The Cal-look Lounge

hi guys, im very new at this site so i present my person to u.
i'm filippo from italy.
im the happy owner of a 1960 split bus and a 1974 dune buggy deserter by autozodiaco ( italian version of dac deserter of usa).
first thing i would love to say on this CALIFORNIA LOOK forum is obviously a thing on the cal look.
in fact i think that too much cars nowadays feature chrome trims on side, hood and glass rubbers..
maybe i am too radical, but i really can't consider a cal look car a bug that still wears trims and bumpers.
what do u think about this?

Well, I for one would have to agree with you.

I agree that no trimming is a more correct textbook look... but as in all styles I guess we see a new trend? or are people just lazy and don't "go all the way" anymore?

Well what else can I say..."Chrome won't get you home"

The reason why my car had trim on it was that it was original paint and I didn't want to repaint it just to fill the holes. I powdercoated them black and they looked pretty good on the beige.

i think that california look is a classic look, and we are all fond of classic cars if we are here.
so, when i see a german look or a resto cal at a meeting i can only think: well, nice job, well done, smart and perfect but it's not my way.
i dont want carbon fibre on my car or air ride!
im mad for old cars, im just like an archeologist. to work on it just like on an escort cosworth is not my target. THTS  WHT I THINK!!!!!!!!
i have to tune my car as tehy did in the good old days.
to build the right cal look car u have to catch first of all the spirit of that period.
the way of people dressin to do the right interior.
u have to know the muscle cars for the look...
may be the music can help u.......
to understand the reasons of that peoples behind the cars before than the same cars.
thts the reason why i hate trims.
first thing a people would have to do approachin a new project is to look a lot of period pictures.
cars of the right period had no trims.
l can perfectly understand reason why people leave trims : an original paint...a more classic look...fair of a no turning back work....but....this is not cal look.....
auto meters with bulb arent......turbo mufflers arent....
better to go for smiths and ansa glasspack!!!!!
this is my opinion guys, i would like to know urs. thank u for answers

Hi!
Interesting topic here! I have to agree that a "dechromed" bug is a more authentic 1970s Cal-Looker.
But today it also depends on the condition of the car you are starting to switch into Cal Look. Back in he 1970s a bug was nothing more than an ordinary used, cheap little car. So modifications on the body was no problem.

Today a bug also is a bit of a "collector´s item", so if you´re having a good car with a nice original paint and interior, you´re also thinking of maybe ´re-transfering" the car into its original condition in a few years.

So speed an simplicity of a car isn´t connected directly to "chrome trim yes or no". "The" Cal Look doesn´t exist any more-there are many different variations of the same idea.

And to be honest: I dont give a s+#t, when someone tells "chrome trim is no cal look"-please don´t take this statement personal as I respect it as another opinion than my own. But this reminds me a bit of those narrow minded guys restoring a split to 110% perfection and complaining about other cars "not to be original" as the owners did not use 14mm screws to mount the fenders.

I have full respect for all the variations of "the Look" as in 2006 the one drawing in the 75 Hot VWs represents&illustrates the basic idea-but in my opinion the drawing never was meant to be "the law of the Look", just an example.
 

 Well spoken...  ;)
 

well , gregor, i think that if we call this look california look is for article on hot volkswagen that named it.
this is a fact...not an opinion.
in that article that named the look, the magazine gave some pictures and a precise vademecum...
the vademecum told no trims...nose down..hot engine.
so precise suggestions are even more underlined by the pictures in cal look bible by keith seume.
no trims even there...
all i want to say is that no profile is not my personal statement but a more objective rule.
im not the only one to say no profile for cal look.....it was who named it.
your parents decided to call u gregor when u was born....so i can call u jack one thousand times a day...but u stay gregor!!!!!!!!!
ur example on the bolts of fenders of split is good, but there are lots of things before.
it is a mistake , it is true.but is less remarkable then fitting a ford escort bumper on it.
there is a macroscopic error in calling  california look a car that tht wear trims. just like fitting thta escrt bumper on an original car. u could answer that nowadays all the people calls cal look some trimmed cars.....and i would tell tht they are all wrong.
u can do what u want on your car and i respect you tastes. but maybe all the volkswagen movement need new names to call things.
then would love to say another thing:
u said people leave chrome trims cause vw s are collector's item....
this is the classic example of how to reach different conclusions starting from the same point.
my point of wiew is that just for being a collector item, bug need respect.
for me respect in old cars tuning is to work on them just as people did at that period.
only in this way you will help storicity and u will do a car proud to be preserved in the future.
that is my opinion on california look. but try to understand me:trimmed cars are not bad...i like them.  name is the question.

