The Cal-look Lounge

Sarge how about some stories about the very very early days, you and Lazenby and Pete Dayton, and the other couple of guys.
It would be cool to hear about the very first outings, and maybe focus on the very early cars. Maybe John L. can add his memories too.

yes...... tell us Sarge!!!!  8)  I also would love to hear some stories from Lazenby !!!  ;)

 ::)  Wellll, let's see...  When it all started was fall of 1964.  I'd started school at Fullerton Jr College and was driving my first bug, a metallic blue '56.  Driving through the parking lot, I couldn't help but notice how many VW's where there... one that caught my eye was a beautiful black '65 with chromies that belonged to Brian Renie (God).  I started hanging around a bit with Brian who had gone to high school in Anaheim and knew John Lazenby and pointed out his then red '63.  Another guy that was around then was Richard Kugel (brother of Hot Rodder Jerry Kugel / Kugel Components) who drove a gold bug with very cool Jardine headers.  After awhile, we all got to know each other and would cruise around the Anaheim area on the weekends visiting Carl's, The Bean Hut, Taco Villa and a place called Hillside Drive-In which was a few miles north in Fullerton.  One night we bumped into Pete Dayton at Carl's... he was looking for bugs and owners to start a car club and word spread fast.  Mike Huggins, Mike Mendenhall, Dewight McGill, John Radke (never owned a VW but  was always there), John Krysick,Gregg Bunch, Gary Kruger and Bob Stewart where all guys who went to FJC and were a part of things before I got drafted in early 1967.  Times were a lot simpler back then.  There was no performance stuff to speak of and chrome wheels were the vogue.  Muffler shop headers (not really even headers...more like noise makers) soon took off and became big business.  It was all about cruising around with an FM radio or four track Muntz tape deck blasting away with your new found VW pals..... 8)

Was it at this time you guys did the cruise(s) up to Hollywood?

if you have any pics (even if they have been posted before) of the early cars like Renie's or Kugel's, or even yours  ::) ::) ;D
you should scan 'em for us buddy.

 ;D

Jim "where's my belt" Ratto

Yeah, driving was cheap entertainment.  Lots of trips up to Sunset Blvd or down to the beach, then back through all the places I mentioned in Anaheim before calling it a night.  American Grafitti to the 10th power.  I keep wishing I'd stumble on to a box of old pics I'd forgotten about but it ain't happenin'.... :(

Sarge, great story! I too went to FJC in the mid '80s and would always have front row parking next to the Technical building due to an early morning class. I owned a Cal-look split at the time and looking back; I am still amazed how popular VW's were back then. I also remember how well they were liked among the women  ;) 8)

Lots of those stories in Keiths new book

But never as good as hearing them from the Pimp Daddy's mouth! :D

cool stories jim  do you've  any flyers or drawing from the vw unlimited

rgd
fabs

Wish I had more pics for you guys but photo taking wasn't a big part of my life back then.  Here's a couple of oldies from the 40hp Zenith carb days.  I bought the carb and manifold from a repair shop in Fullerton... had NO IDEA about jetting, intake manifold leaks, etc.  The manifold wound up being tweaked and never set flush on the heads... this after weeks of head scratching.  After that mystery was finally solved, I went to Don Burns VW one day and had them put it on the chassis dyno to try and sort the jetting.  What a joke! ::)  The green car is Lazenby's red '63 after it was repainted by Babe's in Fullerton.... by far one of the nicest paint jobs I can recall from back then.  As much as everyone here loves the Butternut color it later became, the Cadillac Firemist Green is the color I'll always remember most.  John and I spent a lot of weekend afternoons waxing our cars at his folks place in Anaheim or Hillcrest Park in Fullerton (across the street from Hillside Drive-In)... seemed there was always some friends waxing cars at the park whenever you'd cruise through.  I can't begin to think how many cans of VHT we sprayed on our "headers".... it was a weekly ritual! ::) ;)

What a great topic!  Sarge, were the Chromies cheap at the time, or just the only thing out there?  Catalogs and old magazines show different wheel choices coming in around that time, but save for Fleming and Crane (early on) no one ran anything but the chromies.  Can you remember when the BRM's, American's, Crestlines and a myriad of other wheel choices came into vogue?

