The Cal-look Lounge

Just read an online account of what it's like to own another cult-following car, with a tight knit enthusiast base. Since I don't own one of these cars, but I am at the same time interested in them, it was entertaining to read the virtues of living with the car.

I thought about how us hot rod VW guys either take characteristics of a hot VW for granted, or how we make do with what we can, when it comes to owning and living with one of these "cal look" cars.

I'm sure a lot of guys that are into "other" kinds of cars don't get what the fuss is all about when it comes to a hot rod Bug. We see slight detail differences, like American Racing mags vs BRMs, chrome vs no chrome, IDFs vs IDAs, etc.... They see lowered, noisy, and hopefully taillights (getting smaller).

To me owning a hot rod VW is probably unlike owning any other car. Living with one is another thing entirely.

I think it would be interesting for those that live with their hot rod Volkswagen on a daily, or near daily basis, to come up with your thoughts as far as owning, driving, maintaining, and battling one of these things day in and day out.

Aside from the bone stock, vintage sector of the Vw hobby, I'd have to say the Cal Look phenomenon has to be the least silly, at least. the whole mantra of "less is more" is kind of universally practiced by any leg in the hot-rod car world, be it V8, Porsche, exotic stuff, vintage European sports car stuff... even off road I'm sure.

Anyway......  think about how'd you describe your dealings with your car and post some ideas.
I'll try and catch up later.

Jim

Okay here's one from the distant past. Going back to 1973, both Jim Holmes and I went to Fullerton Junior College and took a 7:00 am graphic arts class together. Since this was the first class of the day, we usually had the best (2) parking spots in the lot, right up close to the class rooms, and where everyone walked by. Normally, both our cars were under car covers, but still, if you knew what you were looking at, you could see the traction bars, wheels and exhaust systems from underneath. Now, we were far from being the only modified VWs in the lot, as there were hundreds of other VWs back then! But, I would often cruise the lot looking for other "fast" VWs parked in the lot. If I spotted one that looked different, I would get down and look under the engine for signs of a big engine, solid mounts and full-flow lines. About the fastest VW in the lot at that time was Greg Brown, as I recall him doing a burnout in the parking lot on morning.... There was also a tan Bug with 1700cc w/dual Webers, that was fast, but I can only remember his name was Steve something. Maybe Sarge would remember. But the point being, fast VWs in a '70s college parking lot were rare, and a special breed. With all the muscle cars laying around, it was easy pickins' on Harbor Blvd!

My Cal Look VW, was my red 67 bug. It was set up beautifully. It engine was a 76x90.5, engle 120, 9.5CR, 40x35.5 ported heads and 44IDFs. The trans was stock with a super diff, Front disc brakes, lowered beam, Flat four BRMs. It's best time was a 13.75. I have owned it since 1987, slowly getting it just perfect. That car needed very little maintenance and never broke down. It ran smooth from the bottom end to the top (7400RPM). It would drive around town like a stocker but could beat almost anything on the street. That car was so fun and easy to drive I could give the keys to anyone and they could drive away with no instructions. My wife drove it every day to work for three months! I even lent it to my buddy Ray who promptly got in a 100mph+ race late at night. He told me when he first drove it he was thinking, what is all the fuss this thing is so mild, then he brought the RPMs up and wow. All I had to do with that one was, tune it, wash it and enjoy it! I did a ton of that!
Now I have my black 67 which I'm trying to detune from Der Renn Kafer Cup days to get it just like the red 67. It now has a 2275 with a K8, 9.0CR and 48IDAs. It has a Berg 5 speed and the disc brakes off the red 67. The car rides rough and is very sensitive to throttle input and has a noisy electric fuel pump and is a pain to get in and out because of the side roll bar. It is not as fun to drive and always needs valves and carbs adjusted and tends to springs oil leaks. It is way to pretty and I'm always afraid someone or me will dent or scratch it. I know I'm getting closer on the carb tuning and I'll probably take out the roll bar and get a quieter fuel pump, but its just not the same. I don't know if I'm just spoiled from today's cars or older and softer with a bad memory.
The red 67 is now all stock and is still fun to drive and never breaks.
Will I give up on Cal Look cars? Never! I love to drive a quick VW and I love to go out in the garage and tinker with my VWs. It is what I do to escape the pressures of every day life.         