Sorry Bullitt but I have to take issue with when you say that it's wrong to call a car a car with trim a "Cal-Look" car. However, I'll be the first to say that removing trim is truer to the Cal-Look standard.

My opinion doesn't come second hand from some book or magazine... but from being at the vanguard of the movement in the late 70s early 80s.

While it's been several years since I read Keith's book I'll be willing to bet that there are pictures of cars with trim in it. That doesn't make them less cal-look. And a single book, no matter how well written can not cover a topic as broad as this. This isn't meant to be a bag against Keith's book... I certainly respect Keith and everything he's done for Cal-Look. I'm just pointing out the limitations.

Frankly, if the book or the article say that trim HAS TO be removed they are inconsistent with what was out in the movement at the time.

That´s a good issue. As I understand the "roots" of Cal Look back in the days, it was more a question of people sharing the same interest (simple and fast aircooled VWs), founding a club and developing some "basic style guidelines" like nose down, removing bumpers, adding nice alloys and so on. But I expect all the guys back in those days being not that strict in deciding what´s right or wrong. Last year I had the opportunity to talk to a very nice guy named Ron Flemming being over here in Germany-and with all his funny stories and experiences I am conviced that "the look" was and still is all about spirit...

sure gregor!!! i agree with u!!!!
spirit is largely speakin to have a cool car eye catchin that is fast on the road and in weekend strip trips. better if u use the car's world to meet new people and having a social life....
nothin changed.

Just my opinion, but I believe a car that retains all the trim, but has all other aspects of the Cal Look, is a Resto Cal.

But there was no such thing as "Resto-Cal" back in the day!  ;D

Fleming still has'm on  ;)

Could someone please inform that Keith Seume guy that he inadvertently put a Resto Cal Bug on the cover of his California Look VW book?
I love Internet experts!

Its just an opinion Stephan! Your car is still beautiful, even though in my opinion, it doesnt adhere to the traditional California Look.
Will you be in Vegas? I havent seen you in awhile, looking forward to a chat!

It's cool Zack! Yep, looks like I'll be in Vegas. Just got back from Sacramento an hour ago.

More food for thought:
Speaking of DKP, the majority of the current members run cars with moldings, full bumpers, etc. Soooo… Do we drive Cal Look cars? Ask any of the members, and they will answer “Yes”.
Ask Ron Fleming and Greg Aronson if our VWs would be considered as Cal Look cars, and their answer will be “Yes”. No doubt about it. Keep in mind that some DKP I cars were not dechromed.

Anyway, see you in Vegas!

I think we can all easily se that cal-look is NOT frozen in time....
It was a movement long before February-75... modified vw's that looked somewhat alike... clean colours, hot "small" engines, done with a wish to modernize the bug and to make it "fast"....   feel's stupid to say this, with all the guys who KNOW around... don't shoot!! :-)


If someone shows me a picture of a "looker" from any given year I can easily determine what era it's from... so can most of us... I think the engine compartment and interior dates most cars.

Keith Seume’s book is not law, but it's kind of like statistics 's... if you see a trend in that book, it's most likely "true"...  Or has Mr KS something against Empi steering wheels... it only shows ONE in the whole book (DKP pic's excluded)!? Nah... makes me think they were not as popular back then... now, they are the BOMB! And how about instruments... 80% in the old pictures are VDO...  I don't think 80% had VDO in real life, but a lot of people had them...

Can anyone "call" the different era's??