Great story, love read the past follow story like that, but can you tell us about kind of music was fun at this time ?
And regard's people take care about your when you cruise with your bettle in 1967 ? They think you look's "young guy" or "bad guy" with your engin sound ??
More about feeling if it's possible as well !  ;D

BTW think's for time past to right all of your's story  :-*

Before I was drafted, I had no money.  Buying any cosmetic car stuff was always a problem... the money always went somewhere else first (such as re-doing "headers" at Phil's Muffler Shop  ::)).  Most all my "modifications" were done with spray cans... painting wheels, headers, dying the red interior black, tinting the windows.  The American Mag / adapter phase hit while I was in the Army.  I sent money home to Sharon (we were not married at the time; she bought the car from me) to add the adapters, and American's to the rear of the '63... I bought the Dragmasters from 101 Speed Shop in Fullerton while home on leave.  BRM's were something I knew nothing of until I got out of the military in early 1969.


Thanks Mark!  My folks bought a new 1966 Seasand Beige Beetle direct from Germany.  After seeing the wheels and flat caps, I knew I had to have some for the '63.  Unfortunatly, the flat caps wouldn't fit over the spindles  :(


As for music, it was the age of, um.....  well, let's say before I went in the Army, it was Surf / Beetles / Folk / Oldies.  When I got home in 1969, It was the Beetles White Album, Jefferson Airplane's Surrealistic Pillow, Hendrix and so on.  The driving around "attitiude" before I left was more carefree, too... we VW guys didn't take ouselves so seriously back then.  Nowdays, it's all about attitude!!

Thanks for all the positive feedback guys!

More, Sarge! More!

wow........thanks for sharing the stories and the photos Sarge!!!  :o  8)

one question.......??  what are those brown stains on the photos???  ::)  Do you keep the scanner next to the toilet??  ::)

 :D :D :D

That is what I also wanted to say.It's nice to read these little story's,from people who where involved back then.
So Sarge,tell us more please.It's very interresting.
 ;)

The Sarge has requested, thus I must deliver.  I've got some early photos and other things burried in my garage and keep putting off pulling them out to share.  I will make an honest effort this weekend as I've already promised to Jim E.

Some of the names listed above I can comment on.  Brian Rennie (GOD).  He got that name because he acted like GOD.  Brian and I met in the 4th grade and went to the same church and our parents were friends.  He bought a new '65 sedan in black and kept the car cleaner than mine, which I thought was impossible.  Everyone used Classic Car Wax back then and he had empty cans of the stuff stacked on his garage wall.  He literally wax the paint off the car.

Brain was also the guy that introduced me to my future wife Christie Ann.  It was a blind date and the way that came about was keeping a friends (Gayle Ringwald) '65 Plymouth Satalite while he was at boot camp.  It was a 383 with an Art Carr Torueqflite and halled ass!!  A side note on this car is prior to Ringwald owning it the car belonged to Ted Longworth who was a buddy of Ron (Big Al Tamming) Flemings.

Anyway, Brian set up the "blind date" as he was dating Christie's older sister Linda at the time.  I was just a couple of weeks out of Navy boot camp myself and had no hair (that still holds today), braces and weighed 128 pounds dripping wet.  The four of us went to Hollywood in the Plymouth and cruised Hollywood and Sunset Blvds. most of the night.  That was August 21, 1967 and five years to the day later Christie and I were married.  Edmiston and Huggins were both in the wedding party and I have the photos to prove it.  Also Sharon Edmiston was a bride's maid for Christie.

Rich Kugel and I had met at Taco Villa on Harbor Blvd in 1963 and became great pals.  Rich had a gold '58 sedan with Jardine Headers and that statement painted on the rear fenders.  He was never officially in the club, but was consider by many "The Fonz" because he was a cooooooool dude!!!  Rich and I joined the Navy at Los Alamitos  together and in future years traveled to the salt flats at Wendover, Utah with his older brother Jerry (Kugel Components)

Jon Radke was not ever in the club as Jim states, but always hung around with Pete Dayton, Gary Huggins and myself.  He was a year older than us and kind of a Lumpy Rutherford (Leave it to Beaver) character.  It was guaranteed that if Radke was in your car and you stopped to get a soda he would spill his in the car without fail. 