I wouldn't call it a love/hate relationship, but more of a love/dislike. Driving a Cal Look VW on regular basis is a labor of love. Every time I take off in my bug, I know in the back of my mind that pretty much anything can go wrong with at anytime. My bug is a '67 with a pretty mean 2332cc engine. It's got Jeff Denham 44x37.5 heads a web cam with .498 lift and 312 degrees and 48 IDA. I have a very "built" transaxle with a 3.88 R&P and stock ratios with rubber mounts and a Berg intermediate mount. It has disc brakes, a gas heater, and a nice stereo. I'm not trying to talk it up too much either, but it's one of the more "refined" and reliable hot rod VW's I've ever been in. It rides pretty nice and is fairly quiet inside (for a bug). As reliable as it is, however, I sometimes get tired of the occasional leaks, having to adjust the valves, balace the carbs, changing the spark plugs and all the other crap that goes wrong with it. Whenever I crack open the throttle and it takes off, all the other stuff seems insignificant.

i agree with Redwagon's comments...
I have been hooked on VW's since my father used to tune-up his old 66' in Mongomery Alabama whe I was 12yrs old. I used to sit on the bumper and watch him set the points.
I loved the fact that you didn't have to pay someone to fix your car. I knew it was the car for me.

My father gave me the "Killa' Bee" when I was in High-school. Pretty clean 73 Super with 92,000 original miles. Bone stock at that time.
I picked up HVW's mag shortly after. And the mods began...
 
For me, it's like a love affair that I'm really not ashamed of anymore. I make no bones over my quality time in the Garage.
I love working on all of my cars to make them better. It gives me re-newed desire to take it out for drives.
It is something that is part of my psyche. I don't feel right unless I have some "alone time" with my babies...

There is nothing like that first drive of the season when the Spring weather breaks. That "Shake down" trip to the gas station to put some fresh race gas in the tank.
It's a real reminder of how much power we are really dealing with. It's like being the passenger for a moment. ... Wooo Hooo... You just get a big grin on your face... It goes away pretty quick and you get bored real fast and ready for more...LOL...

Either way. The most rewarding part is the friends I have made along the way...

Well, I think the outside world, especially non-car people probably look at us like we're nuts.

You'll get the usual 50+ year old lady that owned a '65 Bug talking to you.... "It was my first new car, it was so much fun. Eeew, yours is so loud...mine didn't sound like that..."

You get the guys that know nothing about VW's but maybe worked at a gas station at one time and they'll tell you about their friend that had a "Porsh" engine in their Bug and how it flew.

The guys that know what's up..... you probably already know them.

Anyway, if I had to say anything about owning and driving a hot rod VW, it is that you'd better be ready to compromise and you should plan on being pretty dedicated. A "cal look" VW, in the traditional sense isn't comfortable, it's rare to see one with a heater (though that seems to be changing lately), they don't corner as well as they sprint in a straight line, windshields fog over, wipers aren't up to par...
Driving the car on a semi daily basis, is most likely limited by climate for most. Snow would probably be unheard of!
Driving the car in a forgiving climate isn't without its concerns too. Hot weather, gridlock traffic, dusty-dirty roads (for the IDA guys)....all can make the hot VW a little cranky if not worse.

Anyway, if you were to plant a non-believer in my own '67, and hand him the keys? They'd probably bitch about the non retractable seat belt they have to fish for, then figure out how to clamp to center hoop. Then there's the faint whiff of fuel in the cabin, coming from open stacks and float bowl vents. Emissions controls? Ha. The seat is pretty flat, not supportive, no head rest and the pedals sprout from the floor like tulips. Starting the thing isn't the usual plug the key in and twist either. First, make sure the carb covers are off! Then back inside, floor gas in two sharp, short stabs. Twist key to first click, two idiot lights appear and the fuel gauge and tach stand in attention. Twist key further and starter whines as it fights the higher CR and valve springs, but don't stop, while cranking you have to click on MSD ignition box and electric fuel pump. After a crank or two further, the thing barks to life, and you goose the gas to "make sure" it caught. It snaps back at you, sending tach to 3000 in a blink. The car is full of harsh noise, carburetors growling, whizzing valvetrain and a almost unmuffled exhaust rasp. At idle it shakes the car, and sounds like the motor is riding on the back seat, inside the car. Stab the gas again, and it scream up the tach then falls and eventually finds an idle of 1200rpm. I think your average Joe is realizng this isn't his mom's old bug from the 1960s....
Driving it would probably scare the pants off the guy. The throtte pedal is light and almost too responsive. I think hot VW guys drive with their tiptoes, not their foot or we'd all be in jail. First gear is gone by the other side of the intersection, shift, now at 6000 in second gear, wait, that fast? Shift already? Third gear, car is moving now, so back out of it, falling out of the powerband, so stab it again and all you'd hear is this deep bellow from the Webers, cracked wide open, but not quite sure what to do ye.......oh wow,...holy crap, now those carbs are howling and we're over 5000 rpm, pulliing harder and harder and the car is blowing by slower traffic like they're parked....