Ever heard the saying "same same but different!"  ;-)



     

 

...and that´s not all: look at that chromed antenna-resto cal?  ;)

But I think at least we all agree in running those little aircooled cars we call "Cal Look" due to two reasons:
spirit and performance. There will always be discussions in detail questions. e.g. "are aluminium fittings "cal look"?"

btw. love ron´s car-stance, simplicity and the look is really sweet.

 :D :D :D

hey stephan, somethin more respect would be cool, i presented my opinion. i dont know u. do u know me???? i cant remember i ate fish and chips with u....but i didnt give u names ironically as u did with me.... sure u r "internet expert" of education.

Hi Bullitt,
My public apologies to you… Never meant to hurt your feelings.
Actually, my reply was directed towards Zach and his comment about Resto Cal Bugs. Sorry if it sounded a bit harsh. Actually, Zach is cool guy and I’ve know him for a few years!

 thts ok,no problems guy.... i hope we could find at a meeting and eat that fish and chips!!!!! ;D
always difficult to explain on forums, when u have no face expression and no voice modes to help u....
where are u from stephan?

so guys i saw all ur answers and i have a clear vision of the thing.
most of u thinks that cal look is a progression wawe and likes trims turbo muffler and so on.
me and some others think that is a good thing to go back to cal-look roots.
so, generally speakin, wouldn't be clever to give  a name to these various tendances to understand quickly each other and even to give to the forum an official language?
things could sound like this on my opinion:
ANCIENT LOOKERS: like ron flemin oval and pre aronson car: trims, high ride, steel wheels, painted drums on display, white glaspack etc....
OLD SCHOOL: seventies cars: BRMs, fuchs, no trims. t bars glaspacks or t-birds, fiberglass lid, custom dash.
MIDDLE CLASS: early eighties and late seventies: cool colors. color coded handles and headlight trims, no chrome at all, cool alloys (fuchs, gas burner etc) dark tinted glasses etc...
NEXT NEW SCHOOL: nowadays cars: return of trims, cabriolet hoods, turbo mufflers, autometer, electronic ignition and so on,,,,,
what do u think?

Part of the deal is that most of the cars in my era were daily drivers so they were always works in progress.

Did my car always have an Empi wheel, 48s VDO gauges?

Nope.

It started bone stock... within a couple of weeks it was lowered cause that didn't cost much... just labor. Then as I could afford it 8=spokes were added, t-bars, motor went from 1500 to 1641 with Kadrons to 1776 with 48s.

I was in my late teens when I started it and took me 3-4 years to get it to the point where it was in the pictures I posted. 4 years of working at low paying jobs no less!

u shoot another target!!!!
they were daily drivers!!!!
tht is cool too.
they were not perfect as today!
sure, body and paint looked good, but... are u sure they were clean under the their frame????
but i would love my car as a street eye catcher, but not a show car with mirrors on the ground!!!!

Hi Bullitt,

I guess there are already "names" for the different decades:

Traditional Cal Look – 70s cars
The dark years – 80s Cal Looker
Old School (as inventet by Volksworld) – 90s cars
Today – ???

Cal Look is subject to change. I can clearly see it in our club. At first turbo mufflers were all the range, now many of us are going back to dual quiets – even if they loose some horses. But MSDs are still in more cars than not!

I'll give you a little example: I have in my Ghia (a razoredge T34 – can it be Cal Look? I say yes!) a Berg shifter with the typical 90s handle. A friend of mine offered me a early handle with the small Gene Berg writing, but I didn't want to have it. Why? Because I think it's cool if people (like JHU ;D) can tell which area the car is from. I love traditionall Lookers with no chrome, dual quiets and 010s, but for me it is ok if people can tell that my car was build in the 90s. Because it's MY era, MY decade! When I was (not so) young (anymore).

Great points Bullitt & George.

wow, what a discussion!  :) sometimes it reminds me of the true metal vs. false metal debate led by Manowar fans in the late 80s, sometimes I think it's some kind of scientific message board... but go on, it's interesting to read!

