The first one! The Greg Aronson/Jim Holmes looker?

[Russell]

Lids

Sorry you must have misread my post "We all need original cars, replicas and new ideas" 3 different types.

I never said a replica was a new idea, what i was trying to say if a replica was built of a famous car that no longer exsists it would help keep the memory alive.... for example look at volksworld this month and you will see Iguana, its a replica but the history is superb, Bill who built the car is not of best of health at preset but is delighted to see that someone was prepare to copy something he made in his backyard for fun, over 30 years on and we are all still talking about it......

With out the 80's there would have been no Wham ! No volksworld, no UK cal lookers, no WWW and no cell phones, So im glad they exsisted.

Cheers

Russell

[Martin Greaves]

Guys

We all need original cars, replicas and new ideas to keep the movement going, we all like things slightly different even if it is based on the same floorpan...

If the Aronson/Holmes Looker is out there it should be saved, we spend $$$$$$ to restore cars with no history, an original old careven if it has had a few changes can be brought back to life im sure (we can put a man on the moon and we can beat the V8s) If in the 60's people gave up there would be no Empi, No DDS, No Race Shop and No cal look (heavan forbid) In the 2000's its too easy to buy new, look at the world museumns they are full of restore thinks Planes, cars, Houses and even Dinosoars !

Put it this way if some one has a tel number for the guy that owns it let me know ill buy it take to a show and we can all dream about what might be..............

Russell

Loving Life, Loving VW's

You sure they have put a man on the moon.

[Russell]

You mean they didnt..............

[flatfire]

Russell, how can a replica be a new idea, surely that's a contradiction?  I prefer cars to be used as inspiration to produce a modern twist on an old theme, this is the only way the scene can move forward.  unfortuately it sometimes goes wrong, for example the 80's!!

Does Art Deco move on? Its a style a classic style with parameters. I have nothing against a modern twist. Cal-look in IMHO doesn't need a modern twist. When John Plow wrote about the evolution of cal-look he mentioned that maybe we have lost our way, in the fact that some cars are just too perfect.
I love the Aronson car or Scotts car I think this is the benchmark. Was the Aronson car not raced years ago to acheive comparable times to the DRC.

As far as ther 80s are concerned I thought that was an inspirational era as well.
I love variety  People should do what they want to do and not be a slave to style for styles sake.

[Rick Meredith]

You mean they didnt..............

Read "NASA Mooned America!" 

[Bad Junker]

I get sad when we lose any nice street car to the race track....

Maybe the vintage guys get sad when cars are "lost" as cal lookers....... ? 

I belive its HOW a car is used not as what, lookers, racing even vintage/original "grandpa"  stuff does it for me, anything but replicas or clones- simply boring.

We need more originality, lets get wrenching on something mindblowing  unique instead of just be daring and add just another set of wheels we seen a zillion times or paintschemes that are just .... ? ?

Or owners that think they have a looker just by lowering a worn out beetle and put a bigger engine in it hmmmmm makes me wonder.

Oh and I agree, lets get some pics of the "leftovers" of the white -63.   ( Is Tar Babe restored yet btw ? )

[bugnut68]

Just out of curiosity, any word on whether the same fellow owns the old Aronson looker? 

Yup, I dug up a four year old thread.

[Fastbrit]

Just out of curiosity, any word on whether the same fellow owns the old Aronson looker? 

No... As in, no he doesn't.

[deano]

Last word on the Holmes/Aronson car was that it still exists in Arizona somewhere.....

[Jon]

Cool info Deano! And I hope the owner knows that it's worth money?

[Neil Davies]

Cool info Deano! And I hope the owner knows that it's worth money?

I hope the owner thinks it's not worth much (and sells it to someone who knows what it is and does it right!)

[Jon]

My point is that I want him to post it on samba for silly money, instead of crushing it...

[bilboa2]

When, If, rebuilt I will be able to tell as I still have the original, unusual deck lid lock key...  And maybe a 2 finger baggie is still under under the pasenger floormat, so russell be careful going through customs when bought...bill

[bilboa2]

don't even remember key ring place or the girls..?

