Your first cal look encounter

[Black Sheep]

Right you lot , Ive just figured out how to use my scanner so.. I thought I'd share with you my first encounter with cal look

Summer of 89 at a local car show at Merley , never seen anything like this before in the flesh .
I was hooked 
Looking at it again twenty odd years later its pretty poor with its 80's turbo mirrors and pink wiper arm covers .
first thing I did was go home remove my bumpers and stick a bag of cement on my fuel tank of my 72 marathon bug 

So come on break out your scanners and lets see that first pic 

[Black Sheep]

Just found this pic of a nice 67 from the same show

Didd'nt look twice at it at the time 

[Fastbrit]

Easy! February '75 Hot VWs -,borrowed a set of Hot VWs off a friend in late 1975 and started Reading them from start to finish. Came to Feb '75 and was awestruck. The rest is history! 

[beetletom]

this, my uncle had it up to 94' from then on i was hooked 

[Rocket Ron]

love the chrome running boards Glenn

[Dez]

Back in summer 2007 at my local VW club (PKW) hearing an echo in resonating from the building of old Portsmouth....about 10 seconds later I see a Beige Beetle in the distance....Getting closer there was an awesome whine coming from the cam, parked up and who should get out....None other than Peter Roberts of Funkenblitz (all 8ft of him) and talked me over the car which was turned out to be Ivan's '67!

And the rest as they say is history

[Black Sheep]

love the chrome running boards Glenn

Give me a break I was only 19 

[Rennsurfer]

First Cal Look encounter was seeing a few of the local cars that were in my town (Lakewood/Long Beach) during the mid to late seventies. Mark Souter's(sp?) light blue (or turquoise) and a couple others. Which inspired me to build my first car, the orange '66 in my signature (down below). I was around nineteen or twenty when that picture was taken. Of course, the first Cal Look issues of Hot VWs played a part with my friends and me.

[herbieharv]

im more concerned about the "pink" never mind the chrome

my first cal-look encounter was after i bought my first bug in 88 and i was in whsmiths  in bracknell and bought a copy of volksworld

went to bugjam 90 ,was p***ed as a fart and stood up in my tent and ripped in half

[Black Sheep]

Harvey I know your a big lad but didd'nt think you needed to whear a tent quite yet 

[Lids]

more importantly, how did you recover from been ripped in half!

[JO TYPE 3]

1' st "looker" I saw here in austria ca. 1987
Pink oval with empi 8 what else 

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[Black Sheep]

Dig them lights & lid 

[herbieharv]

glen me poncho wasnt big anoth lol

lids i should have refrased about being split in half 

they was the days
mind you early bugjams where a bit hostile ,like the mini been set on fire

[speedwell]

1' st "looker" I saw here in austria ca. 1987
Pink oval with empi 8 what else 

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and it look like a speedwell steering wheels

[streetvw]

saw my first looker in street Machine Magazine whilst on a ATC camp they had a copy in the NAFFI and I bought it I guess I was about 14 and I bet most of you know which one it was   as I think most 30-40year olds in the UK had the same car influence them!

after that I pestered my dad to take me to VW action at stonleigh and there were loads of them so couldn'd name a particular 1 a more lasting effect was left when I saw Mr Beetle race at the GCC summer nationals in i think 87 but could have been 88  

[LuftsickTero]

1980-81 issue of Finnish "V8 Magazine" and photo from Sko Uno Drag Festival in Mantorp Park. I was around 10-11, I guess this is first cal lookish car that I've seen and I became familiar with the term Cal Look little bit later when the sama magazine ran series about different styles of building cars. Would be awesome to get that car today.

[deano]

Aside from see Sarge's first car at the muffler shop I worked at (1972?), I almost bought a red Cal Look sedan that was already decked out. I saw it at Fullerton College parking lot, and it was shaved from stem to stern. Everything was smooth, including the door handles. It had a Gene Berg 1600cc in it, and I forget what wheels, maybe Porsche caps and chromies, lowered front end, nice interior, etc. Well, my test drive almost totalled it, as there were NO brakes.