Jon passed away probably ten years ago in his sleep.  He was working for Johnson & Johnson and living in Colorado.  We still receive Christmas Cards from his wife.  His kids are grown now and he is a grandfather which is hard to accept remembering the guy.  I miss you Jon.

Mike Mendenhall was a bit younger that most of us, but had a nice car that was painted by Molley in La Habra.  Today as far as I know Mike owns California Wooding Working Machinery in Anaheim.  He is probably within a mile of Royze and I guess I should stop by and say hello.

Greg Bunch and I met at Irvine park some 40 plus years ago.  His car would pull mine and I hated him for that.  If any of you ever get the chance you need to see his home in Santa Ana or Tustin.  It is on the border, so I'm not sure.  A finer person you could not meet.  Today Greg owns a '30's Lincoln Limo that weighs about 6K.  I guess as he grew heavier he felt the need for something larger than a VW.

Excuse the spelling errors and the rush, but I've got other things pending currently.  I promise there will be more soon...................... ::) ::) ::) ::) ::) ::) ::)

John Lazenby

In 69 did Led Zeppelin music already hit the US ? You had a 8-track tape player in the 63 ?

WOW.....thanks for chiming in, John! 8)  Seems like it was just yesterday ::) ;D!


I had a four track Muntz hooked up to some old wood bookshelf speakers behind the back seat (real quality stuff ::)).  I never had an 8 track in the '63.  We used to hit the drive-in swap meets a lot for bootleg tapes ($2.95ea).  I liked the first two Zep albums the best (still do to this day), Lee Michaels, Santana, The Who, Stones, Buffalo Springfield, Cream, Doors and Crosby Stills & Nash to name a few.

Only great things.

COOOOOOOOOL stories dude - Keep em coming along with some pic's  ;) :)

This is some cool stuff right here. Thanks for sharing John and Sarge.

This thread reminds me of how i was feeling about all the "cool guys" out in California I read about in that new magazine "The Fun Car Journal". Wow, I wish I was out there instead of back in Iowa! My car was running Chevy adapters and a Cyclone header and carried a 12 volt battery to run the 8-track. Those guys have great big 1700cc motors and carbs and stuff! I got my induction notice in the mail, ran down to the Navy recruiter and he pre-dated my enlistment. I was off to San Diego and was sure I would stick out like a "hick" amidst the wall-to-wall hot shoes of southern California! First chance I got, I was driving up the coast to a Bug-In. The racers were faster than anything I'd seen! The show was full of cars that were in the magazine! The people though, were just people. Gene Berg was a skinny bald-headed guy that gave me a strange look when I recognized him and couldn't remember to close my open mouth. The drivers were all greasy when they climbed back in for another run. The car guys made the same remarks about the hot chick walking by as I would have. Most of them were my age, more or less. Just helping each other make decisions about the usual junk. "Want to take a run up to so-and-so"s?" "Think I should drill out my mains, or leave 'um?" "Watch out for that green Camaro! He's faster than he looks!" "Shit, man, she says she pregnant!" So, Sarge, even though it was just everyday living for you guys. The club scene you were a part of, was the forerunner of sites like this. A bunch of like-minded nuts pushing a crazy idea to another level. You were the inspiration for guys like me way back then, and it looks like that is still the case today. Oh, and thanks for not laughing at that paisley shirt I was waring at the Bug-In.

Cool read.... ;D  Last I checked, all of us here in SoCal still put our pants on one leg at a time just like the rest of the world ::)!


Here's a couple more pics... The first is my Dad out front of the house where I grew up in La Habra.  Left to right, my '63, the ruby red '65 bought new from Meltebeke VW, and the Sea Sand '66 bought direct from Germany.  The next is me on leave before heading off to Viet Nam... time for another car waxing at Hillcrest Park ::) ;D.  The last is Sharon with the '63 out front of where she grew up in Anaheim.  Sharon and I met in art class at Fullerton JC in 1964 and has been by my side ever since for all the fun and excitement :o ::) ;D.  A lot of weekends we doubled up to Hollywood with the Lazenby's stopping at Tiny Naylor's Drive In for a Cherry-Lemon OJ before heading home to make the rounds in Anaheim.  Gas used to be $.36 cents a gallon for Chevron Custom Supreme, so there was never any shortage of cruising ;).

