The Cal-look Lounge

any one got any pics or info on this car please??

was it lost in a fire or something?

here we go  ;)

It got totalled with Phils brother driving just after it had the engine from Bernies ghia fitted..the interior came up for sale on ebay a while ago...Si

Such a col car and can remember reading that mag issue over and again

thanks for the pics!
shame about what happened!

i dont think there has been another bug in the uk done in this colour!?!

jick painted a car that colour in about 95/96, sold it as a incomplete project.

did it ever get finished?

i think i'm going to do the 66 sepia.

I'll have to see if I can find a picture of this thing when Phil bought it. It wasn't very nice. Fibreglass dash, fibreglass decklid. The clutch didn't seem to work properly - that turned out to be because the three remaining engine/trans bolts were rather loose. It had these delicious vinyl slashes on the doors. It was this car which made me learn just how much work is required to turn a basket case into a show winner. Phil worked relentlessly on this thing - if you know my brother you'll understand what I mean.

It doesn't come across so well on these pictures, but that colour paint was stunning - the contrast with the chrome was amazing.

And yes, it met a sticky end in 1997 with me at the wheel. It was a hard crash and I did not enjoy any part of it. I heartily recommend avoiding car crashes.

and there was me not naming names Jez..97 - crikey..it was a bit of a pile when Phil bought it to us..i remember the gutters being bodged up with wire mesh ;o)..si

same phil west who's in the outlaws ???

one in the same... :)

'Cept this one's got a bigger beard!  ;D ;D ;D

nearly, but not quite!   the car i painted at that time was a lighter shade called Porsche Caramel or Burnus Braun...kinda like a terracota.

it was a really cool colour, wish i'd hung on and finished that car but sold it, painted but unfinished.

Sepia is a very cool colour, that really was a top car at the time.

Thanks all for the kind words....bit of a blast from the past.  Think I've only just about got round to dealing with losing the old girl!  At least no-one was seriously hurt.

Anyhoo I'll dig out some old photos and see if I can find them.  I don't have a scanner so I'll have to photogrpah the old photos.  Here's one to start you off - at the start of the resto.

Cheers
Phil

So it's taken me over 2 yrs to get off my backside and find, sort and scan in my old photos for this one.  Here they are.

more

more

more

So thats what you look like under the beard! :o It was a great looking car Phil.

that's about it!

Car was better looking than me.  I was punching well above my weight  ;D

Thanks Phil ;D

EDIT/DELATED  ;)

(Sorry)

And who exactly gives a fuck about that?   ::)

You're not THAT interesting, except YOU DON'T SEEM TO GET IT.

Way I see it, when this came out there weren't many, if any Sepia Bugs, this car set that, and other possible trends. It also had a big motor for the time (if you read the article it mentions the 78x94 engine being fitted). The other thing is Phil's continued involvement with the scene is still relevant with his current race car, (a perfect Cal-Looker with real BRMs with an interesting subsequent evolution) and is of much greater interest than many of the 'post a lot do nothing fuckwits' that the 'scene' has attracted in recent years.

Cheers, Mat S.

Lee,
On this forum I have seen a few people 'dig' at you for various things you have said/done/not done and have sometimes thought that they were a little harsh but recently from certain posts you have made on here they have changed my opinion and think you deserved the stick.

The comment above takes the piss out of Phil and I won't bother saying any more as Matt is clearly better at words than me. Phil has contributed massively to the Cal look scene.
Lee

Wow. Cracking tone of post- well done you.

This was a car from some time ago and people asked to see it.

It was great then as Phil's current stable is now.

EDIT/DELATED  ;)

(Sorry)

Oh man.

I forgot how much red we got on it early on - even the pedals were red!

Even the axle boots!

Rember it from the volksworld feature.
Cool picture next to the old Bernard Newbury oval...

Actually I'm fairly sure that was Tony Smith's oval although it was so long ago my memory is hazy.  Still, they did look nice at that VoWo Show

I remember this car from Volksworld, a top car in it's time. I noticed that you cut out the louver panel directly over the engine Phil, I'm half way through that myself on my looker. Why did you do that?

The main bodywork resto was by the Paintbox - from memory it was really rusty and horrible inside so cutting it out was our only option.  The panel itself was then resto'd and replaced.  So it wasn't a performance modification.  Shane did that one - it took ages - shed loads of work for which I owe him a debt of gratitude!  So - good luck with the job!

Always loved this car , I had the Volksworld feature stuck on my bedroom wall when I was 16 or so , before I even knew what Cal-Look was about . Never realised it was Phil's car , don't think I bothered reading the articles back then .

