The Cal-look Lounge

Hi gang,

I really would like to know why you are into Cal Look? What makes it so special to you?

For me it's more than just a look, it's more a way of life. Like most of us I got in touch through Keith's book. I was fascinated by the history of that style, fascinated by the old storys about the cars and their owners and the friendship between the people who were into it. And maybe it helped that I was born in that decade, even if I was far to young and to far away to join the fun. In generell I love old things and like to listen to old storys. It's quiet difficult to express everything I connect with Cal Look, especially if you can't say it in your native language. I was thinking about that topic while I emailed with JHU today telling him a story about the friendship and readiness to help between the Cal Look people in Europe.

So how about you?
Cheers,

Georg

Back in the late 70's....I was ready for a driving licens and my folks did not like my idea of a full on street races on a Chevy Nova platform...you know tunnelrammed 327, 4-speed with vertical gate and slicks, the gutted interior type of car. So they gave me an option: A Volkswagen! i agreed couse it could be hopped up and they thought it was a good idea as it could not be hopped up!! So there I was. With a Volkswagen and eager to get out on the street. I looked for ideas and ended up with the late 40's Ford Street Rods. I lowered it, dechroed it and painted it in solid white. Nerf bars and stock rims. I later that year got hold of feb 1975 Hot VW and realized I invented the wheel!!! :)

I got interested in the Cal-look scene when i first saw Paul Rui`s wild BRM split. Then i bought Keith Seume`s bible and then and there i was sold.

Today i am interested in all kinds of 70`s styled veichles. Slalom, gassers, customs and just about everything with cool paint schemes.

Thank god for that. Remember the white mudflaps and stinger combination?

Hmm, forgot about those. We have all done some minor mistakes in our lives :'(..Never again ;D

Ohh, another great thread!!

I have always been into cars... so that was a given... I think I stumbled over the Cal-look/bug thing in 1989...  Later that year I bought the book called "Air-cooled Volkswagens" by Colin Burnham... and I fell in love with a Cal-look 1303 with rake and IDA!! I think I know every text in that book by hart!  ::) And the Californian sunlight... it makes ANY car look like a million dollars!! By 1990 I had bought my first vw, a red 1303 and welded my first trim holes...with a severe rake  8)  I was 15 years at the time. Since then it's been a one-way street...  and Keith's book sealed the deal, it's a bible...
BTW: I was born one month after the Cal-look phrase...  ;D  

When I got my oval in 1998 I loved those resto cal lookers which were becoming en vogue in germany. Then, in 1999 I met George and the others guys from DFL at a meeting in Hockenheim. george showed me a copy of the 1975 Hot VWs and a copy of KS´s bible which I ordered 1 day later and completely read it the evening it arrived. That book changed everything for me... ;D

Even if I owned already a lot of aircooled, I feel I've been deeply sleeping and dreaming of 100% stock, vintage VW's until a couple of years ago. And then, as it often happens, I got into the wrong bad boys group and was initiated to the worst drug ever! Obviously, if you want to talk about cal look, you will start reading the KS-book, as most of you also did. There I read about the 60ies and 70ies "calllok-heroes", and liked their total passion for strong engines, blowing away many much bigger cars on the stripe, and so I started thinking low and fat!

I have been into VW's for as long as I can remember. But when it comes to the cal-look style I suppose a certain book made its impact on me too.. Thanks to mr Seume for writing that book and make so many of us see the light!
As for why.. I love the cars, the look and the VW-community. Lots of nice people who share the same interest is great.
I am also very fascinated by all the old and sometimes mysterious parts that were made back in the 60s and 70s.
At the moment I am into the "pre-cal" style and building my car in the spirit of the early DKP pioneer cars.

Lets do what we can to keep this thing alive!

Anders

Hey José,
Welcome to the look! Glad you found the right path!  :) for me it started in '96 when I discovered the french Super VW mag. They featured many "old school" bugs, from the USA (dkp3 special etc) but also from the belgian DAS guys. I liked that pure "form follows function" look. Thanks to the internet I got lots of inspiration e.g. from Tero's Cal Look Site and so on. I met more and more people that are into "the look" and finally bought KS' bible. The rest is history as they say...

i start in vw in 94 and my first car was a 74 1200  and I wanted to age it and put fuschs simply to him but it was the period of the resto- cal and  I did one , after having seen super VW n°62 special old school I brought brm on my car, t bars , and speedwell steering wheels, in less than one year I passed so that I wanted with my VW and then I bought the bible of ks ,I fell in love with the nostalgia drags  and the 70' S cal looks,.and for me what I like in the old cal looks these their simplicity, for me a front dropping to accentuate  the sporting look and a period set of rims and some period accessory also and it's played
go to this links to see the different style of my first beetle and the pict was my 61 and i hope to finish this year  ???
http://www2.cal-look.com/nostalgia/fabian.htmlhttp://

To me, it came outta da blue... I've been into VW's since I got my driver's license. My first one was a '67 with Automatic transmission. I attended the Kaeferblasen at Giebelstadt/Germany and was blown away by the performance the tiny VW's were capable of :o. I started thinking about converting my bug to a drag car (OK, I was dreaming of...), but after the Kaeferblasen was canceled in 1992, there was almost no possibility to race the 1/4 mile in Germany. Some good fellas competed in the german Kaefer-Cup these days. I joined them and learned something about aircooled VW's. Didn't take long till I wanted to race my own car. I swapped the '67 body for a '53 ragtop and prepared it for circuit racing... talk about youthful transgressions  ::) (at least, it's still alive...) Later I was offered to drive my buddies 1302, that was the point when I realized that my car will NEVER perform like a car with McPherson suspension :o. Then I build a 1303 (we were young and we had the parts, we changed it to RHD...), I eventually raced it in 1999.

I was impressed by the D.A.S. lineup at one of the VoWo-shows, and I wondered why my buddie couldn't keep his hands of this book showing a white beetle on the cover ??? After he got the author's autograph, I couldn't resist to take a look... I highly appreciated what I saw, but didn't spare a thought for building my own looker, I was too much in this Kaefer-Cup thing, that time.

Years later, Frank Schmitz from Luxembourg asked me if I'm interested in an old VW gasser. I replied: "Hell no! Not another project! I got some cars for sale, too!" He said:"Anyway, I'll pass you some shots and a list of the parts..." The rest, again, is history...

Saludos,
Ole

it startet in 98 with the resto-cal look, that I really liked. but then my preferences changes to cal-look. some of the DFL cars were an inspiration, of course the KS book and lots of internet stuff. also i can still remember seeing the muppet racer and thinking, that this is a cool car :-)

to be serious: if there would not be the cal-look i probably would not drive an aircooled volkswagen. call me narrow-minded, but that's the way it is for me today.