maintaining one? I spend probably 10+ hr a month on maintenance. Weber 48's aren't ideal for a near-daily driver. Just keeping them happy is a job. The accelerator pump cams and rollers get gritty and need to be cleaned and re lubed. Synch can vary after a lot of driving. Manifolds need to be checked for sealing to head. Plugs need to be looked over, and removing the front two mean those carbs come off. Not an easy job. Oil change is straightforward, at least for a VW guy. Valve adjust, same, though with ratio rockers it's a good idea to take a good look at springs while you're in there, they do give way sometimes. Rest of car is pretty straightforward too, if you know VW's. One irritation is most floor jacks won't slide under front beam unless I "pre raise" the car from the rear, so brake adjustments, etc, tend to take longer. Motor removal on my car?.... not for the uninitiated, it's a bitch.
Anyway, I think, had I grown up driving a "normal car" and then got into the hot VW thing, I would have pulled my hair just once, and then said "forget it" and I think that probably happens to a lot of guys.... they go from motorcycles to speedboats to Deuce Coupes and then get the bug for a fast VW, spend a bunch of dough on one then realize they've got better things to do with their time like date 20 yr olds.

The rest of us are sick and that's just fine because there is nothing like a fast VW.

Try as you might, you're not scaring me away.  I can't wait.   8)

I'm sorry , Jim. What was the question, again?

That was a damn good read Jim!

My early experiences of using a modified VW on a daily basis began back in 1976 when I ran my mildly-tuned (by today's standards) Euro-'67. It only had a 1500, motor with single dual-choke Weber, cam equivalent to an Engle 110, header and some head work. It was a lot quicker than stock but not very fast by today's standards. It was, however, able to keep up with the average Joe's Ford Escort 1600GT and that was enough to give me hours of fun at stop lights as they didn't stand a chance in a first gear, second gear sprint... Stock gears and a heater meant it was at least usable in winter!

My '54 rag-top that followed was equipped with my first 'hot' motor (ha ha): 88 x 69, Erson cam (similar to a 120), dual 40IDFs, modest dual-port heads, header and an 010. No heater. My first wife's family lived down in Wales (150 mile drive) and we used to go down there every two or three weeks, summer or winter. I can remember often having to scrape the ice of the inside of the windshield while driving along, my wife sitting with a blanket over her knees, scarf round neck, woolly gloves etc trying to keep warm. But it was real fun and more than able to blow off a twin-cam Cortina at the lights – top end was a different matter, though! I used that car to drive to work every single day, including when I changed jobs and had to drive into central London (which you could easily do back in the late 1970s). It had the deck-lid spaced off at the top and when it rained, the car would start to miss on one side as water went down the intakes (oh, yeah, no air filters...). But, damn, it was cold!

I never used the chop-top on a daily basis but did drive it a lot for a car which was pretty highly modified. First long trip was out to Le Mans and seeing the reaction of other road users on the French autoroute was great. With stock ratios, it would cruise happily at 85mph and not get hot. It was loud but not too loud, as Keith Goss had put a ton of soundproofing in the car. I saw just over 120mph one time but it was a once-only experience as the car wasn't too directionally-stable at that sort of speed!

