The Cal-look Lounge

Saturday was a very special day around here. My 17-year-old daughter and her boyfriend took my Cal-look convertible to the prom. This all occurred after my 15-year-old son and I spent about 2.5 hours polishing and waxing it that morning, the whole time I got to listen to him describes all of his favorite things about it. This car has been a part of so many important occasions in my life. It has been in at least 4 weddings carrying the bride and groom, (including my own 20 years ago), countless parades, endless car shows (always one of my kids along for the ride), drag racing, cruising with friends, etc... I know it’s not the favorite car in my stable around here, BUT, it is immeasurably special in our family and circle of friends. I may be biased but I also think it was the coolest car in the cruise line up on the way to the promenade! Enjoy the pictures because I definitely, enjoyed the day. Later that evening it was so clean that me my wife and another couple took it out cruising with the top down, my wife and her friend with their hands in the air in the back, winding it out leaving the local drive in restaurant….good times.

Cool pics,Mike – and I love the way your daughter is cleaning the front tyre in the last pic (or is she checking the ride height?).  :)

That's really neat Mike... Wish my '67 was together for my wedding. Instead we took my '26 T. A cool car but it doesn't mean as much to me as the '67.

Do you suppose, after the stories you told me about getting him familiar with driving the car, we have a new aircooled disciple yet?  Or maybe he is still freaked out...

Sarah looks like she already has her seat belt on in the first pic.

i don't know John....Cal-look the "new fountain of youth"...LOL   

I think he really liked it. Next I am going to take him and his brother to the track with the 67....THEN we'll see.

Oh yeah, the orange car.  Tell everybody what your daughter thinks about 2-gear burnouts in the orange car.   ;D

mike whats the spec on the kab? nice car dude 8)

My daughter and I went out for a ride in the orange 67 and stopped at my friend Jarrod's house. He is a "playful" guy so he was yelling at me to do a burnout.....SO I DID. Well it was a "no squeal" one and I was worried that the clutch slipped instead of burning them then all of the sudden the tire smoke rolled forward into the cabin and Sarah got a big smile on her face. Then she said could I do one of those "doughnut" things. I guess I have watched the Quaiffe test vid too many times... ;)

Its a 69 that I pulled out of a junkyard in 198? and redid it in an 80's all white dechromed theme. Then took it all down again in the 90's and did it the way it is now. It is a great driving comfortable car. It has a 2054 with CB roundport heads with an Berg version of a 110 cam. Stock geared late IRS. I used all of my favorite pieces regardless of year or style and my favorite part is my 356 style deck lid.

The story of that car sounds really cool, I like cars with a personal history and there's nothing better than one that's part of the family.  8)

Man I wish I'd been given a ride like that to take to my prom  :)

Heck that car is better looking than the girl I took to prom!  ;D

Same here  ;) :D

were you  worried for the car?
or for your daughter?

 ;D

however, cool car...and beautiful daughter...compliments!

What was his name rick?

LOL!  :D F-ing Danny, you crack me up!

Lems

Thank you for your compliment! And no I was not worried you really couldn't find two better kids. Both honor students in the top 10% of their class. Besides, I did all the work on the car so I can fix anything that would happen anyway... ;)

Cool story.  I wanted to do some bonding with my 17 year old son his senior year. I let him drive my TEAL GREEN 67 his whole senior year. I took the 2110cc motor out and 48s and replaced it with a driveable 1776 with dual 36mm dells that year. He took incredible care of the car and never wrecked it. In fact, he told me of a story where the cross bar linkage fell off one night and he is not a car guy.  His buddy who was with him, put the linkage back on and they enjoyed the rest of the night.

I worried about the car but like Mike, I figured it was just a car and I could fix it.  Very cool story Mike.  Glad to see another Dad is feeding a little VW enthusiasm into another generation. Very nice car too.

Rick Mortensen

My wife's dad let us take his 55 Chevy Bel Air convertible to her Junior Prom. I think there is a picture of us in the garage.
Another great story is HOW I got this car. I always wanted a convertible because I thought it would be so "California" and this one sat in the yard behind the VW repair garage that taught me all about trouble shooting and maintaining my first car (74 standard lowered and dechromed). I would look at it out back every time I went there. Top was down floors gone, seats on the ground, grass up to the dash...I swear! Finally Jim Hack the guy that owned the shop ,said I could take it for free if I promised to never part it out. He ended up dying at the end of that summer, so the car has always had a memory of him in it as well. Same summer once he found out I had done ALL of the welding to make it a car again, he took me to a tree at his house across the street to offer me a set of wheels that were originally on it. He lifted up the bottom branches of a big pine tree and there were four thin lipped Formula Vee wheels green with moss growing on them. Eventually they ended up detailed and on my and on my vert then on my buddies Ghia.and they are still there.....Soo many stories with this car, I could  go on and on. I should post pictures of the build, it was epic, a true labor of love.

Mike...you should post some pictures.  Everything that makes us who we are is found in our life stories. I've enjoyed your posts.

Rick M

my year old son has already gotten his hands on my (his now) '67, helping me wash it. Nice story and pics Mike!

Jim

Thanks guys, I dug some more picture but I have to scan them. Still did not find the ones I want to show. The kids have been a huge part of my car hobby, I never imagined it that way.