The Cal-look Lounge

Right then folks,

A new post for all us oldies and all you newbie's.

It is a question I've often pondered myself and read so much literature over the years since I got into the scene back in '85.

Now my knowledge of the '67 in the UK and probably Europe was it had a bunch of 1 yr only parts / panels, first year to have ball joint front end over link pin... first factory model with front disc brakes / dual circuit ?  My memory for these facts ain't what it used to be ha ha

But why so special to the Cal-Look fraternity today ?  It seems to me even back in the heyday of the DKP and other well known Cal inspired clubs, all years from split window to oval window through early small window were equally popular cars to succumb to the Cal-Look treatment.

Even the famous Aronson White looker that set the " rules " to educate the masses was based on a '63 model, right ?

So guys and gals come and share your reasons.

Shane.

Essentially, it was regarded as the last of the 'old' Beetles, especially in the USA, before the onset of Euro bumpers, padded dashboards, high-back seats, smog laws etc etc. Read the chapter on Dean Kirsten's '67 Beetle in my second Cal Look book for an insight into this...

Enough Said!
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Its the year i was born :D



Still looking for a january 67 car

cheers Richie

Is there any other year cal-look?  :D

Best of early (long hood, steel dash, early bumpers, low back seats, etc), and the best of late (1500cc, 12v, 4.12 trans, etc). Of course all early cars can be upgraded with later mechanicals, but since the 67 came that way I think it was the easy choice of the guys who started the look. It then took off from there.
Personally, I love the long hood with upright headlights. I like the big post 65 glass. And I like all of those goofy 1 year only 67 parts :)

I think zach is spot on, the combination of the long hood with the upright headlights coupled with a nose down "hotrod " stance just looks plain tough! Cars like dean kirstens blue 67, Mike billings & Gary bergs cars amongst many others have been a huge influence on my love for 67's. Myself & my brother jay both own 67 cal lookers, in fact jays 67 will have its own build thread too soon (another one!) as after 5 years of work it will finally go off to those uber talented guys at the painbox for its long awaited transformation!

I always thought i would build a 58-64 car as my ultimate Looker , that was the original reason I bought the 64 which ended up becoming Ned Bug . But I am building a 67 now, it was an extremely good deal , and the car was in danger of being cut up for panels , so i bought it mainly to save it . Since having it , its grown on me a lot , and doing research on other 67 lookers and realising some of my favourite cars are 67s .

I think all years make great Cal Lookers if they're done right .

Thanks , rob

It's the Deuce Roadster of Cal-Look.

You can build a hot rod out of a T, an A or other years of Fords but the Deuce (like the '67) has more of the desirable parts in it's original configuration.

I bought an early '68 as my first car in 1995, and as was the fashion at the time, decided to give it the early look. I bought blade bumpers, a long bonnet, '62-'67 tail lights and was about to buy sloping headlights and wings when I got offered a '67 decklid. It wasn't the semi-W I was after, but it was cheap and I was only 17.
Then I saw a Reader's Rides article in Volksworld with a pair of brothers cars - a black 63 and a red US-spec 67 on 5 bolt Sprintstars. It had no bumpers, a twin carb motor and a perfect stance. That was it. I've loved the oddball look of the upright wings and long bonnet ever since. They're weird in a good way!

As an aside, that red '67  was restored, painted Zenith Blue and remained one of my favourite cars ever. Gaz1 on here had it up for sale a while ago.

My personal view is that the early small window cars are cute but the a 67 just looks hard as nails when done right.

Also like the one year only differences that set a 67 apart

Hi Keith, I dug your book back out and thumbed through last night  ;D found the chapter where Dean Kirsten decides to get himself his 1st bug and chooses a '67 model - seems his choice back in the day was based mainly on the aesthetics of the '67 model compared to other models.....? And as other's have mentioned they dig the long bonnet yet upright headlamps,larger window glass and still on a wide 5 rim and the querky 1 year only changes......