My first meeting with vw was in 1994, my dad bought a 1964 T-1. My father and I started to go to some vw-meetings, and I also started to look in to some vw- magasins. Hot VW and VW-Trends. Later I bought KS cal-look bibe.I was sold.!
I remember HOT SHOP. A vw-company in Norway had a spring vw-meeting and in their store they had some pictures of a black bug fited with centerline and a Hot IDA motor. It was the company drag/street car.
It was the start. when I was 18. I bought my first vw. A 67 T-1. In the beginning It was fited
with stock rims, lowerd front and a 1835cc, later It was fit with some BRM.
I sold It. and now i have a 1959 T-1. with 2044 IDA, and BRM(Sold) It's going to be replaced with centerline, and Real EMPI 5, Need a repaint.
 
Fritte

In the early '80s the Swedish hot rod magazine "Wheels" ran a couple of articles about the California Look. I don't know why really but from then on I was hooked on souped up bugs. I think why I like Cal-look cars so much is the simple clean understated look on a really fast car. In fact I actually hate how a stock bug looks but as soon as you add the right wheels and the rake etc. it strangely turns into something "sexy", stylish and cool. Also the element of surprise plays a factor as people are not prepared for an old slow VW to be really fast.

Been doing this since 1979, and stepped away from 1986 to 1997, when the "High Performance Engines II"  drew me back in.  Then found the CLF, and it's been downhill since.  Jim Kaforski's 63 still does it for me. 8)

I think what you need is clone of that car. Now lets see............. Where can we find one?

Well, I guess it started way back in the mid-80's, hanging around some older guys at my street who were into american muscle cars and hotrod's and whatnot, reading magazines like Colorod, Wheels and Bilsport. hmmm, well, perhaps not the entire truth I had no clue as to what "cal look" was at the time...  :-[

The truth of the matter is, yes, as a young boy becoming a teenager in the mid-80's, some older guys at my street were indeed into american muscle cars and hotrods, and they were all reading magazines like Colorod, Wheels and Bilsport. One day the younger brother of one of the elderly came home with an orange 1303S and immediately started to order some parts from Dalhems, a Swedish aftermarket dealer. Being very interested in cars I was very fast on offering my help to unpack the boxes we picked up at the local post-office and hanging around the garage. Shiney new parts posting names as "Empi" and "Scat", not knowing anything on what they really were or the history as such. Soon a single qp muffler made its way to the orange bug and my much older friend offered me a ride in his bug. As a young boy this was heaven, being able to hang-out with the older guys and riding in a car that sounded like it had a million horsepower to boot.  :o

Growing up I found myself drifting away from old Volkswagens, sure my aunt owned a -60s bug, and I got to ride in the "duckbay" as any other child did at the time. Time moved on and with a fresh drivers license in my hand, no tought of having a bug of my own entered my mind (to much dismay in retrospect!).

Time warp 1. Having spent a couple of years, well a decade really, fiddling with english cars, such as Mini Coopers from the mid -60's and experiencing some mid-life crisis when I turned 30 a few years ago of not owning a nice "classic", I decided to get a bug, a nice, shiny one, with a classic cal-look appearence. Said and done, I was biten by the bug! Spent a fort-night on the web searching and reading up on this craze called "The California Look". Found a car on the internet and voilá; after many years living in the dark, I was the proud owner of a 1962 Bug, OPWs, with BRMs, 135s Michelin up-front, some beefier tires at the back, a single empi qp muffler reminding of my childhood days growing up. Well, the car was perhaps more of a resto-cal as the know-how increased as to what cal look is all about, built in the late-80's-to-early-90s and well maintained with a light slam at the back and not hosting a souped-up engine. I felt right at home! :)

Following the purchase; I immediately started to subscribe to HotVWs, VolksWorld, Ultra VW, VW Trends (R.I.P) and got hold of the "Cal-look Bible" by Mr.Seume and alot more got-to-have literature found its way to the bedroom table.

Time warp 2. Quite content with my -62, driving it, looking after it, it was by the luck-of-the-draw during the summer 2004 visiting a swedish bug show, BugBash, I found myself in a bit of a predicament and needed to get hold of a "project car". Always thought that "ragtops" was very closely connected to bugs I got hold of yet another -62, this one with an original factory ragtop, black BRMs, some Porsche gauges, a new Puma front-end. The small rental garage-space soon became cluttered and the better-half back home started to make comments about "owning too many vehicles". I decided to sell off the first bug in order to "do something on my own" and to free up some cash of course for the "new" bug. Being the proud father of two small boys, and a demanding work, time in the garage has become a scarse commodity and the "project" has been sligthly delayed to say the least. Car is looking more like a SoCal Volksrod in the dimming light in the garage, no fenders, removed interior, no glass, no rubber no nothing, dust from paint being removed has slowly but surely started to cover every little bit in the garage, I spend my evenings hushing my babies to sleep while fingering on my Gene Berg shifter standing proudly on the bookshelf and dreaming of roaring IDA 48s... :'(

Well, what's another year!

BTW, my congrats on a very nice forum!

For me I came aware of Cal Look in Finnish army, I had been into V8s since late 70's, got older cousins who had American cars and were reading V8-Magazine. In the same army unit was a guy from Kotka who was into VWs, so I borrowed a pile of Hot VWs from him and he got some Popular Hot Roddings from me..

After the army I never got to buy the '65 Mustang Fastback of my dreams and continued studies etc. Somewhere in '94/'95 I noticed a nice peach coloured Looker in front of our house (no trim, bumpers, steel wheels, lowered) and figured that VWs would be nice "hobby cars", and they must be cheap since they were everywhere.. I couldn't tell the difference between Super Beetle and Oval, but I asked a colleaque from summer job to bring some VW magazines from her holiday trip to States.. So she brought few issues and I started to subscribe Hot VWs and VW Trends and slowly got aware of Cal Look and year models etc.

Started to read Volksworld too, then the Cal Look issue in '96 caused a certain feeling and so I bought my first car, that being a Gulf Blue '63, was eager as hell to learn how to work on the car, things like lowering it etc. Joined FVWA, went to my first "club" meeting in Pukinmäki, was bit surprised of what I saw, I had both the oldest car and only Beetle, went there few times more, people were friendly and helpful but I didn't have much in common. I got to know Jussi Jyränkö, who pointed that I might find out West Coast Aircoolers bit closer to what I was looking for, different bunch of people  ;) Got my car painted and got some things sorted out, driving it and trying to learn things, went to the club WCA meetings, met Pete and Kurre from Luftsick who gave me the silence-treatment, then if I remember correctly it was Heebah who said he and Kai will help me in getting the car bit closer to "specs". We lowered the car and it appeared in club display stand couple of days later in local show..

After that things started to evolve quite fast, collecting accessories, then moving from Resto Cal to Old School Cal Look and started to collect engine parts etc.. Without meeting the right people I wouldn't have gotten the kicks from the hobby I have..

This is the "how" part and the why part is "I thought that they were cheap to work on"..

I am into California Look VWs as the style encompasses my thirst for improved performance, but equally gives you a blank canvas with which you can either create a 'sleeper' or a hard looking ride. It is also a way to follow a basic book of rules but come out with a unique car which everyone recognises as your car.
Equally, it has become more about quality today than ever before, so you could say any California Look car built today has to be a 100 point restoration to meet the grade, so the style now also includes full restoration.
It's basically the best form or style of VW modification, in my opinion - which has a world-wide following.
That's the why...