 :o :o :o :o :o miss sharon :P :P :P
 if I had lived in this time , I would also have chosen her :P :P :P good choice bro  ;)

fabs

Thanks, Fabs!  40 years of wedded bliss this July... seems like just yesterday we were standing in the church on Broadway down the street from the Pickwick; my club brothers in their burgundy jackets heckling us from the front row of pews ::) ;D  Wish I had a pic of all the bugs lined up out front.  After the smoke cleared from all the burnouts, I remember hearing a woman say she'd NEVER heard VW's squeal their tires like that....... :o ::)

That must have been a great wedding ! Congrats for 40 years of wedding, that's so rare nowadays.

Congrats Sarge with your 40 year wedding anniversary! That is rare now a days. Couldn't happen to a finer couple!
Now...keep the stories and pics comin'. This is the best thread EVER! ;D 8)

You guys are crazy!

Sometimes I don`t know which colour my undepants has that I took on in the morning, and you guys are telling storys that are older than 40 years as if they happened yesterday  8)
Thank`s for charing those memorys with us!

Sharon still is a cutie!  Jim on the other hand.......  ;) ;)

Keep having fun Sarge!

WOW,That statment takes me back.I may have not have lived in Cali. But as a kid growing up here on the east coast my first memories of a cool car was a green '70 chevelle of a sisters friend.He use too crawl under it every week with some vht also.I just remember how cool those headers looked peeking out behind the skinny centerlines .It had a coil cut in front to give it some rake just like a looker. 8)

Speaking of lookers .Jim ,you are a lucky man. ;) You have two nice lookers. and one of them enjoys VW's too.

 ;D Congrats on 40 years! Something to be proud of in this day and age.

Thanks guys! :)      My days at Fullerton JC came to an end after a year and a half.  Sharon and I were both art majors and were together in a number of classes.  Our grades quickly tapered off ::).  Before I knew it, I became available for the draft.  I needed a job bad and found it at Graham's Chevron in La Habra.  John and Bill Graham taught me more about life then my own parents it seemed.  The other old timer that worked there was a guy named Mike Barnaby who drove a jacked up '52 Ford with a tube front axle and a 406cu mill under the hood.  The Grahams nicknamed him Balls for some reason ::).  The three of them enjoyed nothing better then verbally working me over about my shit box bug.... "Hey, somebody pissed yer back windows, Jim" (I had yellow plexiglass quarter windows), "When ya gettin' that hemorrhoid exhaust pipe removed", and so on.  John had a hair trigger temper and liked grilling me about the zerk fittings I supposedly greased on the produce truck driveshaft or the new Atlas Plycron tire I'd wadded up on the tire machine... "WTF ARE YOU DO'IN TO MY TIRE, JIM???DON'T YOU LIKE MY TIRE, JIM????? >:( >:( >:(.  After a day of that BS, I'd get out of there at nine and head down to pick up Sharon in Santa Ana where she had a job dipping ice cream at Hi-Lo Drugs... then over to Harbor Blvd to cruise around all the hot spots before heading back to La Habra at mid-night.  The old Stone's song Goin' Home always came on at mid-night.... 8)

Sarge and John: Thanks for sharing your memories and stories with us. It's just great reading them! Keep 'em coming!

 :o :o :o  DAMN.... that gold coat's the SHIT!! 8) 8) 8)   Nice one, John ;D

See this is what the Lounge is all about. Thanks to Sarge and John for rolling back the VW clock for us. This really is the genesis of the hobby we all follow, guys.... these guys posting their stories. Doesn't get any better....  8)

Keep it coming!

Jim Ratto

waouwww cool stories

 ;D These are AMAZING stories and pic's guys  :)

This is great, these stories inspire me to do stuff like you "older" guys did, keep'em coming ;D

