The Cal-look Lounge

Seems like it was just yesterday, at my post behind the counter at Buggy House, Sheep to one side of me, and hours of insane fun ahead of us each day. Well, most of the time. The best part about working at Buggy House was all the good friends I made, through the "extended family" that existed on the other side of the counter. I can't name all the cool people I met while working there, but we had a core group of guys that seemed to "always" be there. Hours and hours and hours of harassing each other, making fun of Sheep and his questionable choice of attire for the day (or lack of), the daily, brawny burnouts directly in front of the shop, the countless lunch trips to Lucca Delicatessen, or Safeway for MSG-nightmare Chinese food....
I think the core group pretty much consisted of fellow VW club guys, Bryan SODA, Kyle Madden, Derek "kafercup", John "stealth67" Bates, Aaron Johnson, and plenty of other loons too...not much money changed hands during the day, but the place wouldn't have been the same without these guys. Outside of the club, we had other favorite buddies that came in too, usually for a good bull session or just to pick up a knick knack....Jason X (aka She Bee, moxama, peeps, jasonx...), Tony Mace (aka RACEHEAD), Darrel "mcnutty" McNulty, Larry McKenzie, Pete "Grinder" Sibille ("aww man, my f--ing dog bit me GGRGRGGRRRRR") I wish i could remember everyone. I have to admit, there were times I wanted to pack it up and stomp out of that place, but almost everyday, we were laughing our asses off for one reason or another. The prank phone calls, the gay bath-house, Sheep's bathroom problems, the 70 year old stripper, the various hookers that used BH as a pick-up and drop-off point, the vintage canned corn, the calls for Mazda RX7 piston rings, the cartoons of sandrails with machine guns and Porsche 917 engines, the UPS guy, the exhaust-gasket cheeseburgers.....the list could go on and on. Too much rowdy fun.

If you ever stopped by the shop for a minute or two ( ::)) stop by here and say Hi

Big Frank over in the corner on his stool with his super-mega big gulp ;D

JERRY LOOKING AND ACTING VERY MAD - GDI JIM..... YOUR NOT GOING TO WANT TO HEAR THIS  >:( >:( >:( - AND THEN THERE WAS RICH

this was about happy memories, Tony... ::) hahaha

how about my 7,000 rpm passes down Mission past Mike's Car Service?  ;D

ONLY YOUR CAR CAN MAKE THAT KIND OF NOISE - EVEN FROM A FAR YOU COULD HEAR THE 48'S SUCKING BIG AIR  ;D ;D ;D :o :o :o

Mark Miller leaving the shop in his El Camino or the 911-powered 412...pulling front wheels. Only M Miller could make a car move like that.

MARK MILLER - THAT IS ALONG STORY - PAN ONLY WITH A MILK CRATE SEAT GETS A SPEEDING TICKET IN THE ALAMEDA TUBE - GOING WAY TO FAST - ENGINE WAS A 2180 W/48 IDA'S - STRAPED A GAS TANK ON AND GO  :o :o :o

old stories by jim eastwood  ;D ;D ;D

I love that story.  ;D

where is PRL JAM? Red sedan with noisy motor, dual Magnaflows....?

REMEMBER MY STICKER ON THE BACK WINDOW REDRUM

you were just a young punk. You shoulda come over to the dark side with Bryan and me and the boys...we coulda made that red sled a real ride.

You were too busy hiding and stashing early bus air cleaners.

WHAT EVER ERIC HAND. REMEMBER THAT GUY.

Dude that place was boring , nothing fun ever happened . I would go to work do my job and go home....... BORING....................

I guess you don't remember Marry Chismis?

The wino bum that offered to paint our storefront windows on a Friday night, but only if we paid him up front.

Jerry agrees,

next morning we get to work and there is an empty bottle of Ripple laying on sidewalk in front of store, there is paint splattered everywhere. On the storefront windows was some red blob with a white cloud in front of it, a stick figure of a weed and MARRY CHISMIS scrawled all crooked and slanted.

Only in Hayward............

awesome!
sounds like they were the days, man  ;D

jim you probley dont remember the massage parlor across the street - had a big pair of lips over front door - and as allways the hookers - saw two fat mexican sisters getting into a brand new To#¤ta with a sales man - had to see what was going to happen - went around corner and spied on them - lets just say it was very nasty. yes the good old fun days at butt hole

I think it turned into a tattoo parlor, still looked really seedy. Much of the foot traffic in front of the shop was always amusing. The pimps on BMX Mongoose bicycles (with foil weaved through mags, to replicate 20" "dubs"), the guy that carried the scale model of the Space Shuttle everywhere he went. The crank fiend couple that fought all the way from Lewelling to A St., the gypsies that caged up Tiger and took him to pound, and don't even get me started on all the biker guys that stopped in next door at Paul's shop....scary dudes.

there was also the time the Saturn sedan flipped over all by itself, TIP to TIP (front to back) in front of the shop. Don't ask........