When I put the FK-87, bigger header, close-ratio gear and the Quaife in it, the character changed. It was still perfectly streetable but I would race everything – I mean everything. My favourite recollection was when Gwynn and I were driving back from Avon Park drag strip one day. We were driving along minding our own business when a Subaru Impreza appeared close on my tail. Four guys out for a laugh in fast car. I gradually crept the speed up from our 55mph cruising velocity (close gears...) and at about 80mph, the Impreza pulled out and went hurtling past, the three passengers all looking out of the back window, laughing. Oh dear, bad move. Poor Gwynn  just looked at me, looked at the Impreza and looked back at me. She'd seen the two horns grow out of the top of my head and knew what was coming next. I dropped it back into third, red-lined it, banged it into fourth and went past the Impreza like it was standing still. The look on the four guys' faces was priceless. Yes, I know they could have had me on top end, no problem, but this wasn't the place for a 100+mph all-out race. They just didn't expect a Bug to have so much torque. I backed off at around 100mph and settled back to a more acceptable velocity. The Impreza came roaring by but this time the passengers didn't look – except for one in the back seat. He looked back over his shoulder and gave us the thumbs up. Score 1 for the VWs...

The thing that striked me the most when I started driving my beetle is how much people look at you. Whatever you do, you can never go unnoticed in a cal-look beetle (maybe more in Europe that in the US, because we don't have such a developped car culture).
Wether you're driving on the highway or through town, people stare at you. Always, every time.

True. And interesting thing is that age and sex doesn't matter. Kids stare at you, elderly women, young guys in fast Japanese cars, everybody, although each one of them for a different reason.
My friend had a Porsche and he says that it drew attention too, but only of boys  ;D

double post

excellent description Jim .-)

When I was driving my '63 daily I had a lot of fun in it but there were times when it was a total pain in the a$$. One of the first times I took it out after the motor was bolted in was a 70 mile round trip in a pretty bad winter storm. Everything was steamed up due to the lack of a heater and the water that wasn't dropping out of the sky was standing 3 inches deep on the road whilst the wind would occasionally throw the thing into one of the other lanes. Beyond the dash it was pretty much a total blur so it was just a case of hanging on and trying to avoid the lights or any dark shape that looked like something. Any attempt to demist using the quarter window just sent a torrent of water into the car, not that it mattered much as looking through the cleared letterbox size part of the windscreen only served to show the windscreen wipers weren't doing anything anyway. With the winter evenings being what they are here I remember a lot of trips like that, fortunately few were anything like as bad though.

In normal conditions it was a blast, one place I used to work at had an access road which was about 1 1/2 miles long and in the morning the traffic down there was pretty much one way so I used to like coming off the roundabout seeing how many cars I could take before having to pull in again. I got up to six but then figured an earlier start could probably net a few more so I started turning into the road on the wrong side and passing the first few the other side of the traffic islands which got a few more. I had a GT box in it and on a good day the car would be in 4th before I had to pull in again. The main problem with using it a lot was it'd give you a false sense of security and would occasionally throw up a surprise or two. It's a good way to wake up in the morning but not an especially chilled out drive. Another thing I remember was that the tank only tended to last 2 days and even then that was so long as I hadn't had taken some one out for a spin in it, worst case was a tank a day.

One thing about it was something people have already mentioned and that's that they do get a lot of positive attention. It's 50/50 at the petrol (gas) station as to whether you'll be able to fill and leave without a conversation and my experience of sitting with exotic stuff on the motorways is that most people really dig it. I've passed Porsches, TVRs, AMGs, Ms etc etc all of which would blow the Bug to kingdom come had we kept going and having slowed got a wave or a thumbs up as they've sailed on by afterwards. On one occasion a guy in an Aston pulled up by me having just got off the motorway and we ended up in a layby talking cars for half an hour or so. He had some cool old stuff himself and as it happened knew Bugs could be made quick and that they didn't need a Porsche motor (-*!*-).

It's funny that a Subaru has been mentioned; on the way back from Germany one year we picked up a bunch of Subarus that were on their way back from the World Rally Championship round and we were with them for a long way through Belgium and into France where it turned out they were on our ferry. Once back on home soil somewhere up the M20 or whatever road it is we had a bit of a play, slowed down, had another go and then slowed again and so on. After they stopped playing we sat alongside them a lane over and whatever it was they were doing it didn't look like they were waving. I'm sure they'd have been very fast if we'd have been on country roads...