John, you'll have to meet my buddy Frank "Sheep" Seifert sometime. Sarge has had the "pleasure" (?)  ::) a few times. Anyway, we went to high school together in the 1980's, and after finishing that inaupiscious career, we went on to work together at most crappy jobs we could find. Not only did we pretty much always work same jobs, but we were WAY into DKP folklore, and the very early Orange Co. look cars, like Jim E's white '63, Don Crane's red '67, Fleming's black oval, your '63... etc. This was about 1989, 1990 or so. Right around time that you guys had the reunion in Yorba Linda. I remember when Hot VW's ran the little article on the reunion... what was that 1990 or so? Der Kleiner Lug Nut Toss and all that. Somehow, we got our hand on a copy of the VHS tape that Greg Bunch and Tony Alvarez made with Fleming... all those old pics set to the period rock and roll. We sat around with some other gearhead VW friends one night, 1993 I think... and guzzled a couple of 12 packs of Sheep's dad's beer and watched that tape until the thing broke in two.... no kidding. Sure looked like Sarge and the rest of ya had too much fun. Coolest bit was that most of the pics were either of people or of cars but with people around them. EVERYBODY was SMILING.  ;D Must have been a great time to grow up with a group of like minded friends. Bethca never thought you guys were going to change history, huh?
Now a days, if some oldies station comes on the radio for whatever reason, everytime I hear "Do You Believe in Magic" or "For What it's Worth" or "People Are Strange" I think of a bunch of car crazy college kids in maroon jackets raising hell on Harbor Blvd circa 1969 under an Anaheim sunset. TOO COOL  8)

BTW: John, you'll have to ask Sheep about his 1966 Bug and the motor we've been working on for the better part of 2 years now. Not your typical Y2K IDA'd 2276 thing....   I think Sarge and you might find its specs "interesting"

Consider yourselves "mentors"

Jim

Hey John, the VHS did include that footage, but it started out with Jefferson Airplane's "You're My Best Friend" and showed the now famous DKP eagle logo... then Doors, Beatles, Buffalo Springfield...etc. It then segues to some 8mm film movie footage of Carlsbad and cruising what looks like San Juan capistrano. It then ends with footage from the interior of your black Bug and the reunion @ Yorba Linda,

Maybe DVD Would be better  ;) :P :D

If you did I Put my name down for a copy  ;D

Pimp Daddy got da SHIT 8) 8) :o

Movie night at Sarge's house!!

I'll bring the beer!

~DR ;D

 :o Your free pass is in the mail ;D

No problem Mark, he'll still need food, snacks, bail money, etc. ;)

~DR

PD don't need no BAIL money >:( ::)

Here's a couple shots of John when he was young and crazy.... a real LOOOONNG time ago ;D  Hey, that looks like a Johnny's decal in the vent window....

Awesome, guys, just awesome! I am blown away!

Cool stories. If you make a DVD version, I will buy one :)

Here's another shot of John... this time with my sis :o.  They were an item for a couple of hours I think  ;D.

Yeah, what he said.  This is great reading.  Oh, and the pictures are priceless!  Thanks, guys.

Can you guys hold on a moment while I get myself a more comfy chair and a fresh bottle of wine? Thanks... :D

John, love to see any more pics of your '63 in that Cadillac green.... very cool car.

Thanks for sharing the pics Sarge. You're alright, despite what Jayburn and Carlos say aboutcha

John........ Thanks for sharing..........great stories and pictures!!!  :o :o

Hope to see you soon !!!   ;)

Bring two of everything... I'm tired and real thirsty :D


My pleasure, Jim 8)

cool stories as usual guys and thx for the pic  ;)
fabs

Time for another bottle of Merlot... Hic! :P

No wonder nothing gets done out in the garage...... :-* ::) ;D

next book?

But does anyone want books when they can read the stories on the internet? ??? ;D

At least I've found time to lose the turn signals... :-*

Sigh... Don't you guys have anything better to do than read about a bunch of old farts? ::) ;D

I know what you're saying... I feel like an 18 year old, too. The trouble is, she always says 'No'! ;D

Very cool thread and pics, thanks for sharing! 

The paint on your green Bug looks very very nice John, even in 45 year old instamatic pictures!

John, thanks for the additional story. 

I don't know what it is about these old VW/DKP/Socal club stories that reels one in, is it the innocence of the time, the aura of the inception of the VW scene, a combination of all of the above or something else?  I am 38 and my parents are about all you guy's age, so maybe there is a little nostalgia about my own childhood and history mixed in there also.  My dad is 62 and had VW's when I was a kid.  I remember riding around in my Dad's '56 orange Bug with a mild motor and rusted out floor in about 1973.   ;D ;D  He was a sheetmetal worker so he eventually fabricated a new floor for it.  I wish that car was still around!