[deano]

California Look, California Girls, it's all good.... Nice key fob, Bill. Maybe someday, we can clone the entire car from your deck lid key.

[bugnut68]

Just out of curiosity, any word on whether the same fellow owns the old Aronson looker? 

No... As in, no he doesn't.

For clarification, I meant the guy who owned it when this thread was last current four years ago?  I realize now my question was probably unclear.

[cbigpwr]

Rumor has it that Mr. Bakken's car has been stripped of the race parts and the stickers are in the trash. Those are just rumors though....

Anthony D&A Racing

[Shubee2 (DSK)]

On A Good Note Scott will Be Putting the Clone Back to its Original Cal Look Appearance He has Removed all the Drag Car Pieces And Transfered Them To Another Car that will look the same as his race car but a hardtop instead of a ragtop so know Scott will have one for the Street and one for the Strip

[marc1951]

Sigh!

As far as I'm concerned, Aronson's car started the California Look. I know someone will refute that statement but for me, this is the car that changed history. I don't remember what year it was, early, early 70s I think, but I first saw it at a small car show (I believe at Don Burns VW). No one painted their car appliance white back then and did it stand out!! It was so clean looking without chrome and here I was trying to find more crap to bolt onto my bug (remember whip antennas?).
This was the start of the California look in my book.
A few years later (1975), I was honored to be in the same magazine article with it demonstrating the "Look".

When I was at the Auto Haus store in La Habra, one of my regular customers owned the car......I think his name was Jim also...he owned a picture frame store in Brea. I'm thinking he bought it from Holmes. Anyway, he took good care of the car.

Of all the cars, this one deserves to be restored....it's a treasure.

Marc

[speedwell]

 

[speedwell]

same day different angle

[speedwell]

 

[speedwell]

 

[speedwell]

check behind the 63 it was greg aronson 356 A cabriolet

[bugnut68]

On A Good Note Scott will Be Putting the Clone Back to its Original Cal Look Appearance He has Removed all the Drag Car Pieces And Transfered Them To Another Car that will look the same as his race car but a hardtop instead of a ragtop so know Scott will have one for the Street and one for the Strip

I loved that car, and it was a thrill to see it at the only Classic I've been to so far, which was in 2002 a week before I graduated college.  Drove my bone stock '68 Bug down to SoCal and spent the week hanging out and hitting up the DQ (before it became Nick's) as well as other Classic-related activities.  That was a great vacation for me, good times.

[Rennsurfer]

Aronson's white car was the one that inspired me to paint the engine bay portion of my rear apron flat black (later, Zolotone).

[kingsburgphil]

The pic of Greg, Ron and Mark was in front of their second location, not long after Mark signed on. Keith Goss, Guy Newhouse and the Tar Babe could
be found hanging around there also.  I'm thinking 74' ? (someone help me out here).

FAT Performance trivia question.....Anyone remember the oxy/acetylene "cannon" and what they did with it?

[kingsburgphil]

check behind the 63 it was greg aronson 356 A cabriolet

If my fading memory serves me right, that pic was taken before Greg put a 2 liter with 42's in it .....sweet 

[Brian Silva]

Fabs, can I get a copy of your hard drive with vw pics?  Scott is one of the nicest guys in the vw industry. I remember seeing him race the car  in the early days of renn kafer along side many killer cal-lookers (Mike g's flying tomato, Art G's killer green 67', Larry Mckenzie's red 67', Ray Medrano's black car, Mike Lawless and the ghia, Kevin (KCR) bitchin looker, Damon, Patrick and the chopped notch) Sorry, the early days of DRKC were great. Can't wait to see it back in street trim! Russell, Get the og Aronson/Holmes car and bring it back to its former glory!

[deano]

check behind the 63 it was greg aronson 356 A cabriolet

If my fading memory serves me right, that pic was taken before Greg put a 2 liter with 42's in it .....sweet 

Phil, you are probably right. But the first VW engine Greg installed into that 356 was a 82x88 slipper skirt killer with IDAs. Soon there after, the slipper skirts were removed and replaced with full skirt Mahles, the IDA came off and DCNFs went on. A stock weight flywheel also went on.