I always loved going to lunch with you or big Frank or little Frank. Big Frank telling stories about driving Ferraris though the Broadway tunnel at over 100mph. What about the customers that would show up at 5:05pm. Dude I just need a clutch cable, or dude I need some heater ducting. We did have some fun back then. Have you talked to Al lately. He always had stories about killing something. I just went down to the four h and killed some sheep. I would have stayed there longer but I could only work for parts for so long. I loved going back in the back to tell Jerry he had a phone call. (not fucking right now) or the scat bin in the summer time at 110 degrees.


Bryan

got to talk to jerry today - had the post with the boniville car up - he got all over it - we hade some very good times at buggy house - i will all ways be very glad i worked there - going to pismo - boy are there some stories - building the little dodge d-50 pick-up into a flat bed - then putting a 2.6 with a turbo - just to put one sand rail on the bed and a trailer the other - all this to get over the pass to slo -  :D :D :D :D

the best lunches were when Jerry would ask us to bring him back "something", as long as it wasn't a tuna sandwich. We'd, of course, bring him back tuna on sliced white, let it sit on the seat it the sun on the way back, and get him an unsweetened ice tea to wash it down with. The look on his face when he'd take the first bite and sip.....priceless.

Were you there when the dual spring flew out of the Rimac and got me in the nose? Oh man, blood everywhere. Jerry grabbed a cold Budweiser and shoved it in my hand "here put this on that fucker, it'll heal!"

I remember eating lunch with you guys one time on a Saturday. Jim or Frank(Sheep) ordered pizza, mushrooms and anchovies as a joke  >:(

How about Mark with his mayonnaise that he kept in his car all day for his lunch.   ;D

staurday's were a killer with a big hangover - allready a line at the front door at 8:45 - and it never stoped till you slamed the door on the last customer at 4:45 - stan would go get lunch and you would stop and have one bite of what ever it was running from the back to the front - but then it was time to go racing - midget was loaded and ready to go  ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

I just remember being super polite and always getting the right part for the customer , no matter what hahahahahahahaha

I think there less than 5 Saturdays I worked in 10 years that I arrived there sober. Some days I went in on zero sleep. The worst was the day I went in after a Friday night of Erik Maxfield's brownies. I couldn't even see straight.

Sheep, you were the counterman we all wished we could be. Polite, professional and always the right part.   ::)

Sheep was the best - dressed that is - do you remember chuck - not the chuck that worked in back - but the other chuck - drove a little nissan pu. - about 5ft nothing - dark hair - wanbe a parts man but was not even close - hated him......

I never liked that littrle squirrely Chuck guy. He was like the 80's version of Mayonnaise Mark.

Yes jerry is still a great guy - will allway be family - love his mom and dad - they allways made me feel like family  ;D ;D ;D ;D

I wonder how many quarts of Kendall 40W GT-1 (in the old white bottles!) I bought from you Tony?

I think the 80's would have been a great time to work there, except for the mini truck thing. I remember the pallets of 041 heads smack dab in middle of shop floor going in there as a kid. I think from you, I bought...

Weber 34ICT duals kit (as you guys were closing on a weeknight)

Chrome plated lowered ball joint beam

041 heads, solid rocker shafts, swivel ball screws, springs, retainers

Engle VZ25 & Scat lifters (when they were sold in a paper lunch sack)

Dellorto 36DRLA's

countless sets of the cheapie silicone plug wires (every color)

S & S Street Silencer exhaust....what a beaut THAT was.

Funny how roles are reversed huh?  ;D

man we had parts galore - most of it was crap, the wanabe lookers made life good - they would buy anything and everything - and then you had the kid's - like jim, kyle, rob c, that did not go for the crap - jim had a good eye for good parts even as a kid - i dont think i owned a set of IDA's till i was in my 40's - then sold them too quick - we almost forgot to talk about big mark - he was the one that got into the cal-look more than me - from is euro 67 - to his sqr back w/the one pc. door and side glass - he made the cal-look pop out seals that SB glass sold - he was a great guy to have at that time - sill a great guy - works around the corner from us here in pleasanton - more soon

Mark was Mr. 1835, IDAs, K8 cam....  said he was the guy to beat on Castro Valley Blvd when he ran that combo. Think he was at Small Car when he ran that motor....early 80's or late 70's.

yes he was working for dan at small car on A st - he had a good combo on that engine - the ol turtle was pretty stout - will try to get him on the lounge too...

Mark was famous for "making up the customer's mind" for them. It never failed...even before I worked there...

I'd walk in, get something off the wall, like something really dumb or wild, like a 3-puck clutch disc, or solid engine mount kit, or Perma-Cool kit, and he's always have the same line "dude....  you don't want that. Trust me...   you don't want that." So much of what was on my car in the 80's was really thanks to Mark.

