How did you stumble upon the scene?

[Jim Ratto]

This hobby of ours, while now world wide, is still pretty specific. Guys are posting copies of the 1975 Hot VW's drawing and saying we all have to fit the rules of Feb 1975. Styles and fads come and go and then go full circle, what looked silly 30 years ago, came back "in" 10 years ago, and is now on the way out again. Funky flared fenders, mags, glasspacks, etc that NOBODY would look @ 20 years ago are now "resto cool." It's nice to see the hobby, if anything, has become, in my opinion, more accepting of all the different genres and styles that have developed over the last 45+ years. Thankfully, the mantra of "if it looks right, it is right" still seems to exist.
I imagine most guys that got into the Cal Look/hot rod VW thing started out as guys that were into cars to begin with. Maybe already into VW's or maybe into other types of cars, but I bet most of us had gasoline for blood going way back. For me, the interest in the traditional Cal Look VW's came to be in the very late 1980's. Actually, you could say even before that, but I didn't quite know there was a scene that "fit" what I wanted my own car to be like. Back then most kids that were into VW's were into cal look rubber and no moldings and nerf bars, Riviera mags or repo Empi 8's or 5's. Loud paint. In 1988I found a big local Bay Area club was meeting on the shore of the Bay and I decided to see what it was all about. My car was stock height, had all its chrome, and chromie 5.5" wheels with no caps at the time, and my self built 1641 big cam 041 motor. A semi sleeper if you will... My car didn't fit in at all, it looked so dorky amongst all these other guys' "club" cars, and nobody seemed to even notice my car. It was the total "two left feet" car. 
Anyway, we all know the scene has changed big time with the "old school look" (to me that is such a stupid term to describe the look that largely DKPIII was responsible for making "acceptable"....). Thing is, when I think back to when I first saw Schwimmer's coral ragtop or Jim Lowe's (now Stephan's) oval rag, I don't think "old school", I think these cars set and started a trend on their own. I don't see them as reminders of the DKP 1 cars from the early 70's... I see them as a cool new way of doing things from the early 1990's. And while we may all think the original "cal Look ruels of no moldings and so on is the longest lasting, most popular "look"....is it really? Seems to me guys are stilll using Bill's car as an influence and a recipe to build their own. We're talking 20 + years now. Anyway, thankfully their look, and mindset of "understatement with horsepower lurking" is something I could dig and was able to follow along with .
How did you morph into a guy into this hobby?

[bugnut68]

To keep in topic, VWs have been a lifelong love for me... I was born with the interest.  My first car was at best an early '90s, late '80s type of car, with bright raspberry paint, chromie 5-lugs, slammed, shaved doors and dechromed everything, and chome panels on the dash (speaker grills, ash tray and glove box door).  Now my interest is more in traditional Cal-Look, but my car's an ugly (albeit solid ) piece of crap.  My current phase fits more in with the Mark Herbert school, worry about the go, rather than the show.

That, and I have no money for paint/bodywork/interior/trim/cosmetics.   


On another note, love the updated screenname and avatar, Jim...  Always get a kick out of watching to see what's coming next.

[Rennsurfer]

I have a question, Jim... how did you stumble upon all of those screen names?

 

Sorry, couldn't resist.

For me, it was simple; my family bought new VWs when I was around 5 years young. So even at that young age, I knew my first car was going to be an air cooled VW. The Cal Look cars that were around my town/area always captured the attention of my best friend, Bob, and me. By the time I was old enough to legally drive (learned a few years prior on Bob's car), a Cal Look VW made the only sense to me. Especially since 99% of my schoolmates were driving '60s & '70s muscle cars. I hate being a lemming so the Cal Look just had that much more allure for me.

The rest, as they say, is history.

[kustomlarry]

I wasn walking around town as a child whena dirty old man with a bunch of root beer barrel treats asked me to help him find his lost puppy in a 67 panel. haha.....

My dad told me stories of his old bugs and kept buying me hot vws as a kid.

