The Cal-look Lounge

I am redoing my '67 in interest of period correct modifications for a middle of the road, non show car, California Looker circa 1973.  I doubt everyone was using magnesium brm's and ida's, and more had a budget like me.  What wide 5 wheels and engine combos were popular among this group?  Was everyone de-chroming and removing bumpers on there cars? (I am leaning to retaining my one-year-only rear bumper) What other distinctive custom tricks were there?  I want my car to stand out from all the "phat boy equipped 2332's rolling on heavy aluminum brm copies with ridiculously large tachometers".

This is a nice idea for your project   ;)
You could think to use Empi 8, unrefined or with color matching bodypaint, maybe rivieras too  :)

That's a lot like I was thinking, what would be the best way to convert to 4-lug? just post-67 drums?

No bumpers, T bars or buggy bars ruled.  With bumpers your ride looked like all the other millions on the road.  NO chrome except driver mirror, all holes filled.  8 spokes, rivies, 2.0 alloys, all 4 lug, drilling drums mid 70's was'nt done much (adapters) A VERY popular option was chromies and porsche nipple caps.  BRM's were IMPOSSIBLE to get or afford, one of my favorite wheels at the time were Centerlines....  Still luv em'.  Also Mitchell's (like Erco's).  Most popular engine combos, 1641,1776,1835, 2180.  Kadrons, 42's, or even better Solex 40P11's with the tall velocity stacks.  They were affordable and manifolds were easy to find.  Kadrons were the affordable option that worked well for most that did not find the dollars for IDA's.  Hah, dont forget to demolish your entire dashboard and screw on an aluminum dash plate (maybe that was later 70's).  Might want to forget that one.  Dual mufflers (a must), non merged exhaust, relocated front turn signals (Lucas lights).  Trunk splatter paint in the engine compartments, Black tin or color matched to body.  Cal look rubber for all glass, one piece window kits.
I was the "affordable" Cal Look guy.  There were always the guys I knew that seemed to have WAY more money than I did and could afford IDA's or Alloys, but most bought wheels that fit their bolt pattern, found deals on carbs, painted everything they could and made certain the carpets were clean and the windows spotless.

Thats ALL you have to do...... ha

I was waiting for a Deek to turn up, and here's Worm, right on cue!  :D

I've gone slightly later in period with my car, and blacked out the handles and rear light rings. I painted the headlight rings in body colour too, and again, I think this is a later look - about '75-'76ish?

What about plexi headlite glass I'm guessing illegal in europe but that has always been missed aspect that in my opinion makes a car with Lucas signals look just mean

I like the idea of body colored empi 8 spokes (my car will be the original Zenith Blue) My motor will be a 1641, I already have a set of nos 87mm pistons and other original german goodies that have been in boxes since the 80's.  How many people used dcnf's?  I don't think idf's were ever used then, so that isn't in question.  Maybe I'll go with Kadrons though... need more research.  Was stock interior used in any early 70's cal lookers, besides extra guages in the speaker grills?  Big tacs are just out of place if you ask me.

Also, would two quietpacks be out of place for a small engine?  The engine still needs some backpressure through the system, with a 1641, a single quietpack seems more appropriate.

Back pressure?  We don't need no stinking back pressure.  Put the dual cans on a 40 horse. Its about attitude baby.  Stock interior? Never. You went to a Mexican upholstery shop and found some kind of cloth insert that was plaid or velour. You HAD to do the interior. I can't remember anyone ever buying a head liner kit. You picked a textured or smoothe vinyl and had them create it. I think I remember I paid $800 bucks to have my 56 painted in n out, all holes filled by braising and then a custom interior was about a buck fifty. Laughable now.  Also Empi 8's were painted at times but mostly unpainted. Raw was king. Same with 5 spokes.
Segue. I was at Bergs last week and Dee n I were laughing about how much she sold me 4  NOS Empi 5's in the boxes for 150 bucks. As well as an in the box Empi steering wheel for 35. Unreal now. We both laughed and wished we had a crystal ball.
Dual cans............
You know what...... Don't do what we did 100 years ago. Create a car with modern technology that makes YOU happy

Sounds like this is going to be awesome. I am doing this with a 65 I have....Traditional looker with early stuff.

early t bird header, kadrons, etc...

HAHAHA! Thanks for the "reality check" on the memory Worm! Not everyone could even FIND let alone afford some of the HotVW "must-have" items, at least in the early 80s. I spent the 70s (in my teens) sitting next to my nanna in her KG with her scarf fluttering about, and my Opa helping him do deliveries in that old beaten up Low-Light, but honestly for the life of me I can't remember NOT 1 SINGLE Mag wheel on anything, it was all chrome rims and Nipples. Even when I rolled with my first VW in 1984 it had chrome 14x7, woodgrip shifter, and a 2" chrome "nudge" bar on the front, rolled pan rear (Type 3 Square '73).........and twin 2" pipes on the 1641!
Make sure the twin straight-through mufflers are 2".........that's a bloody big pipe!  ::)

Oh yeah, don't forget, at least here in Oz, twin-carbs were pretty rare, most hotrod Bugs had a single carb, normally DCNF or Holley. Twin IDAs? What are they?