YOU listened to Manowar??? :D

Good point Marc,my point you build your car ,you starting wih kinds og wheels you wild have one car,next Color,Bumper ;or T-bars :)
Trim or Not? the are up too you.

hell yeah! "Other bands PLAY, Manowar KILL!" (Manowar, Kings Of Metal 1988)  ;D

in my 70's inspired car , there is a narrowed beam, because I love the wheels slighly  inside the wings.
Am I wrong, a fashion victim (in the 2k's it's in to have one). mine was builted 10 years ago, from an article on hotvw's by Ron Lummus. Am I a precursor?.
I think every one built it's car for himself, not for the others. If you like trims, let them on your bug, if not , a good welder will do the job.
I prefer Metallica (after the black album and with james Hetfield short cut hair.... ;D ;D ;D)

george i agree with u....but ii am still asking after years why to call the new cars "OLD SCHOOL"
 ???lol all the people does in europe but it is a nonsense!!!!!

by the way.....i listen to PERIOD rock......
i prefer hendrix, doors, deep purple, janis joplin etc......
rock has changed too.....just like cars.....but everytime i prefer roots!!!! :D ;D :D ;)

It's a good idea Bullitt,
In our little Cal-look gang we call cars prior to the lowering og the front "Pre-cal" like Flemings’ Oval

And then you have the "seventies looker" lowered front and shaved trims... custom interior and small hot engines.  Aronsons 63 and Dave Rhoads car.

Then you have some "late seventies/early eighties lookers"... clean shaven, painted headlight rings, Porsche wheels and custom interiors, Formuling France... and bigger engines... more show...  and introduction of LOUVERS!!  :-\

In the mid to late eighties things got pink and the cars received some graphics, and were very low at the rear... at least in Europe... The worlds not ready for these yet :-) “The pink years...”

Then in the mid nineties people started to restore their pink lookers and started to drill up the holes for the trim. Restored Lookers, or as we call them in Norway "RESTO LOOK" ....but they didn't raise the rear suspension... and also decided to bring all their empty suitcases to every show on a roof rack...  ::)

At about the same time Volksworld showed the world what DKPIII was up to.... full trim, bumpers, empi bumper guards, 5” Monster’s, pop outs, Msd ... and they called it "old shool"   ...we here call it DKP-lookers.

And now?? No clear direction i can see, but it seems like people uses the entire cal look history as a buffet table... and build whatever they like... and why shouldn’t we, this is the best time to be alive. We can pick and chose... we can have a engine that looks "period" down to the heads, and still go low elevens... and use it on the street.

And best of all.... no mater where you live you can chill in the Lounge!!

   

i agree :D

When I think of Cal Look, I think of "less is more" (except for horsepower!). Having chrome trim does not work with "less is more"!

Me too  :)

i think people are scared to dechrome their cars now as it loses some originality, less hassle aswell?
esp on pre 67 cars, as they are becoming rarer and rarer. as when they come to sell the car, they could easily turn it back to stock.
alex taylors 'black bitch' was a breath of fresh air last year, finally seeing a 'proper' 70's styled cal looker. thats why i'm going to build one, and yes, i'm scared about dechroming it!  :D

I'm sure if your ask Ron Fleming about, "Trim" you will get an interesting answer....

At about the same time Volksworld showed the world what DKPIII was up to.... full trim, bumpers, empi bumper guards, 5” Monster’s, pop outs, Msd ... and they called it "old shool"   ...we here call it DKP-lookers. That is a Good Call On What they are they all have there own Style to me they are a Mix of Resto Rod New and Old School Cal Look and Restored with wheels a  big motor and flat 4 wheel The Quality is There But the Look is Truly a DKP III look all its own!!

 :)

Thanks for the support Shub!

So what will the next "look" be?  ;D

I think people are going to get bored with the resto-cal look that is going on now. Same thing happened in the muscle car world where you see a lot more highly modified muscle cars than complete restos. Street rodders had their bit in the 70's and 80's too with the resto-rod movement. People want a bad ass looking car with power to back it up.

--louis

I know of a Bug that is being built in Iowa right now, that the owner had the trim shaved and filled, the car painted, red of course, and then had all the trim airbrushed back on with correct chrome bling and everything. File that one....

AIRBRUSH!!!!

that MUST be 80's cal-look all over. finally i can dust of the chrome enginetin and mount it back in the car. this made my day

 ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D