[Larry S]

In 1967 living in Boston my Dad bought a VW bus, we drove to California and back in 67 for vacation and eventually moved there in 1975. While living in LaHabra (north orange county) in so Cal my Dad (Rod Schultz Sr.) was starting his drywall business and he picked up a used 65 squareback, it was a great little car and could carry his tools with him. After a little while he bought a pick up and the squareback was handed down to my brother (Rod Jr.) We built a 1750 with Weber's and cruised Whittier blvd. We started going to the Bug ins, drag days and such. My Dad eventually bought the 67 bug that would turn into the Radical Rod race car, one ride in a 12.70 IDA motor on the street and we were all hooked. My Dad bought me a 57 oval rag for my 16th birthday, what more could a 16 year old want living in So Cal! The car had a 1500 single port motor with Kadrons, merge header and 010 dist. That car never let me down, i put in a 13 second 1750 IDA motor and eventually a 190 hp 2275. My oval is currently on it's way to Scotland to be added to Russell Ritchie's collection along with the Sum Fun and Radical Rod car. My Dad having the itch bought the car that would become the SUM Fun drag car. My Sister got a 66 K. G. convertible for her 16th birthday, a truly awesome car. Other VWS were a all stock 51 split, 53 zwitter, 68 bug. I currently have a 58 euro rag bug all redone and it is a beautiful car. Everybody in high school had a VW of some type or a mustang or Camaro. Kids didn't get new cars like they do today. We had some amazing times in our VW's and if we needed parts we went to the ecology center (pick your own parts) and took them off a car and went home and put them on ours. Driving 19 miles down Beach Blvd to Huntington Beach was a great way to give girls rides instead of taking the .25 cent ride on the bus.
Larry

[danny gabbard]

It all started at a tinder age when I had a sting-ray bike and a paper route. Just moved to ca. and the guy next door had a vw and was in a vw club, Back when they  had flared fender and them sloted wheels. All I could think of is why he didnt have a nova or mustang or a REAL car ! So one day kevin the guy next door came home with a set of chrome porsche wheels with hub caps, Thats all it took, It was lowered and had the right stance with the chromie's. Then years later a girl I new had a brother that built a yellow 67 with alloys and  all I new is I had to have one ! So about 74-75 I bought my first bug, I worked the whole summer of 76 and then came home with a NOS set of riveria's in the box and a set of 145's and 165's to mount up. My dad found out I spent every penny I had earned that summer and lets say he was not thrilled and thought I had gotten riipped off, till I told him somebody offered me 100.00 dollars more than I had payed for wheels. Dam that was a long time ago, And some of my best friends that I have had are still into this great hobbie !

[Speed-Randy]

Hey Larry, you didnt happen to live off Cypress and Lambert in La Habra did you? I remember there being a split window in a garage on the corner and every once in a while the door was open and I'd get a glimps. Then dream about what I'd do with that car. This was back in the early 80's, I still live in La Habra and every time I drive by that house it still reminds me of that car.
My fascination start when I was a kid and my mom drove a 63 ragtop and one of my earliest memories was hiding behind the backseat to get into the La Mirada drive theater. That car got rear-ended in front of the stonewood shopping center in Downey when I was about 8. My next experience was  70 bug that my mom had, its what I learned to drive stick in. when my little sister turned 16 she ws given that car and we lowered it, had it painted yellow, 8 spokes. that car was sold to my uncle who drove it for a few years then sold it to a guy in his neighborhood. He told me it was for sale again a month or so ago, it might be cool to see if I can get it back

[Larry S]

No I didn't but I remember that car! I lived on Sidon Ave and Wall St. Wall was right before you went into LA County. We moved to Whitebook Dr. off of Lambert in the mid 80's, it was off of Lambert between Beach Blvd and Idaho. Our driveway and street in front of our house was always covered in VW'S!

[Donny B.]

I stumbled onto the scene in 1984.  I had gone a while without a car (10 months) and had made a deal with a co-worker to buy his '66 Bug.  He had bought it new and drove it for about 200k miles before parking it for ten years in his back yard.  I had dreams of no chrome 1 piece windows and Porsche Pasadena Beige paint or was it yellow?  Can't remember (old age strikes again).  I got used to the Bahama Blue color (original) so that's what it ended up.  I did go with the one piece windows though.  I was going to do the engine almost stock, but started playing with a new build 1600 with an Engle 100 cam. Boy was that fun.  6k rpm in first and 2nd gear.  Sure floated the valves a lot.... Oh well...