I love the fact that the early DKP cars were DRIVEN all over the place, not trailered or garaged most of the time.  That's where it's at in my opinion.

I am now inspired to build my '64 metal sunroof Bug to the style of these early cal look cars, I need a build formula for one now.   I just need some chrome wheels, some kind of mid sixties Cadillac color, and some muffler clamps.  ;D

my thoughts precisely. THUMBS UP 8)

 ;D

Nice job on the paint chips, Mike... I remember seeing the R-M sign years ago while cruising around Anaheim.  John, that Hollywood / Ralph's Market deal I'd forgotten all about... it's like you mentioned a while back though, once you hear the story again, the memories start coming back.  Remember visiting the Custom House on Whittier Blvd and drooling over all the goodies in the show case.  The guy that ran the place... come on, you know his name.. had a black bug he used to park out front with every geegaw you could screw on a car.  We'd load up on Harley Tire Nu, Blue Christmas Tree air fresheners and semi chrome but not before having the dude drag everything out of the show case for us to fondle before moving on ;D.  Here's the old '63 with dash knobs that came from "The Case" along with a giant SW mechanical oil pressure gauge that required constant fiddling to keep air bubbles out of the capillary tube... WTF was I thinking???  This pic was taken in 1969... hence all the dash plaques and the DDS sticker in the window.  The key fob is a Graham's Chevron piece that finally blew up a while back :'(.  I'm fairly certain the Covico steering wheel was a Custom House piece as well.  Looks like the old Dixco tach got yanked off the dash, too... musta been 6-12v conversion time.

Sarge,
where was the custom house, don't remember that place.  also was the chevron station you used to work at, at whittier and euclid?  My buddy used to work at that one in the mid to late 70's.  I was always taking my 4by in there after hours to work on it.
jim

The Custom House was at the La Habra / Whittier border (Valley View St??) on the north side of Whittier Blvd.  Graham's was indeed at Euclid & Whittier Blvd across from Sander's Union 76 (owned by "Skinny" Sanders father of Paint by Molly Rollin Sanders).  There was always something going on at Graham's whether it was guys coming by to BS, or somebody "putting on a display" when the light turned green out front on Whittier Blvd.  Those were really the days.... 8)

Great stuff, John!! 8) 8) 8) ;D

John, Jim,

Your stories are priceless! Please keep 'em up!

A much simpler time indeed...

I never used the "muffler clamps". I went the other way and installed short chains in place of the front shocks to lower my '64 back around '72 or so :P Good times! I'm sure you can imagine how the car rode with all that pre-load :o

~DR.

John,

I know the hot rodding stage at this point was NOT the focus...  yet. Sarge has told me a lot about his stages of engine upgrades... the single port with Zenith and Engle 110, the 1700 with Engle 125 and 40PII's and his rip roaring 1835 IDA motor.

I've read that most of the early DKP cars were mildly warmed over, i.e. maybe a header and an 010 distributor and different air cleaner.

When your car was the Cadillac green, did it have the 1200 stock engine? What stages of upgrades took place in your car, up to the Warbonnet car? That was 88 x 78 IDA engine if I remember reading in Keith's book.

Being you guys were young males, and obviously into your rides, I'm sure the HP virus was looming, waiting to infect you guys. How long did you guys run around with the stock motors out back? This was before Berg moved down from WA right? Deano was working for Empi out in Riverside. Nobody was really ruling the streets with big hp.... yet. When you visited Custom House, was it all just show stuff, and not go yet? Were you guys crawling over the counter @ Porsche dealers trying to get carbs and clutches and so on? Things must have been so different back then.....  a real learning curve I'm sure.
I'm guessing it was Doug's Underdog car or Crane's '67 that really got the hp wheels turning? Fleming's influence under the leadership of Gene Berg? Or were you guys watching Darrel V and Deano running the Inch Pincher and mimicing what was going on there?
Sorry for the rapid fire questions, but I live to read this stuff.