 :)

I'll be 63 this year and I still have the "sickness."  I've had plenty of good excuses to get out over the years, but have found more positive then negative to draw inspiration from.  I suppose if I were forced to drive my '67 the 70 mile round trip I do with my wife on a daily basis in stupid crazy freeway traffic, I'd have probably faded by now.  It is fun to remember back to the old days, though.... of treating EVERY stop light like it was the tree at the local strip, the constantly black fingernails, the drone of close ratio's on the freeway at 4000 rpm (the speedo needle stuck firmly at 60mph) or the smell of a fat idle circuit every time I rolled to a stop.  For me, though, it's been guys like KS with his books, a club that never quit with a legacy that refuses to die, and the ability to reach out over the internet on forums such as this to others in the same groove that have kept me anchored to my VW.

 ;D 8) ;D

ah i have to say thanks to all off you posting stories.

right now i try to save up some money to be able to buy a decent house by 2020, but it is hard if you have a vw to maintain... at least for me. i have invested quite a bit in the car and i am sure i will not see half off it back if i sell it. and yet haven't i got my 'big' engine that i have been dreaming off for quite some years now. i could have saved up the money by now and have it build, but i chose to invest in upgrade after upgrade and yet another upgrade. so i have a 1776 at the moment.
to be honest i am quite happy with the engine, but it will not impress a lot off people on the track. and that is what i have become to like. i liked it the first time i did a 1/4 mile and i even went to Norway to go and race Europe's stickiest track with 165 radials  ;D
so from this perspective it doesn't make a lot off sense to say the least,
but on the other hand i have been blessed to meet some great persons along the way that i can call friends now. people and memories i never thought off having and that i never would want to forget. the last two years have been eyeopeners and very enjoyable to be able to meet people and learn so much. as i like to learn new stuff every day and enjoy much off the stories and things that get discussed in our little 'niche' we call callook.
two persons that stand out in all off this are Cindy my wife and Jeff, the future driver off the resurected underdog 2...  ;D

I'm quite jealous of you guys and your stories. You guys read Car and Top Gear? Those cats are always rambling on about taking some super capable sports car and putting it through its paces "out in the moors", which I guess is Wales? Sounds like heaven, as far as driving fast. In northern Calif, there's an area about 30 miles NW of San Francisco, out at Point Reyes, used to go driving all the time out there, and I imagine it to be very similar to the landscape and terrain of the Wales area.

Cool stories guys...


but stop picking on my Subaru brethren.  ;D

When I first finished my 2276 it went into the car with my stock geared zf gearbox, still with 165's on the car.  Fortunately (unfortunately?) that also happened to be the time where southern california has all of it's rain.  I used to roll away from stoplights nice and calm, and halfway through the intersection just stand on the pedal- rpm up to 7k, shift, repeat, repeat...  My poor old blue dirtmobile would be going down the road at a responsible 35-40mph....at a 45* angle....tached out in third, roughly 98mph rear wheelspeed.  With the zf, once the wheels broke loose, you might as well been driving on KY jelly.  Just keep the rpm up, your right foot down, and keep grabbing gears.  Of course, being the ripe old age of 19 and having that as my only car, this happened multiple times a day, for weeks on end.  Fun stuff.  I don't do that anymore, much...

Here's a good story..
No lie.. this is absolutly true...
When I was a Senior in High-School, I lived in OakRidge Tenn. The home of OakRidge Nation Labortory. (Uranium refinement facility)They owned a huge plot of land all around the town.
It was real easy to hack-saw thru the lock clasp and go joy riding on the well mainatined gravel roads.
It was fun as heck...
At 17yrs old I was playing Ralley driver. Cruise about 35-40mph. Nice Gentle sweeping turns. I used to take friends with me.

One night, 4 of us were heading out one of the roads to an old rock quarry where we used to have parties in the middle of nowhere.. (I was a really bad kid).
I was having some fun scaring one newbie passenger. I forgot about an up-coming "Y" in the road.
I approced with too much speed, locked up the brakes and skidded right thru the center of the "Y"... It was a pretty good size ravene on the mountan side.
The front end of my car was haning over the edge (wheels in the air). It was so dark , we couldn't see the bottom of the ravene to see how far down it went.
It was just like the scene out of the original "Italian Job".
We exited the car one by one, sitting on the rear bumper so the car would't go over the edge. I revved it up and got us back on the roadway after a few really scary moments. ...