I graduated to an all Berg 1776 with dual DCNFs and never looked back.  In 1994 I took it off the road to do the body work and paint.  Got it back on the road in '95 just before Phoenix BOR.  What a thrill.  The best part of that show was that two guys that I didn't know at the time came over and talked with me about the car for about a half hour.  Bill Schwimmer and Dave Mason were so friendly and supportive.  Cool!  To this day I believe that for me Bill Schwimmer's car epitiomizes what Cal-Look is.  It is the cleanest most suttle of the current cars out there. It has been this way for years and remains still the best of the best.

[Jim Ratto]

I have a question, Jim... how did you stumble upon all of those screen names?

 

Sorry, couldn't resist.

For me, it was simple; my family bought new VWs when I was around 5 years young. So even at that young age, I knew my first car was going to be an air cooled VW. The Cal Look cars that were around my town/area always captured the attention of my best friend, Bob, and me. By the time I was old enough to legally drive (learned a few years prior on Bob's car), a Cal Look VW made the only sense to me. Especially since 99% of my schoolmates were driving '60s & '70s muscle cars. I hate being a lemming so the Cal Look just had that much more allure for me.

The rest, as they say, is history.

who's Jim?

[Rennsurfer]

who's Jim?

What it is Jeopardy?

[javabug]

I love all kinds of cars and have from as early as I can remember.  I'd hassle my mom for whatever car magazine looked interesting on the rack at the grocery store and every so often it would be a VW mag.  I remember those books "clicking" inside for me; I couldn't get over all the cool stuff people were doing with VW Bugs.

I am not sure where the cal-look interest came from, except one of the first cars that REALLY stuck in my head were some old pics of Wally's red sunroof car.  Plus, isn't clean and fast just plain universal?  

[Zach Gomulka]

I guess the short version is that I was brought home from the hospital the day after I was born (March 25th, 1981) in our 1971 Westfalia. Grew up in and around VW's, it wasn't a question what my first car would be. I read California Look VW by KS, when I was 16 or 17, and I knew I had to have a cal look 67. On August 8, 1998 I picked up my '67 for $1200. I ruined it like most 17-18 year olds do Went through a couple '68 Fastbacks, found my GTV in December of '05, and I guess here I am now!

[flatfire]

I used to buy a magazine called Street Machine from issue 1 I was hooked.
Then came along the SM Cal Look project along with Custom Car mag featuring small snippets of VW life in California.

I was obssesed at the age of 17 I started collecting bugs. In those days there were quite a few cars lying in driveways looking for a friend.
Stored in my Dads yard a local traffic Policeman found out and needed some spares for his Cal-Looker. He turned up in this orange 64 dechromed lowered bug.
It was such a cool car.
He realised I loved the car so agreed to come back and let me take it for a spin. I was 19 at the time I have never looked back at the old age of 44

When Volksworld came along it was a dream for any Cal Look lover.

Living in Carnoustie isn't exactly a hot bed of cal look activity but I try my best.

[benssp]

My dad has been into hot-rods forever and I started going to the pod & car shows since the age of 7, I went to a few Local Commotions at GCC in the car park in Benjis from the age of 10(photos somewhere at the folks) Then i went to Bug Jam with uncle mark(Pas on here) at the ripe old age of 12, bought Volksworld from issue 2 onwards, now well & trult buried in the VW world 

[Jeff68]

Since I can remember I've been interested in cars.  Grew up in the late seventies watching all the muscle cars cruise the streets while riding my lime green "cool cat" huffy chopper around town.  Every time my Mom took me to the library I would take all the Hot Rod magazines home and read them, even if I didn't understand what the articles were about.  My Dad had a 62 beetle and I remember that car vividly, came home from the hospital in it when I was a baby.  Later my Dad got a brand new 72 Super, first car I drove at age 14, never forgot it.  Started reading all of the VW mags that my Dad showed me, learning that these cars could be modified to perform.  Always liked understated cars that could haul ass and surprise people.  Air cooled VW's fit that bill. 
Got a beat up 71 super from my uncle and did the funky fiberglass fendered, slotted mags, dechromed, bright red paint thing.  Sold that car. Some years later I got my 68 and restored it to original condition but began gathering parts for a Berg 2110 IDA motor that is in it now.  Lowered the front end, put detailed Pedrini's on it.  It's sooooo much fun to drive now and that's what's it's all about for me.