With me driving, my buddy in the back seat, and the owner in the passenger seat, we came up to this traffic light on Euclid in Fullerton, and I pushed on the brakes and nothing happened. I then slammed on the brakes and the car barely started to slow down. In a panic, I grabbed the e-brake and still nothing! My buddy Mike Lacko was in the back seat said he got down and braced for impact, the owner was screaming at me to "PUMP THE BRAKES!" The distance from the next stopped car and this VW's nicely smoothed front end was coming closer and closer, at the last moment, I steered to the turn lane, and missed the right front corner by inches. I managed to stall the car half way in the lanes, and it finally stopped. Needless to say, I did not buy the car. Funny how things like that, made me want to build my own car, instead of buying a done deal. I have only seen one photo of this car on the forums.

[Sam K]

The first cal looker that I remember seeing was a '67 that was at a used car lot here in Denver. I had just gotten my liscense so it would have been in summer of 1994. I wish I had taken pictures of it but I didn't own a camera. Anyway, from what I remember, it was beige or off white and was dechromed with blade bumpers and shaved turn signals. It had the stock back-up lights mounted where the horn grills used to be as turn signals. It was lowered and ran on black 14 inch type 2 wheels. I don't remember much about the interior except that it has a Gene Berg shifter and some kind of fancy steering wheel. I was told that the engine was a 2 liter with dual dellorto's. It had a peculiar whhine that I later learned were straight cut gears. I seemed very fast compared to my worn out stock '67. They were asking $3500 for it and I tried everything I could think of to get it but I could barely come up with $35.00 at the time. I've always wondered what happened to that car.   

[Dave Rosique]

Right around 1974, Mark Souter's Aqua '67 did it for me.
Like DKK Fred, I grew up in the Lakewood / Long Beach area and that was one of the nicest cars around.

Honorable mention: Rusty Mazzery's appliance white, absolutely perfect '67 w/BRM's... another non O.C. car 

~DR.

 

[Brian Silva]

I would have to say my first inspireable cal-look moment was early in my vw days mid to late 90's when I was helping out at a local vw shop and got to check out Gary Berg's "Berglar".  That car just oozed mean. I have been going to the church of cal-look ever since  More inspiring moments have been with Larry McKenzie in his Red 67' (EX Renn Kafer car) as well as His Black 67' (Renn Kafer car). Something to be said for a good looking VW with a well built engine. Most V8 guys just don't understand.

[Black Sheep]

Great tale's guy's keep em coming 
Oh and a few pics would be perfect 

[Zach Gomulka]

Something to be said for a good looking VW with a well built engine. Most V8 guys just don't understand.

Uhh huh! Some guys come into the shop here and see AssHull's car, "That's a lot of work for a Volkswagen" All right, pal! Like your fox body Mustang is so much better!

[Jim Ratto]

maybe outside the lines of the Cal Look rulebox, but it was Pete Staat's metallic blue Bug that I've posted about a million times here. My brain went kaboom when I first walked up to it @ 15-1/2 years old. Something about being young and a sponglelike mind that's seeing something so "cool" the very first time. Kind of like the first time you _______.

[Dave Rosique]

  _________?



~

[Jim Ratto]

 

[Worm]

This car (Thurbers), owned by my next door neighbor, when I was 14 and 15. 

[Rennsurfer]

Right around 1974, Mark Souter's Aqua '67 did it for me.
Like DKK Fred, I grew up in the Lakewood / Long Beach area and that was one of the nicest cars around.

Right on, Dave... you're totally correct.

This car (Thurbers), owned by my next door neighbor, when I was 14 and 15. 

NICE, Worm... it doesn't get much better than THAT.

[kingsburgphil]

This car (Thurbers), owned by my next door neighbor, when I was 14 and 15. 

I agree, especially with that engine turned brass dash.

[Dave Rosique]

This car (Thurbers), owned by my next door neighbor, when I was 14 and 15. 

I agree, especially with that engine turned brass dash.

Brass dash? Sounds cool! Any photos?