But what about the 'how'?
How did I get into it? By reading old copies of Hot VWs and Trends from the 70s and seeing what had been done to the feature cars.  I had seen a small number of very subtle cars when I had visited California – which appealed to me although they were very hard to spot as everything in the VW world was neon coloured with wild graphics.
I built a Notchback in the mid 80’s that was going to wear my BRMs, but decided to go Resto Cal with that one and concentrate on building my own perfect - for my tastes - Old School car.
I looked for over a year to find the best '67 I could located.  And then I was able to build my dream car with the '67 I bought in April 1992.
The car was lowered - nosedown, fitted with original BRMs and an EMPI GT steering wheel and shifter for Bug Jam '92.

At VolksWorld, I had been trying to promote the Old School California Look cars that were becoming really popular in the USA by featuring them in the magazine. I arranged to get my old friend Hector Bonilla's '67 (who's car had been very inspirational to me for years!) in the magazine along with Gary Schubrook's red Oval with convert decklid and racing mags  (March '92 issue). I also ran a one page 'VW Relics' feature on BRMs in the same issue, although this was in the days before the internet - and details on the amount which survived were conflicting. I had contacted Rubery Owen Group and found the moulds for the wheels - which had been at a foundry called Acricast in Wales were not longer. No matter what you hear otherwise. 

However, March 1992 was also the month that I did a news piece in VolksWorld which introduced the Flat 4 BRM to the world for the first time - a product which would go on to change the look of so many cars - or should that be give so many cars The Look?

In January 1992 I first made friends with Pal Rui in Oslo - who had placed a wanted advert for BRMs. Someone else in Europe who had an interest in the same things as I did, he is still a friend 14 years later.

In August 1992 issue I was able to arrange and write a feature on the black Old School '67 Flat 4 built - and this continued the California Look quest.
VolksWorld was mainly featuring custom VWs or drag racers - which was Keith's passion - or Vintage VWs (which we all loved).

In February 1993 - Volksworld ran a club feature on DKP 3. I wrote it and Keith did the photographs for whilst he was over in So Cal. Keith also wrote a little piece on the history of the club.   

We were gradually starting to get more material into the magazine, and a lot more was to come!

I was busy collecting the right parts for my '67 - I had the wheels and the Skat traks and 48IDAs, but I was now trying to collect the engine parts. The car was coming along very well.

In January 1994 I ran a article on Pal Rui's white 'Old School '62' on page 77.

I ran a feature in April 1994 on the Old School style interior re-trim Bernard Newbury did for the '67, and I planned for the car to be shown for the first time at the 1st VolksWorld Show. I can remember Bernie thinking I was a little mad to chose the material I did. He would later do many similar interiors.

The car was going to be debtued - no matter what. And it was very close, close enough that it was just a case of getting it tested.

Keith Seume had been over to So Cal for a holiday at the end of 1993 and had seen the old Keith Goss car for sale, and bought it.
It was being shipped over and he wanted to show it at the VolksWorld Show too. When it arrived the paint had cracked during the journey on the ship - so it had to be repainted before the show.

We got them together for a VolksWorld Old School front cover - June 1994 issue.

The '67 I built must have been the first true Old School car to be built in the UK.
And the Keith Goss car must have been the first original California Look car seen in the UK.
The June 94 issue also had a story on Dave mason's car, a history piece on Speedwell's test car - the '65 reg FLE114C and a story on my day with Bill Schwimmer and the DKP III at Terminal Island.

The July '94 issue featured Bill Schwimmers car and then in March 2005 Keith did a feature on Dave Rhoad's '64.
In June we feature Bernard Newbury's Oval - in it's first guise.
So UK Old School Cal Look had started to filter through.
By August '95 we had Rick Mortensen's Old School '67 and the in November I took over from Keith as Editor.
In December we ran the first feature on the DAS club members.

Then in February 1996, I decided to do the first VolksWorld California Look issue - it was something Hot VWs had done in 1975 and I loved so much. I ran the idea by Dean Kirsten and he said it was fine by them.

We also announced the new California Look book for Keith in this issue.

This was the first of many California Look issues from VolksWorld. We have tried to fly the flag ever since and are proud to have featured some of the best cars in the world.
By 1997 a lot of cars were starting to come out in the UK, and mainland Europe and we were about to be amazed at the way the California Look was back and stronger than ever. It blew the VW world apart!

It would never have come back without the hard work of the members of DKPIII, and the people who work on VW magazines. The part we played in this is something we are very proud of.

I was out in my '67 on Saturday and it was great fun.
It's been on the road since 1994 as a California Look running the only set of wheels I have for it - original BRMs and, I will never sell it.

Thank you Ivan for your statement...It amazes me what has transpired from 3 friends getting together in 1988 (Greg Brinton, Dave Mason and myself)  We just wanted to build cars like the VW's that we saw when we were growing up in OC.   DKP was legendary in North OC  (Orange, Anaheim, Fullerton ect.) & that was what we wanted to emulate.To me the Look is part of OC history & I am thankfull to be able to have it continue.To me our cars are the 32 Highboys of the 70's & 80's.They started out as daily transportation & were raced ,showed & driven home @ the end of the day. I see the cars get more specialized  (race cars ect..) however to me a true Cal Look car must be able to be street driven. The reason that I drive a fast VW is that it annoys people ,it is pretty funny to blow the doors of something that should be much faster.Anybody can make a v8 fast, try doing it with a 3rd of the displacement,in a car that lbs. per cubic inch is heavier than a Camaro.  Enough for now .  time for bed      Bill

Credit where it's due Bill - your work, along with the other members of DKP III,  and the continued commitment has done more for the California Look scene than anyone else I can think of. The club is still the benchmark.
All we have tried to do is report on this and keep the flag flying.

I hope to see you again this year.

Hi!
I totally agree to the statement that a Cal Look car must be cabable to be street driven. For me, a Cal looker´s "spirit" is to be a fast street car which also can be raced on the 1/4mile. The whole scene seems to be going in two directions: street and race.

An interesting thing is the "OC spirit" of those cars, mentioned by Bill. It works even not being a California resident ;D Somehow the car in combination with all the impressions you have/had by visiting California, reading all the old Magazines and Books and so on keeps the spirit alive-all over the world. It´s always interesting to expand those impressions by the stories and statements posted here by guys being into Cal Look for that long time, so this forum is also a great opportunity to "learn" ;)

Gregor & Bill,

I recognise that a cal looker is a street car, but I can't help wondering how the cal-looker back in the day was used?
A "typical" 12 - 13 sec looker... would it be driven across USA?  Or was it used as a city/cruiser?