I remember working with him (he was manager first few years I was there), what a blast. Customers with big stroker motors would come in, and he'd say "hey Jimmy....why don't you go for a ride in that car?" I'd come back ghost white.
It was Mark that convinced me that I NEEDED 48IDAs.
It was Mark that taught me the VW part number system, still use that everyday.
And Mark also hired Sheep. Sheep comes into shop one day wearing cutoff jeans, a ragged Jane's Addiction shirt, flip flop sandals and a pirate's hat. Mark interviewed him and somehow Sheep pulled it off and got the job.
 ::)

JIM REMEMBER THE HOT PINK NERF BARS, SOMETHING SHEEP SHOULD'VE PUT ON HIS CAR. :D

thats what im wearing right now haha ha ha

Sheep, please make a pic and post it then :)

HI TO ALL. Fantastic great memories at the House. And yes it was mostly all good times. But still to this day when i hear Jerry's voice i start twitching and have this reaction-urge to duck... And Tony. you still have not mentioned the time we saw him smiling for over an hour after he ate your brownies that time. And you never did give me that recipe. The reason i hired frank....... Istill have no clue. But it was a wise decision

hey BigBear - forgot about the brownies - still have the recipe - when you come in i will give it to you - but that was funny - jerry grinning and not saying a word - and still wondering about sheep - as does every one  :-* :-* :-* :-* :-* - sheep our little happy fisherman - how about holloween that year we dressed in formal buisness type clothes - dress shirt, slacks, ties !!!!! - have pictures of that time - will try to scan the into the computer - hey jim talked to rob case last night - still has the blue turbo bug - in the garage - maybe talked him in to getting on the lounge  - will wait and see if he comes on with us.  ;D ;D ;D

I was just thinking about the time a customer came in looking for a part, and I just went over to Jerrys chair and took a piece off the chair and sold it to him. ;D

how about your dealings with Satan and his 1974 Karmann Ghia ?

oh yeah I forgot about that one.

THEN THERE WAS DIAPER MAN - WAS BUILDING A ENGINE - CAME IN WITH IT WRAPED IN A BLANKET - FROM BARE CASES TO LONG BLOCK - IT WAS ALLWAYS IN A DIAPER - GUY WAS SO OFF - HE WANTED TO DROP THE REAR SUSPENSION - MADE A COMPLETE BLUE PRINT OF REAR SUSPENSION ANGLES - BigBear HELP ME WITH HIS NAME - I WANT TO SAY ED - ALSO HAD HIS CAT WITH HIM IN HIS CAR

I USED TO BY STUFF FROM BUGGIE HOUSE UNTIL I DROPPED MY CAR OFF AND WHEN I PICKED IT UP THERE WERE USED CONDEMS IN IT. NOW I SEE WHY.

WHAT YEAR WAS THAT ?

someone tell the story of dirty bill with his grease covered socks and chewing tobacco stains around his mouth. :-[

DIRTY BILL WOULD COME IN DRIVING A PORSCHE TURBO 911 - JEANS SO COVERED IN GREASE THAT THEY WILL STAND UP BY THEM SELF - NO SHOES ONLY SOCKS THAT WERE SOO BLACK FROM GREASE - BIG WAD OF CHEW IN HIS MOUTH OR A CIGAR - JUICE RUNNING DOWN OFF OF HIS CHIN - AND HAVE THE HOTTEST CHICK WITH HIM ( EARLY ON ) LATER THAT HOT CHICK LOOKED LIKE HIM - HIS SHOP WAS A TOTAL WRECK - 4in OF GREASE ON THE FLOOR - AND HE JUST WALKED AROUND LIKE NORMAL - THAT IS WHY WE CALLED HIM DIRTY BILL

Where is Popper at??

I have been sitting listening to these stories.  I do remember lots of them, but since I didn't work there, I can't relate to all of them.  I do remember so many shakey characters coming in there though.  I can add that everyone always tried to dodge Jerry for help.  It was always the same question from Jerry: "What the fu@% are you doing, what are you building?, what are you trying to do?  Why the fu&@ do you want to do that for?"  Jim and Frank used to laugh their asses off.

Not only did we have fun in the store, but remember how many idiots we watched get a ticket for the u-turn in front of the shop?

When I remember some real classics, I will chime in.  The tuna sandwich story had me laughing for a while!