Cheers , Rob

I'm a bit shocked by this post...nice to see it back but, some of the comments - jeez....Lee - your a  really nice bloke but, why comment?....when we painted it back in 96/97 so nearly 17 years ago - as far as we know no one had painted a car that colour..blimey mate even I was young back then (ish)... ;D...It was a car of it's time but, I personally don't think it would look out of place now..yep my opinion but, I don't make comments on peoples cars unless they are positive ( although lately with some of  the current trends of the vw scene I have had to bite my tongue ;)...anyway Natural High is  way cooler.....so maybe Phil should post some photo's of that and his Bus..anyone back me up  on this call...oh and Lee - your still alright in my book... ;D

Are you talking on your side of the pond?

 When I was looking to buy my first VW, I almost bought a Sepia Brown oval window with chromies and Porsche caps. It had been in HVWs. Used to be parked at the Chevron gas station on Red Hill & Walnut in Tustin. This would have been around '78.

It was the first that I remember seeing in that colour over here. Steve Bodycote from our club had a '64 painted Ford Roman Bronze, a deep metallic brown like Mark Thurbers car, but I think that was around 1998. Phils car was possibly linked more to the late 90s time period by the use of fully polished fives and no over riders on the bumpers, but swap the wheels for Fuchs and the bumpers for t bars and its look would change again.

Jez, as a totally random aside, your car was registered in Dudley, where I live! I seem to remember you saying it was your grandfather's car - how did he  come by a car registered in the Midlands?

EDIT/DELATED  ;)

(Sorry)

 

(http://i613.photobucket.com/albums/tt218/darthnull/Emoticons/digging.gif)

EDIT/DELATED  ;)

(Sorry)

He lived in Greenford, but the car was bought from the Orr-Tookey dealership in Stratford-Upon-Avon which might explain the Dudley registration. No idea why he chose to go to Stratford to make the purchase: although the quotation letter from Orr-Tookey includes a 10% discount - "As this confidential scheme is for the benefit of Association Members only under NO CIRCUMSTANCES, should the members use this quotation as a 'lever' with their local Dealers".

Maybe he stopped off on the way back from Shakey  ;D

If you knew people would take it out of context why say it ? Sometimes opinions should be kept to yourself !

If you saw Phil at a show , would you make a point of telling him you don't like his car !?

EDIT/DELATED  ;)

(Sorry)

This is funny.

Orr-Tookey was my local dealer! my camper was also purchased from there also.  8)

I know when its race time, as I can hear the roar of engines from over the hill from here  ;D

It was Tony Smith's car (a 54 Oval) - went through a number of changes over the years (see below).

(http://i42.tinypic.com/2f0gj7t.png)

I remember the Sepia car, it was very cool when it first came out (saw it at the Guildford VW cruise many moons ago). The colour at the time was pretty rare and worked really well with the interior/wheels. Such a shame it ended up totalled.

Oh and I for one, do like Sepia Brown as a colour (no metal-flake in sight!  ;) )

(http://i44.tinypic.com/348pvkx.png)

Thanks, do you know if they re-welded it? I'm thinking of gluing mine with bodyshop glue, that way I can paint it first.

I have seen some neat bolt in vent panels. I am sure Ron Elliot's car on here has a bolt in vent panel?
Lee

I think folks overreacted to your original post, and the part of your quote I boldened pretty much says it all when it comes to sharing opinions/thoughts over the internet.  Christ almighty, one would think you insulted somebody's mother with the comment you made previously, but that clearly wasn't the case.  Being called a "fuckwit" is straight out of the Samba playbook, too, so I wouldn't take it to heart.   ;)

I haven't.....

Still a "Nice Car"  ;)

Lee and I know each other personally, he knows where I am and I know what he is. My comment stands. This is not out of the 'Samba playbook'. There are many other facets to my opinion of Lee, all based on facts. I couldn't care less if he takes it to heart or not.

Spike Milligan once referred to someone as a 'snivelling shit'; I love that phrase, it describes so many.

Cracking. The Old School supplier! Not quote Econo Motors I guess  :)

Do you still have the dealer sticker in the back window? Mine simply fell to pieces - and I never took a decent picture of it in order to recreate it.

Funny you mention this.... When I first posted pic's of my 65 on a norwegian forum another member had the car 2 digits up from mine/sold from the same dealer and only 2 days apart.....

I even have some service history from the dealer.....

Anyway back to the car in question..... What size tires did it run???

It's a long while ago now, but I think it was 145 on the front and 165 on the back.

Thanks.....

 :)

It says on the magazine article scan on the first page.  ;D

I actually noticed it just after I posted..... Doh ::) :)

I do like this tire combo  :)

Previous post edited!!!

I would like to say sorry for my previous post.....