For my wallet, driving my engine 500 mile round trips seem like a waste of engine life...  better spent on the redlights around town  :)

Hi Jon,

well, in my interpretation, Cal look went thru kind of an evolution. DKP I cars for sure where no 12s cars right from the beginning, but they where much faster than a stock VW. Since then, cars where modified and modified, and besides that, a 1/4 race scene established, powered by the well-known gassers and being a big influence on street cars. Within the years, also parts became available quite easy, and today everyone building a type1 based engine goes for 2.1 Litres minimum as "standard". It then simply depends on what´s the focus - racing and maximum hp or reliability and by that killing lots of HP (compression ratio, size of valves, cam, gearbox etc. can be chosen either matching the one or the other focus).
I think today there´s no "the" Cal Look, cars are built in two directions, being as quick as possible or being just quite quick but also usable on the motorway for 500 miles...
My personal focus will be to build a reliable 2.0 litre which can be used as a daily driver (although I don´t use my car as a daily driver). But I want to pull out the car out of the garage after 3 months, turn the key, wait until webers suck fuel and then go for a ride downtown or on the Autobahn. I don´t like the idea of redoing the complete engine every season.
But luckily everyone is free in decision how a car and the engine should be built.

Cal-look appeals to my eyes.....form and function....as they do accelerate good......but above all.....I do meet a lot of interesting people. I think it is more the person or individual behind the car then the result or having the right parts that stands out! Just my 2 cent!

Amen to that


Agreed.

And I look forward to seeing you (in my rear view mirror) on Saturday Mr M  ;)

When you wake up I bet you find your coffee is cold dreamer! ;)

Sadly - I'm not going to be there on Saturday - I'm going to be at a photoshoot. So, I've given the pleasure of beating you down the quarter mile to Stephen Gosling in his 2007 Ghia. He's a bit concerned you'll turn right half way down the quarter - as he reckons you probably don't know the way to the end. He said the easiest thing is to follow him.
We'll get together - don't you worry. 

Oh dear Ivan, you've bottled out, the thought of losing too much for you?  ;)

I grew up with VWs. My dad always had one (or 2 or 3). When I was born I was brought home from the hospital in our '71 Westy that my dad outfitted with dual Cluades Buggies single barrel carbs, a 110 cam, and slip in 88s! My mom sewed up the side curtains. We drove that thing all over the USA. When it was coming time for me to drive, there was no question what I would be driving. My sister started with a '67 bug, I started by getting my dads '72 back on the road.
But back on topic here... Over 10 years ago, before I even got a VW, I thought I wanted a '66 bug with a sunroof and as much accessories as I could possibly throw on or in it. Then a friend in high school let me borrow The Bible- California Look VW by Keith Sueme- I never looked back. I love "less is more". Understated. The stance. I cant explain the feeling that came over me then! I was more then hooked, or bitten by the bug, or whatever. The vision of a over accessorized '66 quickly became a clean, cal look '67.

Why are you into Cal Look? Cool topic!

I'll try to make it short, especially since it’s way too late. I always loved cars – even as a toddler – and discovered the custom and hot rod scene through various European magazines during the late ’70s.
In 1982, at age 15, I found out about California Look VWs through a French magazine, which featured hot rods, customs, etc. (This was the first article on the subject in France). I fell in love with one car from that 2-page article in particular, a ’68-69 equipped with Porsche alloys that belonged to DKK (Bill Schwimmer’s club at the time). Hope to build a replica of that car one day…
In 1985, I made my first pilgrimage to Orange County. I thought I was in heaven! At the time, it seems that I loved as much rods/customs as California Look VWs. Yet, after that trip abroad, American cars did not matter that much anymore. I wanted a Cal Look Bug!
In 1987, I bought my first Bug, a ’65 typical of the era – lowered front & rear, dechromed, one-piece window, Ford Peppermint green paint, etc. A ’60 Ragtop followed before I bought my current ’57 Rag in late ’92.

Anyway, I think the main reason why I became a California Look addict is because the ’80s Cal Look cars I first witnessed oozed attitude. Sure, a Nova or a ’32 Ford were cool; but these Bugs looked darn tough, and sounded awesome compared to my aunt's ’72 1302. And from the magazines I read, I knew they could simply leave the aforementioned boat-mobiles in the dust… Somehow, I liked the Bugs underdog attitude.

Why am I still into the hobby after 25 years? The cars themselves are only part of the equation. People play a key role, too. I remember feeling somewhat lonely with my Oval, almost 15 years ago – the Cal Look hobby seemed at its lowest point! Things have certainly changed now. I made some great friends along the way; friends from the U.S. of course, but also Germany, Belgium, the UK, Japan, etc. Thanks guys!

Short answer - I wanted a Hot Rod and I couldn't afford it. Cal-Look VWs had that stance and look of a hot rod but were affordable. The first true Cal Look car that I saw was owned by my best friends older brother, Mark Roos. It was a black '67, decromed, lucas lights, t-bars and Empi Sprint Stars. I know he went to a few DKP meetings back in the day but never became a member.

Funny thing is now years later, I have my hot rod, a '26 T Roadster, yet I feel drawn back to my VW that had set untouched for over 20 years.

In talking with Bill Schiwimmer, he's given me some clarity in this issue. In my hot rodding, I tend to favor cars from 40s, 50s and 60s and I admire people like Vic Edelbrock, Alex Xydias, Ed Iskendarian and Ed Roth and look at them as the History of the Hot Rod. When I look at VW History, most of the people I hung out with are the ones cited as the people on the vanguard of the movement, then and now. I remember Bill as a teenager with his 1st VW and Greg Brinton as the kid who was riding his BMX bike over to my garage and watch me work on my '67 before he got his license.

I'll take one of those too!

Same with me! Good to see you here, Steph! Time for a longer phone call...  :)
Take care my friend!

When I was about 15/16 years old(this was 1986\1987) I already loved bugs and started to go to bookstores to look for magazines and books about VW s, there was a UK magazine called Streetmachine that regular featured a vw bug then I stumbled on the book "Air-cooled Volkswagens" by Colin Burnham... (I had the same as JHU  ;)) only I fell in love with the car pictured on page 14, it is the beginning of the callook chapter in the book, I liked the style, nose down no trim, I thought damn thats the way I want a bug to look. A few years later when I was at a bookstore I saw a specialist magazine about aircoold vw s called HOT VWs.
It was the Callook issue of 1990 which featured car with BRM(original) wheels
Bill Schwimmer s coral red 59, Hector Bonilla s burgundy 67....dawm I was hooked
only Cal-Look (old school) cars for me.

It took me some while to finaly own my own vw. It s a 73 1200 beetle that I restored in 2001-2003 it  looks like a 68-72 model with the trim removed. It is on the wrong wheels at this moment and I dont have a powerfull engine in it, but I am working on that.

Regards Eddie

Hi Eddie,

good to see the Cal Look scene growing in the Netherlands – it's about time!  ;)
Cheers,

Georg

Greetings to a great group of enthusiasts.  I'm not much of a poster, but this one hit home.  Thanks for the new place to spend time when I should be figuring out the Carter YH carburetor on my ragtop.........