So, I'm thinking back in the heyday of Cal-Look and the clubs that were setting the trend for years to come, down to some of these guys preferring to use a '67 model for the basis of their " Lookers " somehow that transposed into todays feeling that to have a Cal-Look '67 T1 is rather special.....

But saying that I also remember in my early days of Beetle admiration and desire to own a stocker let alone a looker the jewel in the crown was said to be the '66/67 1500 with front disc brakes and the fastest and best engine VW made. Of course for us Europeans we still retained the sloping headlamps and not until '68 did this change to uprights. Also we weren't affected by smog law and retained the steel dash for years to come...

I've yet to own a '67 preferring the earlier / cuter look of small windows and chunky surrounds with the long panels and small lights etc but hey, never say never right ?  :D

Cheers, Shane.

Some of the reasons I chose the '67 at a time where there were thousands to select from.... was one, they came with 12V. They came with the largest engine to date, 1500. They came with all the cool stuff that in '68, were thrown out the window and replaced with smog-resistant, gonzo seats and marshmellow dash panel. Did I mention the stamped bier can bumpers and new design brake bolt pattern that no one, had any aftermarket wheels for at that time? When I bought my VW Blue '67, I paid $800 for a one-owner, totally original inside and out with only 60,000 miles on it. Hell, if it was good enough for Don Crane, Gene Berg, Bill Duncan, and Gene Kibler, it was okay with me.

I always find it ironic that the 67 is seen as a very rare, one year only car, yet on ebay there alway loads of bloody 67 only decklids for sale!! :)

Being seriously i think people like them though because there a cross over car. For example, still on early 5 stud, but with the later benefits of ball joint suspension etc.

I think its the same for 58's, there a 'big window' car, but if you look underneath, they still have many of the oval characteristics, and indeed components.

Dude  8)

Look at pictures of Art Gutierrez's or Gary Berg's car (from 20+ years ago). I think the hobby has always been fueled by hard-to-come-by parts, hot rod and otherwise. A 1967 U.S. spec car has a list of quirky, one-off, '67 weirdo parts that were hard to find when I got into this in 1986 (now even harder to find). In my opinion, a '67 which has its one-year-only stuff on it (as it should), matched up with the "right stuff" hot-rod stuff, makes for the ultimate. Both Art's and Gary's cars have (had) this down perfectly. When I say "perfectly" I mean done with a sense of balance. Layering on endless coatings of "period correct" tinsel and showboat accessory crap is just trying too hard. There are other '67's that "do it right" like the two I mentioned, but these are the cars that will always stand out in my mind.

Jim

They are not rare. They made more 67 beetles than split windows if i'm correct.

Off course they are not rare.
But if you use the word "rare"it 'akes the price go up.😊

Henk!!!

If you are buying one, they are common. If you are selling, they are super rare....Right?

I never sold a '67 or parts for a '67 so i never used "rare" in my profit.
But i don't think they are hard to find exept if you want parts like doors or a apron,that don't comes up for sale ar the moment ypu need them.
My first beetle i bought was a '67,i bought it in 2002 and still own it today.
At that moment i didn't even know it was kind of special.

Henk!!!

My first beetle was a '67, it was crunched in the front and rear.  To be honest I wanted a '66 or earlier, because of the front headlights and the long decklid.  But at only 13 years old and not a large budget, I was actually excited to buy it for $400.  My plan was to make it look like the year beetle I mentioned earlier.  I finished the car, with the late 80's style Cal Look, a month or so before I got my license.

As I got older, I actually regret changing the front fenders, rear apron and rear decklid.  I got to appreciate the 1 year only parts on the '67.  Almost 27 years later, I still have this same car along with another '67 Beetle and a '55 oval.  I am now, well I should say I have been collecting year correct parts to have this '67 redone again.  I like it as, it's not that common on this rock in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.  Most like to run ovals.