Dido on the chromies with Porsche hub caps. Major deal back in the mid-70s. Phat Boy muffler, no! Dual mufflers, no! (too soon). A single QP would be right in there for 1973ish. Traction bar, Talbot mirror, NO narrowed beams!, Koni shocks, 135x165s tires, and perhaps tinted windows?

That's what I thought with the single muffler (you had a single on your 67, right?)  My windows are already tinted, and I am in the process of finding a stock width beam to put in.  Previous owner turned the car into a hoodride, the thing had no suspension travel.  Most uncomfortable car EVER.  Are there any good replica 356 wheels, at cip1 they warn that the chrome is bad :(

Don't know where you are, but I have heard good things about these guys from local club guys.........

http://www.midlandwheels.com/Shop/C-1053-5x205.html

They all had alloys though, you'd need to double-check the chrome.

(Then let me know for my little project!).

I was gonna build this car, I'd keep it 5 lug and run Empi Sprint Stars. On a Zenith Blue car they'd look tough!

Plexi covers weren't anymore legal in the US  ;D

DCNFs were popular. Some cars ran pretty stock interiors.

NO

I was looking at buying BBT sprint stars (steel like the originals) but thought that they would be earlier than the period I'm after.  Maybe not.  Chromies look sick, It's just that original chrome 356 wheels bring big dollars compared to my other choices (bbt sprint stars).

I don`t think very many ran sprintstars at all. Chromies and Porsche caps, 5 spokes, centerlines, or maybe convert to discs and run 8 spokes.

Not many ran them but they were still used enough and were certainly part of the look in Orange County.

I may be biased as the "THE" car that got me into Cal-Look was a black dechromed '67 running Sprint Stars that belong to the older brother of my best friend. I remember many times running around in the back seat of that car ;-)

Anyways, this car would have been built around 1973.

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greg aronson 63 ragtop with chromie porsche wheels

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Wow, that's a lot.  I really like Aronson's car with the chromies.  I really want to stay away from brms, I feel like it is too wannabe.  I think in a perfect world, some buggy bars (fabbed by me) and chromies all around with nipple caps in the front only, or maybe none... all 4?  maybe red drums?  And a reletively small (1641 or 1679) dual carbed engine.  Not ida's, I want to drive the thing and go on trips without getting low 20's or worse for mpg.  Color coordinated plaid interior would be sweet.

How late were people using chromies commonly?  I want my car to be modeled during the cal look was in full affect. (no glasspacks and removed bumpers, lowered too)  ;)

Early 80s

Cool, This may be a stupid question, but where all the "chromies" 356 wheels, or did some companies reproduce them at that time?

Its interesting (to me) that all of those cars have vent windows; none have one-piece window conversions.

Regarding chromies, as I recall the chromed out original Porsche wheels were ideal followed by the Brazilian made Mangels.  Later asian-made wheels hit the market and people began experiencing vibration and rust issues.

Yeah there was a lot of companies reproducing Chromies.

That's kind of what I've been seeing.  I can't find any good chrome 356 replicas here in the states.  Does anybody else know of any good new chromies?

Here are a few shots of my 70's cal looker.

Rick M

Wow, that's real cool Rick!  Are those 40hp stale air fan shrouds?  Did you (or anyone else) have cooling issues with those shrouds?  It's also a 67 like mine ;D

Forgot to ask what carbs those are?

Who did these cars belong too? I don't think I have ever seen them before and they flat get it. I see DRF stickers in the 1/4 windows.

(http://cal-look.no/lounge/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=19931.0;attach=63642)
(http://cal-look.no/lounge/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=19931.0;attach=63639)

My old 64 was built by the previous owner in that late 70`s.
(http://images.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/177468.jpg)

This is becoming a very interesting thread  :) :)

How to Cal look your bug, by the guy's who did it first  8)

THATS IT RIGHT THERE..................

Old School to me would be 1600 or 1700cc's (built with Kolbenschmidt 85.5's or 88's).  I'd never recommend "drop-in" (no machining) 87's as the cylinder walls are very thin.  The most widely used cam was an Engle 110.  A lot of folks ran single port heads with some compression along with a plenum style intake manifold and a 32NDIX Zenith two barrel carb.  Others (with MONEY) ran dual ports with IDA's or Solex 40P11-4's.  An S&S single quiet-pack 1 3/8" exhaust completed the package.  As for the look, I liked the ease of chrome wheels (clean 'em with Windex) and hated BRMs.  Sometimes, I wish I still had the chromies!  Getting the stance right was done by pulling a few torsion bars from the front beam (nothing changed out back).  I'm sure not all of you will agree here... just my $.02 

Sarge, Are ya talk'n about the bike ?

well i was there in the 70's in shorts!!! age 2-3,  and not in Cali, BUT, i think a Zenith blue car could easily get away with set of 8 spokes (raw is cool), but painted a darker blue would be very much in the spirit too.