What a nostalgic thread.  Stephan and a few others seem to strike a common thread that I remember attracted me as a kid in the 70's.  The VW's were underdogs, cheap, and a great way for a youngster to learn about cars.  As a kid in the San Gabriel Valley, North of OC, my dad would take me to gas stations and parts houses to collect stickers (early 70's).  Sure, I remember the blowers and tunnel rams at Blair's Speed Shop, but I also recall these spaghetti looking tubes with the pipe hanging out the back (header and stinger), the tall manifolds and carbs, and, after being told what they went on,  thinking how cool they would be on dad's ghia.  I can also remember a trip to Competition Engineering on Lake Avenue (for stickers), where Ray Litz built high performance engines for Porsches, and a few VW's, among them, the Iguana.  My dad sold his '60 ghia in '71 and bought a brand new ghia at Bob Bozzani VW in Monrovia.  I remember the ride home like it was today.......the hum of the engine, the faux wood grain dash and the smell of the coco mats.  All I wanted to do was work on and ride in it.  I can also remember the day the guy who bought his old '60 ghia drove it over to our house to show us what he did to it...!!!!!!  He had painted it metal flake gold, with a set of rims (my memory tells me they were 5 spoke Empis), a header and a Budweiser tap shift knob. I'd never seen anything like it.   Groovy baby!

My dad was a school principal, and he knew the way to motivate a car crazy kid.  If I got good grades, he would take me and my brother to Speedway 605 (ironically, just across the 605 freeway from where the new Irwindale Speedway is!) where on Saturday nights, there was a class with lowered beetles in it, with stingers out the back, and man were they loud!  I can vaguely recall some other econo cars in the same class, but we always rooted for the beetles.  There was also a teacher at my dad's school who campaigned an early 60's Plymouth Belvedere, named "The Mayflower", at the drags.  When I was good (always.....), my dad would ask him if I could ride along to the races, and several times I got to go to OCIR with him.  As a kid, I thought he had the coolest car there, but I can recall seeing the VW's and thinking they were the coolest too.  And they were fast.  This would have been around '75 or '76.   

As much as my family drove VW's as transportation, I was indoctrinated into the American car scene (my dad bought me a '30 Ford Coupe basket case when I was 13 and my brother had the early Nova itch).  I still couldn't wait to get a VW because they were easy to work on, as I was learning in auto shop in high school.  Girls didn't want to ride in my stock '30 coupe, which I had finished, but a lowered VW with rims and a header, now we're talking!  I sold the coupe, paid off my dad and started the hunt at the end of '82.

Funny thing is, I never owned a beetle until the 90's!  I always wanted a Type 3, after seeing a lowered fastback with a TV in the center console (Hot VW's, somewhere in the late 70's....).  I surfed, so a Squareback seemed most appropriate.  Bought a '67, lowered it myself, bought the S&S header and an Alpine and I was gone.  Met Bill and Steve and learned what a Notchback was......danger, Will Robinson!
I found one that had been sitting for 10 years under a tree.  You know, sometimes, we don't have control over what we fall in love with.........
I had no girlfriend for 4 years.  I got a job at Russ's VW Recycling ( a junkyard) and worked every moment I wasn't at college to scrounge the parts I couldn't get N.O.S..  I can honestly say I put every penny into that car.  It was one of the hardest and most rewarding things I've ever done, and I met many of the VW friends I still have today.  Russ Welch, who owned the junkyard I worked at, showed me how to use the 944 brakes (in 1985!) amongst other bad habits, Gary Shubrook (one of the most learned Cal Look experts there is) taught me the history of high performance VW's and helped me lose all of my money to the EMPI Gods (you should have seen the EMPIre he had.......), and with Steve Walker and Larry Rick, taught me about quality.  When I finished the car,it was not Cal Look, nor screaming fast, but it was influenced by what the Cal Look/ street racing scene was doing.   I just wasn't able to afford the 48's, tickets, or handle the shaky right foot I got after a street race!  I tried, but I was better at building and tuning (especially since I was the one with the carb synchronizer in my group of friends with dual carb cars) than I was at racing.  After that, it was a string of cars, two of them Cal Look.  The latest being a pre Cal Look car because I enjoy and respect the history.  I am also helping Russ Welch build his '52 split, that will be a traditional Cal Looker.  Pretty simple, really, and not overdone.


Well, my apologies for the long thread, but this one really hit my memory bank.  More than the cars, though, I really look forward to seeing old/ meeting new friends at upcoming events, helping others with their projects and continuing to drive these great cars.  I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Hope to see some of you at Drag Day in October.


Dave Galassi

P.S.  I sure do admire the European scene.  Great quality, and not afraid to drive them! 
P.P.S.  Ratto, I still love your posts......... 
 

Great post Dave,,, thanks for sharing it!

Hi Dave,

thanks for sharing those memorys with us! Great!
Cheers,

Georg

Thank you alll for hosting such a great site. 
Yes, Jim, I am in Pasadena, about six blocks from Blair's and less than that to the old Competition Engineering building on Lake.  Unfortunately, they did not leave the original Iguana behind!  There are, though, many nice cars here.  Ironically, where I work is on the property that used to be part of the original Irwindale Raceway........A long history of street and strip racing here as well.
Jim, would love to have you over if you are ever out this way.  You, me, your '67 and my crewcab, up Angeles Crest to Mount Wilson.  Might make your nice drive list.........

Again, I really am appreciative of this place and your posts.

Dave

 Good post, Jim.

I truly believe it is genetic...yeah the cal-look gene. ;D Although people come and go from the scene there is definitely something that drew them to it.

My neighbor got me into volkswagens, when I was in elementary school, by giving me his old vw magazines, but it wasnt until high school that I got into cal-look vw's. My passion for lookers was created by magazine feature cars since I had no direct experience with them. The January 2000 issue of VW Trends, which on the cover has a picture of Muffler Mike and Jim Hagethorn doing burnouts right next to each other, was the turning point for me. I remember taking that issue with me to woodshop class freshman year and talking about vws with a senior who had and oval with empi 5s, a 1914 and a stinger. That car was too cool!! Dave Conklin's car was featured in that same issue, and at the time I didn't know what that large gauge attached to the dash was, but I knew that it looked perfect there in plain view of the driver.

Seeing Art Guitierrez's 67 featured a few months later in Hot VWs was another cal-look tuning point for me. That car has some strange grooved slicks and some type of cloth rapped around the header that made it seem badass. Awesome car!!  I later found out what all those cool race parts were. ;)

 I used to be a huge fan of stockers too, but when I got older I discovered the original tuning kits like Okrasa, Shorrock etc. Via this way I found more and more fast vw's and found that tuning VW's is a topic with such a great history and I was hooked...

I got into cal look because all the cool kids are doing it!  ;D ;D ;D ;D

Cool kids....I thought it was just us geeks on here!   8)

 I always like old vw and old cars. I bought my first vw mag in 96 and in the same time my first us car mag (Nitro).
 I remember the car on the cover. A 72 hugger orange Z28 camaro with RS bumpers and Weld pro racing wheels. A true street machine with an Hi perf 350ci. I was 14. 
 With this magasines I've discover another car culture than the "tuning" that prevailed in my area and that I did not appreciate at all.
 At this moment, I knew that what I want is an old car with hi perf, but with not too much exterior mods. I've continue to read these magazines, appreciating the us car culture, the look and history of the Beetle while waiting the day I can offer one. This is how I've discover the VW scene.

