rough, but the engine was in good shape and we didn't have any issues.  At the end they put a photographer in a helicopter to take a picture of 419 VWs.  Pretty cool...!

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