Sorry for the rapid fire questions, but I live to read this stuff  Mr. Ratto, It has become my mission to keep you reading and living!!! ::) ::) ::)

By 1964 I was doing different things.  After the Judson blew a hole in #3 we installed the 83mm kit along with a Potvin Cam.  Somewhere along there the frist set ever of "fresh air" Fourtuned Headers were installed.  Yes, we did the normal 010 Dist, Blue Coil, etc.  I remember going through Porsched Dipharam clutches like underwear.  If the car wouldn't get second gear rubber it was time to change it out. :( :(  This was all prior to the Gene Berg / Deano days.  I've told the story before that when I picked my car up at Econo Motors there was a guy working on an Orange race car.  That was Dean Lowery, but then I hadn't a clue.

When the car was Firemist I had graduated to a 69x88 engine built by Fleming when he worked at Bergs.  Also this engine had a 110 Engle, S&S headers an a Bug Spray.  The heads were fly cut, but nothing else done.  Remember, you could still buy high octain gas then.  Ron always refered to that motor as the "Tit's two barrell".  At times he would refer to anything that didn't have 48's as "azmatics".  The car in that format ran mid 15's as I recall.

That was in the days right after Berg had left Deano's and gone on his own.  There were wars going on!!!  Aronson was working at the machine shop at AJS Foreign Car in Anaheim along with Doug Haydon.  I was working the counter in the front of the store (my first parts job).  Shortly after that Aronson left and Fleming left Bergs and they started F & A Performance which was prior to FAT.  Not long after Doug Haydon and his brother Whit (both DKP) started Haydon Brothers.

I've mentioned before about Earl McMills.  He was also involved and I feel has never received the credit for his contributions during that era.  I think he was just a talented guy out there doing his thing and never wanted to go mainstream.  Possibly Sarge can shed some light on Earl and his offerings.

When the Underdog and Don Crane's cars were in the works I was in floating in the Gulf of Tonkin and Jim was getting shot at over there. So, I can't add much there, but I do suspect thats when things started to take off.

Back to my car and the Warbonnett years.  As the car was being painted by Becker's I was building the 78x88 Okrasa motor.  The original version of that had heads done by Fleming and then new special Engle cam (possibly FK-89) with Empi rockers, Empi tall manifolds, 48's, a dog house cooler, full flow system and S&S comp headers with a merge collector.  Also the gear box had close ratio's, but that may have carried over from the 69x88 motor.  It gets a little foggy in some areas as to when things occurred.

After a period I wanted heaters and more street usuable carbs.  So I went back to heater boxes with S & S street headers and 42 DCNF9 carbs from Berg along with his manifolds.  We removed the short gears and went back to standard ratios and at the same time got rid of the soldi mounts, but retained the "chrome" traction bar.  It didn't look as impressive, but I could drive it anywhere.  Once I adjusted to the gears and carbs I really like it much better.  You must remember this was my daily driver.  If I was to do one today it would be big and bad as opposed to a "cush ride".

Not to long after that Christie and I purchased our first home and we had sold our '50 Split Window to help with the downpayment.  Even with that and having the GI Bill it was a tough nut to crack.  I became more involved with the house (guess I was becoming domesticated) and put the car up for sale.  Shortly thereafter a guy named Perry something who worked for the phone company made me about the only offer and I took it. 

That car with all of what I've listed, not to mention the interior by Brads (it was really world class), the (5) American's went out of my life.  Just about a week ago I drove up Harbor Blvd. in Anaheim where the AAA use to be.  That is where I delivered the car to Perry and the last time I ever saw it in one piece.  I had emotions then, but certainly not like today.  That was over ten years of my life,  meeting people that would influence me for the rest of my life and meeting my future wife.  How does one put a price on those things???

See what you guys do to me.  I'll build another car if someone can find me a real set of American's for $100!!!!! :o :o :o :o  If things go the way I want I'll probably have another street VW before I leave this world.  Anyway, that is my plan and hope I've answered your questions.

John

John,
great stories, I was alwasy going to that bob's big boy.  my house was a couple of blocks away off the blvd. where the shell station and then gulf station was.  When I was young on friday and saturday nights the cars cruising the blvd. would turn around at my house.  Those were great times.
jim

Great,just great.thx  ;)

That's a great shot of your car Sarge, somehow the pics of your white '63 always seem to capture the era perfectly (the Zenith motor pics, the aluminum interior panels, your 40PII motor, the pics of your car on somebody's lawn with other DKP cars)...