Gday Sarge.
I rekn that sums it up, at least for what I remember seeing. I didn't get into VWs until the early '80s, but still remember my uncles and their mad mates and what they used to roll with.
Over here bigger single-throat Strombergs and Holley 2BBLs on centrebranch was the popular engine mod.

Thanks Speedwell for all those cool pics man, what a flashback!  :D

Thanks for the pictures.  Sarge, your opinion is a lot like mine, keep it simple.

Another question.  My 67 is retaining it's original chrome, and filling the holes will be a one-way flight.  With 67 being a desirable year, I don't want to scar my car by shaving it all off.  Will shaving it hurt its value?

How many Beetles were made again?  ???

Make it yours.

Well............ Lather up!
And what Sarge said....  He kinda knows...  I'm just sayin'.  He's had a couple hot rod VW's.... ya think? (he said "plenum")

Deep down inside, I want to dechrome it.  I just am a little hesitant to lay the weld.

(http://www.thefoxisblack.com/blogimages//just-do-it.jpg)

You can still glue the trims if you want them back.

Do it.

Love this thread...I'm sorry but, skinny side trim look's rubbish..get rid..don't be scared - it's your car and if anyone in the future wants to put the trim back on...let em ;D

Just use bondo (plastic filler) to fill the trim holes.  By the time it cracks you'll want the chrome trim back and it will be easier to put the trim back on....... :D Just kidding.  In my  opinion, don't stress over it! Build the car the way YOU will be happy with it.

Really quick story, that's sorta kinda related........

As a teen in the mid-70s my uncle had a little early 60s T1 sedan, and although not racing anymore, he frequented the races a bit still. He ended up living with us for a few months, and we had a REALLY steep driveway, that little lowered Beetle always scraped the rear apron in and out.
Finally one day he got the craps up, just sat and looked at it. I suggested cutting the back part of the apron off, coz it stuck out so far, then it wouldn't scrape. So we did, no scraping, problem solved, YAY!!! All we did was trim out the rear apron almost up to the engine lid, and matched the curve of the engine lid to make it look good, then ended up later running a QP muffler in the centre of it. I ended up doing it to my last Beetle too, as a sort of flashback thing, I still like the look.

Fast forward about 3 or 4 years, and we both went to visit the races again, this time in my V8 coupe, and there were 3 Beetles there........and all three of them had the trimmed rear apron mod!  ;D When we asked why, they said some sort of crap about letting the air out the back, reducing lift, HAHAHA!!!

It's funny how trends seem to catch on sometimes!

Make the car look the way YOU want it too.

i do actually believe that this mod works...

I believe Tar Babe had a trim rear apron and fenders, looked good too.  What is the best/easiest to remove the trim? just spot welds?

AirCooledCurtis....

I had machine 88's with a stock counter weighted crank in this motor. Engle 120 cam. A bosch BRS 383 distributor (now in FRENCHY's split window), Dual 44 Webers at the time, dual port heads with a owner port job on them with stainless valves in the heads and dual springs, center pull linkage, single quiet pack muffler, dog house fan schroud that I took the fresh air ducts out of and modified the vanes inside. Motor had about 7.8 compression. Was a great driver motor and bracket racing motor...could drive just about anywhere. Not killer fast but fun to mess with people.  Had real EMPI 5 spokes (split rims), 135's on the front and I cannot remember the rear wheels. They had the footprint of an M&H 660 slick. Had a crazy plaid interior, dash and headliner. Had fiberglas hi-back seats on tubular seat rails I fabbed to work with the stock slider frame. Had VDO guages out of an OPEL GT that I mounted in a custom dash. I ran the large face speedo and tach from the OPEL GT, along with 3 other gauges from the same car. Guages came with chrome bezels but I sanded all of them and painted them satin black.

Gears in the trans had a 4.57 R&P, crown axles, crown close ratio 3rd and 4 spider diff. Had an old HURST flat bar shifter for VW. Ran a diaphram pressure plate and metal woven disc. Ran stock rubber mounts in the car with trans strap I fabbed.

Had a lot of fun in this car. Drove it to Bug-In 22 and sold it to a guy from Torrance, CA. and never saw the car again.

Rick M

Was anybody using drla's? Does anybody have any experiences with twin 36 dells?

AirCooledCurtis,

Dual 38 Dells are incredible carbs (as are all DELLS).  I ran several pair of them on motors. Had some on a 1776 with a stock cam and 1.25 rockers and the motor got over 30mpg, ran strong, cruised at 70mph on the freeway all day and was fun to drive.  Any DELL carburetor is a great street carburetor.

Rick M