JayP (Popper)

There are SO many stories...Mark and Tony used to bust my balls back in 82ish because I didnt know crap about cars yet. How come you wont take back this generator. I honestly didn't install it.(scratches from the wire connector) hahahahaha... My brother coming in and SHEEP helping him. Ask for a part and SHEEP comes back with a part from a chair. Damn my bro came back saying "That damn Frank...OK here it is...What got me into  VW's...My brother Jeff was the #1 person but this was my favorite car. Can we have a round of applause for Mark's "The Thumper"    the one and only..I found the car for sale in the 90's in Oakland and bought it..missing a lot but still cool
(http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a257/rhdragtop/BugwithZapco.jpg)
(http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a257/rhdragtop/Bugwithzapco2.jpg)

Hey Kyle it's been a while since i have seen you - Hope all is well - Nice that you got on here and posted Big Marks THUMP - Busting your ball's ? Maybe Mark did that to you - but i know it was not me   ;D - Come by the shop if your in P town -

 Tony

Hey Tony...It's great to hear from you too. Yes I will definately stop by the shop when I am around there. I might be there on the 12th for a VW meet at In and Out. Ok we will blame it on Mark for busting my balls.  LOL . I had been searching for Mark's old car for many years and my friend just found it in his stash of old school pics. How's business?  Talk soon   Kyle mr rhd

Hey Tony please say Hello to Mark from me. I haven't seen him since Jim had a BH BBQ and Show back in the days. I just found a matchbook from Humphrey Motors on A St. I remember my brother and I going to Small Car too. I think Jose worked there too at some point but might be mistaken     Kyle mr rhd

we need a Mission Blvd reunion, but please.... no hookers.

What is Mission Blvd with out them ? A better place ? I'm all for that - P town is a good place to have it  ;D

I don't think Hopyard Alehouse will ever let another air cooled Volkswagen in their lot ever again. Next?

The restaurant on the corner of Mission and A St...I think that was a BH hangout. If it's still there...   Kyle

I have a stock 1500cc so I cant burn out like some other ppl I know at the Ale house haha   Kyle

Zorn's? No way dude.... that wasn't a hangout. That was where Frank and I got our asses chewed out on Sat mornings when we "had to meet for breakfast"

I say the Bethany reservoir or The Junction up off Mines Rd.

maybe Bates will share the RH hubcaps story from Lyons restaurant.

Oh..I didn't know the real story about Zorn's   no good then. I want a restaurant that has a trivia question game because Sheep is so good at answering those..You need to be on your game this time Sheep     Kyle

It all sounds good to me - this side of the hill or the other

Oh cmon Kyle, we lost because they asked a question about Florida and you didnt know the answer!!!!!!!!!!!
You lived in Florida for cryin  :oout loud

Will Billy Built be there?

Oh shit, looks who's here. We almost have enough for a circle jerk ;D

We don't need a circle to be jerks! Oh wait, you meant...

This thread is too funny....laughing my ass off. Sorry Frank I forgot about the Florida question. Next beer is on me haha     Kyle

No mention of Dan? I liked that guy.

Dan was awesome..I miss his wife's snacks. Hmmm brownies

   

You did that to my brother Sheep boy but he didn't buy it hahaha     I am sure many others too       Kyle

How about some old photos - fornt of shop - Big Mark - Just some parts

Is That Mark with straight hair :o
When I worked there he had a perm

Mark Preisendorf? I don't even recognize him. I only knew him with the Jew Fro. His brother was my Autoshop/woodshop teacher in high school.

Im going to say time line - 1982 or 83 - Did you notice the front window of the shop - Rapid cool kits - $ 54.95  :o - and yes Mark with long hair

Awesome pics Tony..DAYUM..I sure do remember Mark with straight hair. I am trying to find out what happened to all my brothers old school pics..  Kyle

man those pics are old! That's the OLD sign that was up above front door even before I started there.
Great pictures Tony. How about some of Jerry with the long hair?

I did find some of Jerry - will try to scan in this week - found some of Rob, Steve Shaw( hayward tire ) Gary O Neil and some others - Cant find the others that i have - will try to dig them up - Did find some at Baylands bug shows - and at Sears Point show - Old picts from BOR too. Comming soon  ;D

I have some from Bug Bash 1990-92 somewhere, when I bleached my hair  :o

Tony, what ever happened to Jarhead John? Loudest person I have ever met.

I dont know what happened to him - Yea your right on the money about that - Possible cop  ??? - What was the long haired guy from bezerkly's name - cool dude. And lets not forget The Chucks that worked there - Well maybe we should forget. I think we need to get more on 4 eyed Mark - such a fricking GEEK.

Steve was the guy from Berkeley. He drove a 1971 Bus with a 2110 built by Larry Mckenzie's bro. He was one of the best guys we ever had there, very kind, knowledgable, and a sense of humor that wouldn't stop. Miss that guy. He was always reading crazy comic books and putting funny little pictures up all over the shop. I remember he had hung a picture of Charley Manson next to a pic of Beaver Cleaver and had some dialogue balloons going on between them about killing Whitey and Beaver's parents

Mayonnaise Mark? Don't get me started. Enough said.