The Cal-look Lounge

I know this topic has been beat nearly to death on this damned site, but I'd like to have one single thread of everything we know about these two cars/1 car and 1 bodyshell, starting from the sale of EMPI in the '70s. These new pictures and talk of THE '63 being restored has me wondering where the two most famous VW race cars of all time disappeared to. Part of me wants at least one of them to be driven by a little old lady like Herbie in the second movie "it used to be a very famous racing car" as it sits and dreams about past victories. As long as they're still out there I suppose I'd be alright with whatever though.

Hi Andrew, It sounds like a great idea to me.
Paul.

Well heres what I know for sure, when I stripped Tar Babe for its restoration, it had 2 chopped fibre glass doors fitted, Tar Babe had steel, so the Mexican Grillos Brothers must have used them changed them, one of them on the inside was the correct paint from IP 1.... so looks like the car was parted out.

In Europe, Ole's Pink Panther the ex Mexican drag race car is fitted with what I believe to be 2 rear wings from IP1 as I've seen the paint under the cracked paint....

So the story pre Mexico is that someone turned up at EMPI and purchased the IP1 Shell bolted to a pan and drove back to Mexico…. where Im convinced it was either raced or stripped for parts, the Grillos had 3 race cars back in the day so one could have been IP1

IP 2 according to the stories was sold along with all empi stock and taken to the east cost with filter dynamics....

Hope that's of interest, good luck looking, I f
ailled.                                                                                                                                                                                       

Exactly the man I was hoping would respond to this! Thank you, Russel! It's certainly more than I knew this morning! It's a shame to hear about IP1, but it's also cool that some parts have turned up over the years on other race cars! I'm sure SOMEone's gotta stumble upon IP2 someday... with the cars that have come out of the woodwork over the last decade or so, it's almost inevitable. Thanks again for the info, and for what you've done for the cal look scene!

from i've know too about ip when it went to mexico the car was chopped  
and about ip2 when sold with FDY  i've remember someone who wsaid that  Lyle Cherry had the opportunity to buy it,
here're the words from the guy who searched after ip 2
Sold for about 2700.00. Well I should say, Lyle Cherry told me he went and checked it out and they were willing to go as low as 2700.00.
He also said that it had been painted white and you could see the old paint job through the paint and it was in very poor condition water had leaked in the trailer and into the engines
he said he was going to offer them 2000.00 but was concerned about water being inside one of the engines so he passed. He told me who ended up being it and it did go on to race again.
it seems that the car ended   East and was NJ.
here's what some people know about ip 2

As the story goes..., Dennis who was tied in with Mothers Performance in NJ bought the car and ran it out here.
Now here is the difference.....I was told just now that he sold it to someone in Minnesota after a little bit.
.....this is all what I'm told. What's true and what's not after Dennis bought it I don't know
.when it was sold to Minnesota, the new owner tried to stuff a Hemi in it and wrecked the car. This is after Dennis only ran the car for a few years out here allegedly.
Not sure if that is true or not.


ip 2 used the floorpan of ip 1

so here's a picture of the inch pincher 1 in mexico with th e top chop (picture from ole )

Wow, there is some good reading here! Sad to see such an end to these cars!

The ip1 seems to still have the flower roof even after the chop!

Super thread - made my night reading this as have wondered about IP1 and 2 since reading Keith's book back in the 90's!  It doesn't look like either has survived sadly but we have to remain hopeful!  Does anyone know if the picture of IP1's body being removed was actually taken when they were building IP2 and swapping the bodies over?  Very cool pic nonetheless!

Chris

[attachment=1]

Side by side...

keith

I just noticed that the doors are removed in that picture and the one on the stand is the one I have..... where is the other door !!!!


Russell

Thought one door was at Schleys now?

Fun stuff! Remember that these cars ran both AHRA and NHRA, which had different weight breaks and rules. So, both cars had steel and fiberglass doors painted to "match". The IP1 door at Schley's is one of 3 doors used on this car, 1 steel and 2 fiberglass.

(https://66.media.tumblr.com/9a66ed76b060ed0813089c5350141009/b6e3114caac5a4cf-ce/s640x960/3c2caa2914959240280553535e75e6939145934e.jpg)

(https://66.media.tumblr.com/a39c84b747429446e4c131afbfd22545/e02453e3e950775a-12/s540x810/9370b13ef378c80cbdd145cbecee32ccf6850296.jpg)

(https://66.media.tumblr.com/c9cc9ce4e867f9e4bbad8da4302b60d0/5d7738f85397d574-78/s540x810/854051900071aececf7bddef5a0b0851d8edd738.jpg)

(https://66.media.tumblr.com/c5de6f146b68a6c6120ebc71ec9b8ff5/1b9100d6e86e9257-a2/s540x810/159c14b1e656e446c2a1f3cde6a00cfb16e44355.jpg)

check out guys
i've found  some interesting picture of inch pincher , when she was racing in mexico
but now is it the real inch pincher one, some parts look like some used on the car

and i've in contact with a guy that owned inch pincher2 at one time  after that the lee eliminators sold the company
i will not give is name , only one person will have it( and he know who is he )  ;)

Wow! Sign painters are talented but that door lettering is so close it’s scary! And that air scoop looks to be the same as well!

Great find here! If this is not the inch pincher body I would be surprised!

Would it be worth making this topic a sticky?  The pictures of what is possibly IP1 in mexico are obviously quite rare and historically significant.  Also would help to keep the subject in the public domain and just might assist in discovering the truth of what became of both IP1 and 2.