 But, I really discover the true cal look  a couple of years ago. With Internet, I could find a lot's of old pictures, some forums to discuss about, buy some nice stuff  as old magazines and books. Like lots of people who did not live the great periode of the 70's and 80's, the revelation come with the read of the bible of Keith Seume. And know, with you and this forum, I learn lot's of things about the history of cal look. I do not take part much because I'm a newby and I don't have lot's of knowledge to share but I read all the posts and I learn what I always sought. Thank you, the "old cal looker" to share with us your vw stories, your old pics and the rest  :D It really help people like me who just know what they read in magazines  ;)

I first got into Cal Look in 1997 when I bought Keith Seume's book and that was the revelation to me.

Bugs look nice but Cal Look VWs are the thing to go and since then I've always dreamt of having my own Cal Look 67 Beetle, though I already own a stock 66 fontana grey beetle, a vw blue 66 fastback and a 71 Type2!

I just need to get my hand on a sound 67 and put all the parts I've collected over the past 10 years or so!

Here's the reason why I got into Cal Look  ;D

Best R.

Oldschool

Thanks For The Post Dave I Wish I Still Had The EMPI EMPIre LOL  Dave Did Not Mention That Steve Walker and Larry Rick are also DSK  Club Members We are the Only Three Original Members  We Started the Club In 1976 All Three of Us Are Still Very Much In To The Old School Cal Looks And Are All Making a Comeback With NEW OLD SCHOOL CARS You See WE Never Got Rid Of Anything we Had So Be Prepaired to See at Least 3 DSK Cars Coming Out Of Retirement 30 Years Later!!! Between the Three of us we have over 30 Original BRM's, EMPI GT Valve Covers,Deano Shifters Ect. We Are Planning To Turn Back The Hands Of Time...

It Started for me when I was 15 I Got my First Bug A 64, I Loved that Car It was so cool and Fun To Drive after I Got My License I Started checking Out The VW Shops To See What I Could Get To fix up my Bug well I ended up at Auto Haus in Pomona I was amazed at the stuff they made for Bugs A few Months after my 3 times a week visit's to Auto Haus I asked the Owner if They Were Hiring Well I Got The Job.. In between customers I would look threw all the catalogs in the rack I thought I was in heaven.The first thing I bought for my 64 was a Deano Shifter $39.95 the second week I bought an S&S Header with a Glasspack then I saved my money for a few weeks and bought a set of porsche chrome wheels and caps Now were Talking LOL I thought I had a Porsche Now, Got the Shifter, got the Vroooom Sounds of the Exhaust, then the Wheels and Caps but then I wondered what do I do Now? Well a customer came in the store and I was talking to him he told me he wanted to lower his Bug I told him that we sell Select A Drops and they are alot of work to install he Didnt care He Bought it and went on his way A week later he Pulls up in front of the store with his car Dumped in the Front I thought it looked Bitchen, Well you know whats coming  I talked to My Boss as he did VW work in the rear of the store we Pulled the front beam out of my bug and he installed a Select A Drop On My Beam I Did All the Labor  he just did the cutting and welding after I got the Beam back in I put new King and Link Pins in, then came the Problem I wanted it Low but the 165's were just way to Big and did not look good Keep in Mind this is 1973 I went to Sears and Bought two 500x15 Bias Ply Blackwall tires $19.95 each put them on and I was in Love the Car Looked Great, the car still had a 40 H.P. I thought it was fast I was always winding it out I loved the Sound then one Day I heard A not so Good Sound alot of noise and smoke? I opened the Engine Lid there was Oil Everywhere And A Rod Sticking sticking out of the top of the case :'(  I had it Towed Home pulled the motor it was Junk my boss gave me another 40 Hp shortblock we rebuilt it and put a Big Bore Kit an engle 100 cam, an 010 dist, and a 2 Barrell Holley Bug Spray, It ran Really Good Now, I got Laid Off, And went to work at the Buena Park Auto Haus, This was Really The Begining of a Whole New World for Me, All These  Trick Looking Bugs coming in With Brm's,5 Spokes,8 Spokes,Big Wheels,Deanos,Americans, it was a whole new Level of car Dechromed,lucas lights,Buggy Bumpers,T Bars, the List Goes On and On I Bought my First Set Of 5 Original BRM's for $500.00 off the For Sale Board at Auto Haus Then I Bought A Motor a Guy Was Selling, it was a 69x88 (1700) All Berg 120 Cam and 48 IDA's for $550.00 Back Then That Was alot of Money I Decided to Get In to A VW Club  I Joined DVB VW Club in Orange County in 1975 I was in the Club about a Year And me and a few other's left DVB and Started DSK  Over the Years I Have Had 47 VWs all Cal Looks I Got Out of them about ten years ago and got in to Early Chevy II's then I was On Samba one Day Looking in the 67 Cars For Sale And Saw My Old 67 Convertible for sale that I had Owned 20 Years before I E Mailed The Owner he was in San Diego Calif  we Talked about the Car sharing Stories  and agreed to meet at the VW Classic two years ago After That Day I Saw alot of People I Use To Hang With that were Still in to them  to make a long Story Short  I Got The Damm Bug Again!! I Bought my 48th Vw about 6 months ago and am Building A 1967 OLD SCHOOL SEDAN just like it was 1975 all over again!!  This car will take you all back in time to the way it was and meant to be OLD SCHOOL Lives In Shubees Garage  LOL..   Its in the Works!!!

The first time i`ve heared about cal-look was in the book "Air-cooled volkswagens" from Colin Burnham, i was hooked from the photos of the cal-look car like the red 1303(!!) from John Dean, never seen an cooler long-nose bug. That was the time when i first bougt a copy of VW Trends and Hot VW`s, in one issue of Hot VW`s i saw the blue 1967 bug of Gary Berg, one of my alltime greats. Also in this time i bougth my bug by a local VW dealer and restore it the first time: respray in VW türkis, 1776ccm engine with 40idf, schleicher cam with 296° and an porsche fan shroud. Rims were standard rims in 5,5 and 7" with 195-60 tyers, the car was defenitly not cal-look, but resto. Sometimes i drove it with an roof-rack...That was in 1989. Over the years i was more interested into oltimer sports like youngtimer trophy, i restored an 77 GTI and an BMW 1600 TI dto drive it on the track. But in all the years my bug was with me. Then, in 2000 i met the DFL Guys in the Internet and was hooked from the idea to build an traditional cal-looker as seen in Keith Seumes fantastic book. So i resprayed my car and add Fuchs-rims on it, the car is my love affair since 18 years and i will never sell this thing, it will be my coffin one day....... ;D