Like Mike Fritz was saying above.... what is it about this golden era? If I could go back in time, I would choose to set the dial to 1966 or so and land in parking lot of FJC. I grew up a VW kid and made a lot of my life revolve around VW stuff and our small club in North Calif in the 90's and everything we did was based on what we thought you guys musta done in the late '60's. We could only make "assumptions" back then, as I didn't know you, there was no internet, etc, etc... so all these chestnut stories were more rumors that were handed down from anybody that would tell them to us. But you know, growing up carefree, and in a stong-headed car club.... we did much of the same.... met once a week, Friday nights were street racing out at ranch or in rural territory (or out at Lawrence Livermore Lab  :o :o), Saturday nights were cruising around or horsing around at somebody's house and Sunday was usually "fix what you broke Friday night" day (we met on Wed nights).
But to roll back time and be present for when it was all new and making ground... that'd be the best. Turning the radio on and hearing "Pinball Wizard" as a new song... getting around South Calif without the gridlocked traffic extending up into folks' driveways... picking off Mr. Boss 302 back when NOBODY had any idea a VW could lay waste to a lot of Detroit pig iron.... does (did?) it get any better?


I swear, i'm going to start looking for the ubiquitous "lil old lady" one owner '58-'67 Bug, leave it mostly alone, but add a set of period mags or 356 wheels, some Pirelli radials up front, Blue Streaks or Hurst slicks out back, and build the 88mm bore x 78 crank thing I keep day dreaming of. Galassi knows exactly what I'm talkin' 'bout.  8)

thanks again for all the fun

Wow, very cool stories, love it!!!   ;D  The vodka/windshield washer switcheroo is genius.

I seriously am thinking about painting my '64 one of those '65 Caddy firemist colors above.....they look very cool!

I have a blue 019 distributor, were those part of the mid 60s parts bin also?  When did the Hurst shifters come along, mid or late 60's?

OK, someone needs to donate (or at least "long term loan") John Lazenby some Americans.....come on, this guy basically started the trend!  Let's get him some wheels!!   ;D ;D ;D

I'm sure you did turn around at my house, strub and christine one block up from the blvd.  those were the days, those v8's would rattle the windows on my bedroom.  occasionally my dad would let the local pd bike cop hide in our driveway and pop the young kids doing burnouts and unsafe u turns.  this was after many weekends of having beer bottles and other stuff thrown in our pool.  But man those were fun days/nights, where it would take about an hour to go from colima down past bob's.

Great stories! Really enjoy them! What I would pay to get my hands on an old DDS sticker like that! Damn! Never knew they made them. 8)

Sarge and John,
So when Aronson debuted the white '63 (what was it about '63 model year and your guys? ::)) that we all know now.... and I'm guessing Mahaffey's green split.... these cars were clearly different than the cars that made up the early years of the club (let's say pre Vietnam period of DKP)... when the ::) early members like yourselves got a load of the dechromed body work, the heavy rake, the no-frills bit, and then the Empi mag wheels, was it like seeing a UFO or something? I'm sure there must have been some type of strong reaction one way or another to the look Aronson came up with. Nobody else had gone "that far" yet, am I right?
And Mahaffey's car.... man, that must have really rocked your worlds.... 2000cc + IDA motor on the street on top of the "new look"

?

Thanks guys,
Jim

OK, someone needs to donate (or at least "long term loan") John Lazenby some Americans.....come on, this guy basically started the trend!  Let's get him some wheels!!   ;D ;D ;D
Spread the love, I neeeeeeeeeeeed those wheels :o :o :o :o :o :o :o

I received an e-mail from  long time friend Don Mackay today showing American Racing is gone and the building is for sale.

Wow, very cool stories, love it!!!   ;D  The vodka/windshield washer switcheroo is genius  This is all "true" even though some would doubt it.  Guess we were living our own "American Grafatti".   ;D ;D ;D ;D
I seriously am thinking about painting my '64 one of those '65 Caddy firemist colors above.....they look very cool
The Green was always my favorite, but  then I've always like the color of money!!!! ;D ;D ;D

I also have that video Jim and love watching it from time to time!!

That vid is good therapy 8) ;)

thank you guys for sharing the cool stories and memories with us!!!
i really appreciate them and hope there are coming some more  ;)

christoph