I was probably reallly close to getting injured and/or in some really big trouble that day. Shame on me for driving so fast at night...

Dumb Luck...

That pretty well sums up my experience with my car pre-turbo.   8)

It's fair to say there are some great driving roads in the British isles but I think there's fun to be had over there too.  8)

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That could be kinda' hard!  :D

I remember when I moved to North Carolina I found out that they had state vehicle inspections there and I was a bit leary as a car that had been modified with T bars for bumpers, lowered and a loud exhaust I would have a hard time passing. I remember driving up to this old looking converted gas station waiting for the owner to open up (they take there time no hurry's there) He finally opened the overhead door and told me to drive in (thinking damn I'm getting the full Monty) as I drive in he pulls down the overhead door behind him, oh shit this isn't good....Then he tells me, come to my office you need to fill out some paper work. After the paper work we walk slowly back out to the garage, he then asks me to lift the hood, and we started talking about the motor and exterior of the car...after that, he slaps a sticker on the windshield and said...."Your good to go"  As I pulled out of the shop I thought damn I'm coming back here next year....well there wasn't a next year as I guess he did the same to an undercover inspector....oh well at the time he did seem interested in a cal-look VW.

Owning and driving a clean, Hot VW is great. You always get compliments, smiles and waves from passing motorists, neighbors and random people. It makes all that effort put into the car worth something because you know that people like and respect what you have done. Even if no one liked my car I would not care because I have great memories of building it with my dad and I feel good when I drive it. It is fast, it sounds awesome and is exactly what I set out to build.

Sometimes my car can be a pain in the rear though. At times the IDAs are tempermental and the car is rather loud inside. At the moment the front end needs an alignment and possibly a kingpin adjustment/replacement and that stuff bothers me. But it is a 53 year old car and I have to remember that. I can always get in my To#¤ta pickup if I do not want to deal with all that stuff.

Will he remember the lesson of giving?

Who's raving at the wall?

I have to say that I've never been disappointed by any posts, reflective or storytelling, or otherwise, that are of a Jim Ratto creation.  The man has a true gift with words!

He paints a very vivid picture...

 ;D

Sarge...well stated.  I never tire of the satisfaction of a new motor fire up, the new combo...crusin a local v8 hangout and the endless VW stories you hear from guys our age. Everyone has a VW story. For me the best stories are the ones where someone thinks you're clueless and they begin to tell you about the VW baja they once had that did wheelies....or the guy who tells you how he beat local V8s as he tries to explain a motor he knows nothing about. Lot's of strokers out there.

For me, driving them as a form or relaxation and fun is key.  If I had to drive my VW daily, I would probably loose the thrill. Still, nothing beats the throaty sound of a pair of IDAs on a 2 liter motor...going through the gears and getting the thumbs up from all ages. There's also the never ending satisfaction of the grin on the guy you just stayed next to up to 80mph...the befuddled V8 owner who wonders what just happened....and the young guns and their dealership hotrods that can't figure out why your VW just keeps pulling away from them.

Nothing beats a HOT VW...guess that's why we all still love the rush we get from building and driving them after 4+ decades!

Rick Mortensen

Deano...   I was hanging around Randy Jones  back in 1970/71 and he was a friend of Greg Browns and got to meet greg back when you guys were doing the college thing. Greg is a top notch mechanic with vast knowledge and had an incredible running(12 second) VW way back then and although I dont remember the size of engine I know he sawed the entire engine in half when one of the first GB cranks let a counterweight came loose from too much perosity in the weld process...needless to say he was PISSED and ventured out to talk to gene at the shop for some resolve on the mangled engine parts destruction, and when greg unveiled the parts Gene insisted it wasnt the fault of the crank but that of the engine builder, needless to say after Gene had his say so in the matter Greg has never gone back to GB to this day. That car hauled ASS...!!

All great stories about cars, lives, good times in a Hot VW. Jim does have a way with words, know him over 20years now. Young snot nosed kid comming into the parts store and just overwhelmed with ideas. Having sold parts for over 20years to a lot of cal lookers, i still enjoy doing it today. Having a vw repair shop still lets me work and drive some very nice vw's. Having my own vw(not cal look) but still big motored baja, big travel, caged..... Still having a blast, kids look, old ladys glare, Yea it's life of a VW guy and gal's.