This is a cool thread which could run & run...
I was always into cars as a kid because my dad was - I was in the garage helping or hindering him since I could walk!
He used to own beetles in the 60`s & 70`s then started buying & repairing mot failure bugs when we could pick them up locally for £25-£150 - this was in the early to mid 80`s.
My first car at 15 was an accident damaged `73 GT beetle which was repaired during the summer holidays then sold on for a small profit - although £300 seemed like a fortune to a 15 year old!
I had been reading street machine magazine since  I was 10 years old & in november `85 the december issue had Colin Burnhams bug on the front cover - I was hooked from then and used the cash from the GT to build a typical UK looker of the day, a very low `71 with early panels, de-chromed with one peice windows and yellow paint.
A lot of vw`s have come & gone in the 22 years since that magazine - not all modified let alone cal look cars - but I now see the original DKP1 style as the purest version of a look which has gone through many incarnations in its time.
I bought the Colin Burnham car a couple of years ago, although it looks dated as an 80`s car now & probably means nothing to anyone who was`nt around in the UK at the time, it did introduce many people to the cal look of its day.
The standard of cars built now though is mind blowing - the quality of detail, fit & finish & combination of parts are all far beyond what has ever come before (with a few notable exceptions of course!).
The look of a nose down de-chromed bug with the `right` peformance is timeless - thats why I think we`re still doing it 30+ years down the line!
 ;D

For me it started round 1985 and back then that was the look in most of teh vw mags in the usa where i lived then.
80's callook was the way to go then. ;D

i am into cal-look cause i love street racers.

starting from open lid fiat abarths, going to lowered mini coopers, passing thruogh tuned muscle cars, i love them all.

i love this kind of cars cause they are an underground world. just to drive by night. and when you drive they you can turn from dr jekyll  to mr hide, waring your leather jacket and doing things that you tell other people not to do when you talk at the bar daytime.

they are illegal.... 8)

they are not race cars at all. not to drive around on the trailer. you can use them, and they are ferociously fun.

in particular cal-look is a great style. simple, essential, but sophisticated in its taste.

i will told forever that smartness is simplicity.

and then i love volkswagens...that's all.

My folks owned VWs since the time I was little. (I learned to drive in a 70's bread loaf) But I was not really into VWs. For me it started with a friend's Mustang. This was in the early 80's right before the muscle car craze that sent prices through the roof. Between the prices and the fact that you had to have a perfectly restored car which felt restraining to me i moved into hotrods from the 30s and 40s. I was also 15 getting ready to get my license and i had just bought a '54 Chevy 210 sedan as my first car. My dad was never really mechanically inclined, more of a hammer and nails kind of guy. (And I can't drive a nail straight to save my life.) So I learned how to work on cars taking things apart and putting them back together. From high school to college I progressed through several early Fords and Chevys.  But my favorites were the 39-40 fords. I had a '47 ford coupe in progress but was getting ready to go to college and needed some reliable transportation. There was a metallic green '71 bug sitting on a dealer lot with a price tag of $1,200 so I bought it. The car had been dechromed, lowered and sat on a set of chrome five spokes. I just thought it was a cool looking bug and it reminded me of a late '30s Ford. I joined up with a list serve called rec.autos.vintagvw I think. (I still remember the uproar that happened when a certain Ric Campbell cut up a split window to use as a race car. ;D ) Of course wanting to go faster I started buying all the VW mags I could find and eventually stumbled across this book with a white VW on the front. It had all these hipo VWs inside with these wild looking dual carb setups. What really got me going though were the pics of Bill S.' and Dave M.s' cars in the back. They were just too cool. (Oddly enough at the time I didn't like Brinton's car, go fig.) I had also ordered a bunch of Berg literature and their catalog and was reading all about Gary's blue sedan. I couldn't believe you could make a VW go that fast.  I think the last straw though was when I discovered the CLF. I joined the CLF right at the end of the "What is a Cal-Look car debate" and right before "What is a street car debate". There were some really cool and knowledgeable folks on that forum. some really great knowledge being passed back and forth. (At least when you could read it through some of the ugly backgrounds the owner kept using :P ) Been hooked ever since.

--louis

I've just found this thread ! Great stories, I thougt that maybe we could here some new. I will add mine soon. ;)

My love for VW's began at an early age (see "Bubblegum Day" http://cal-look.no/lounge/index.php?topic=8091.0 )
After my Brother's return from 'Nam he bought a '65 Beetle that he did the full late 60's wide tire, fiberglass fenders & hoods treatment to. I helped as much as a kid could and really liked working on the VW. Fast forward a few years to 1974. I'm on my second VW by now... my first VW was a bit of a hybrid with Chevy wheels and flared fenders out back and stock fenders, 14" front wheels with the front nice and low. By now, I'm paying more attention to the VW Gassers  and the "new trend" of street cars. We called it "The Stock Look" and of course I was referring to what would later become Cal-Look. I've mentioned Marc Souter's Aqua '67 sedan before... that car along with Rusty Mazzery's "Appliance White" '67 w/BRM's and buggy bumpers drove home the style VW I thought of as my favorite.
I too believe Cal-Look cars should be driven... I've always rooted for the underdog... I believe there is nothing more priceless than handing the driver of some high dollar "super car" his arse in a drag race... I tend to "floor it" when entering tunnels just to hear the IDA's... I dig the less is more thinking on a Cal-Look (well, to an extent anyway ;D)

I wish I had the words to convey the inner feeling a "Hot VW" brings me... and now, after way too many years I'm hoping to experience it again soon ;)

~DR.

And remember, Cal-Look has no "rules"
 

1998 I visited my Grand Uncle in Los Angeles (Inglewood). He had a silver T2b, which I took every morning (5:30 am) to venice beach playing Basketball.
I bought a VW Trend in a Supermarket. One feature was a Papler Police Beetle (Coverfeature).
But the Feature why I am into Cal-look was the Karmann Konnection Beetle.
three years ago I found pics of the car again.
(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_tLHbK42Tzm0/R0WcScgWyeI/AAAAAAAAAsI/zd9dD6pSXv8/s400/013_4a4de99de52ffa20b3e04c4f187e730c.jpg)
(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_tLHbK42Tzm0/R0WcNMgWydI/AAAAAAAAAsA/LQGptIEiv6Q/s400/2007_VolksworldShow_038.jpg)

with a hand beaten aluminium engine lid.

VW Trend told the story of the Inch Pincher in this Feature.
This is why I read more about Cal-Look.
By the Way, this is how I found the DFL Homepage. The Guys helped alot.
And also the Luftkraft Homepage, with the Black 1960 on Ercos( Ex Beetle from Marc). This was my fav Cal-Looker.

(http://www.luftkraft.ch/blackbug/3.jpg)

Cheers Koko

That oval turned up a few months ago, I think it had suffered some rust issue but was still up for big money

What happened to your orange looker ?

hey Koko, thanks for posting my old bug. never thought it might become inspirational but glad it did  8) but don't tell anybody that it still had its 30hp engine on this very pic :D

is it still about, looks like it was a killer car

I was exposed to Vw's at a very early age as my Dad had a '62 beetle that I ws brought home in after i was born.  I have many great memories of helping my Dad maintain that car as well as it taking our family (Dad, Mom, and three kids) everywhere.  My Dad later got a '72 Super when the '62 became too rusty.  The '72 was the first car I drove when I was 14 years old.  I just really liked these Beetles.  At an early age I had a huge interest in cars and began finding and reading everything I could, especially Hot Rods, Muscle cars, and fast cars.......I always loved understated, underdog type cars, the kind that no one expected to perform.  I also remember my dad showing me Hot VW's magazines when i was a young kid in the grocery store when my Mom was doing the grocery shopping, that planted the seed.

Years later I Hot Rodded a V8 car (1970 Olds Cutlass) but the funny thing is I modified it in a way that was similar to a Cal-Look VW and i didn't even realize it.  I dechromed it, (except for the bumpers), painted it a factory color, gave it a subtle nose down rake, Wide tires in the rear but inside the fenders, Hot Rodded the engine and transmission, and redid the interior, and there ws absolutely no evidence of it's performance capability until you fired it up.  A few years later my Uncle gave me a '71 Super Beetle which I tried my hardest to Cal-look - lowered the front end, dechromed it, Ansen slotted mags, Porsche Guards red paint....but it was an AutoStick :-(   Sold it for a profit and bought a 5.0 Mustang, hated it.  Bought a '68 Bug (which I have now) restored it, lowered the front end, Pedrini's, appliance white paint, stockish interior, and put an all Berg 2110 with Ida's in it.  It took me years to get all of the engine parts and during those years Cal-Look has become the rage once again, THANK GOD!  I think my taste will always be Cal-Look - Simple, Clean, classic, understated, with a big dose of power waiting under the decklid - What could be better?!

Did a little mistake:
The Mag is from September 99.  :)
just had a little searching Action and found it!
(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ExE0xJO4RX4/S9mqq1ffisI/AAAAAAAABOk/fjgPl4qJCr8/s400/Foto.jpg)

@Luftkraft: 30Hp rocks!   ;)

I've always liked "under the radar" cars, not just VW's. In fact, before getting my '67 when I was 16, 24 yr ago, I wanted an MGB or Spridget or something and I wanted to hot rod that. Anyway, I've been wildly into cars since 6 or 7 yr old (no, really. Drawing F1 Alfa engines, trying to make ground effect cars that worked out of Legos, made a wind tunnel for 5th grade science project), always dug no-nonsense cars with too little weight and too much horsepower. Think 911RS 2.7 Carrera, Shelby GT350R, Miura Jota, etc...  before I had my license I wanted my BMX bike as stripped and as light as I could get it. Shaved tread off my Comp III tires with a rasp...  ::)
Anyway, got into VW scene at a wierd time, mid-late 80's in SF Bay Area, which was drizzled in all show, little go (except for a handful of cars at the time). Pete Staat's car blew my 16yr old mind @ Pleasanton Bug Bash, though technically it doesn't fit into the Cal Look rulebook. I know I crossed paths with Schwimmer's beige oval @ Baylands, I just don't remember him... but his car was all about what I was kind of looking for, but didn't even know it. Later, I met him, after his cover shot on '90 Hot VW's appearance, either bakersfield or Sears Pt... can't remember, right around same time I first saw DKP "III" cars lined up in Costa Mesa, talk about mind blowage...  Mason's car alone rocked my soul. Just maybe 1 year prior to this whole obsession thing got out of control, Frank and I had come upon old Hot VW's mags, Feb '75 of course, wore a few issues out, 1980 issue with "Berg's Bomb" (G Berg's first incarnation of "Berglar" '67 before 7.5:1), then all the renewal and revival of the Cal Look scene, what early 1990's...1993 at the latest, Volksworld DKPIII issue, VW Trends did a blurb on Dave Rhoads' car, stumbled across Kurlinski's green sleepin' '67 at Jamboree one year. It all snowballed. Confirmed to me that there were other guys that had same mindset as I was looking for.
Sometimes, I think my best memories were waiting in lanes @ Sac or Sears Pt, baking and sweating in the car, waiting, then ripping off a 13 on radials, bumpers, etc... all to the dismay of the V8 Nova that was laughing you down in the pits.
Gotta thank all the "old timers" in DKP III that welcomed me in back in '06, you guys know who you are. Having more fun than ever in the last 24 yr. 8)

Wait... Stella is a fella??  ;D

Cal-lookers understeer, are noisy, drink a lot of gas, cost a lot to build and maintain but, damn, they are SO MUCH FUN!

In the straights and also in the bends, if you enjoy it for what it is. Wild, raw, pure smoky fun...  ;D

That would be way cool to find your old sled!

I always dug that car.  :)

I'm into VW's since 1994 and my car is finished since 1997.  I was still a student back then and I did not have the cash to finish the car the way I wanted but only the year after I debuted the car with 4,5 and 6 inch fuchs wheels and an Empi GTV steering wheel witch was an engagementpresent from my wife Eva (I gave her a ring, she got me an EMPI GTV steering wheel, isn't that great!).  The same year I started collecting parts for my hot 1776cc engine with all Berg parts inside and this car is now still running in Kurt's 67 ruby red ragtop. 
I got in contact with the californialook due to the guys of Der Autobahn Scrapers VW-club Belgium.  In those early days I did go from time to time to their Friday get together at the QUICK restorant in Waterloo.  It were Kobus, Fastfred, the Boss, Mike,the twins, Pat... who were into the look already at that time.  Kobus got his 1964 white callook inported from the states on genuine BRM's before he even had a drivers licence and Fastfred was the first with a stroker engine on IDA's.
I love the look because of it's tradition.  I try to use as much original parts as I can on my car, so it looks like the car is build in the seventies.  I'm certainly not against repro stuff, as this gives the posibility to younger guys to built a very nice callook without braking the bank, but to me, who bought his 4,5 inch original fuchs' for 175 €/wheel (thanks Kobus), I wanted to stick to original.
When I started my intrest in the look in 1994, there weren't a lot of cars in Belgium except for the DAS cars, so I was an early Belgium callooker.
To finish I would like to thank the contributers to the look, as there are the callook only clubs like DKP, DKK, DAS, DFL,... who keeps the callook alive and of course also magazines as Volksworld, Super VW, Hot VW's,... for there efforts in the past and the future.  I would like to thank Ivan Mc Cutcheon for featuring my car in the callook februari edition in 2000.
The thing I discuss regulary with my callook friend of the Flatline Lowriders is that I want them to stick to our love for callook forever, as I want to drive my hot beetle for a long time in the future.  If I look at the pictures of the recent BUG IN 35, I would like it to drive my car when all my hear is grey  ;)
And for what Ivan said about driving the cars even with rear parts on it, I totally agree.  Kurt and I drove our car to Hannover this weekend and that was a 1100 km drive in one weekend and Kurt's car also run's on genuine BRM's and we both drive italian IDA's, so keep on driving them guys!