[Rich99]

I used to buy a magazine called Street Machine from issue 1 I was hooked.
Then came along the SM Cal Look project along with Custom Car mag featuring small snippets of VW life in California.

I was obssesed at the age of 17 I started collecting bugs. In those days there were quite a few cars lying in driveways looking for a friend.
Stored in my Dads yard a local traffic Policeman found out and needed some spares for his Cal-Looker. He turned up in this orange 64 dechromed lowered bug.
It was such a cool car.
He realised I loved the car so agreed to come back and let me take it for a spin. I was 19 at the time I have never looked back at the old age of 44

When Volksworld came along it was a dream for any Cal Look lover.

Living in Carnoustie isn't exactly a hot bed of cal look activity but I try my best.

I remember Street Machine magazine, my mate got into the Amercian V8's; which I always thought were pretty ugly things (sorry guys) and loved the Vw's, especially any Karmann Ghia's.  I reckon this must have been in the early 80's.  He later bought a 56 Chevy that won't fit into any normal size garage and I bought my Beetle which promptly rusted away and fell apart but was as cool as **** in its burgundy and cream livery!  Part of me will always be attracted to the pastel shades which were so in vogue and indeed, I think pistachio green still looks cool today.  Maybe even those stick on chrome engine parts will make a come back in a so bad they're good kind of way....

[team97]

I have a question, Jim... how did you stumble upon all of those screen names?

 

Sorry, couldn't resist.

For me, it was simple; my family bought new VWs when I was around 5 years young. So even at that young age, I knew my first car was going to be an air cooled VW. The Cal Look cars that were around my town/area always captured the attention of my best friend, Bob, and me. By the time I was old enough to legally drive (learned a few years prior on Bob's car), a Cal Look VW made the only sense to me. Especially since 99% of my schoolmates were driving '60s & '70s muscle cars. I hate being a lemming so the Cal Look just had that much more allure for me.

The rest, as they say, is history.

who's Jim?

Pablo Escobar is the owner of Vandelet Industries unless this is the one and only Art Vandelay

[Sam K]

In addition to riding around in several old bugs, busses and a squareback that my family owned, I spent a lot of time playing in my uncle's 67 bug, first in his driveway and then it sat in our backyard for a few years. I used to spend hours just sitting in that heap and I ended up buying it from him and still have it. I first got interested in making it faster after I bought a copy of Bill Fisher's "How to modify Volkswagen engines" at a yard sale when I was fourteen or so. I junkyarded a Holley Bug Spray, a header and an 019 distributor for the original 200k mile single port and promptly blew it up. The last nail in the coffin, though, was when I got a copy of "The Bible" for my 17th birthday. After that it was all over....

[empioval57]

I came into VW's in 1984, after my 69 SS Chevelle was spanked hard from a Cal-Look high HP VW.  I was so pissed after he beat me that I sold my Chevelle and got hooked on VW's.  I really enjoy the traditional Cal-Look, and I do agree that Scwimmers car opitimizes the current standard for the "look".  My oval will be completed shortly with the addition of the 2442, built by the Herbert Bros.  and hopefully I can show a chevelle owner a thing or two.  I have had several bugs, ghia's, and busses over my 20+ years in this Hobby.  I cant wait to step on the 2442 and really show what an early VW can do.  I have attached a pic of my oval, in it's current state, but trust me, more is coming.

The thing that really kept me in this hobby was how versitle and obnoxious the little car can be.  it is amazing to me how many different ways folks have transitioned the VW.  so many different platforms from sednas to baja's to dirt cars, to off road the VW based platform has been used for so many different things it is just a marvle of engineering. 

people expect a little but learn alot when they drive a VW.  the little car is just amazing!

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[jhicken]

In '76 my neighbor was selling his ruby red '66 sunroof, I was 16, in high school and didn't have much money so the bug was a good choice. Well, when you are 16, in Southern California, with a new ride, you got to go cruising. So it was off to Whittier Blvd. I think the second weekend I went cruising I ran into a couple dudes with some pretty cool looking bugs. Their cars were all lowered, big motors and sporting some pretty cool rims.They had recently started a new club called Der Kleiner Kampfwagens.

I was hooked, but my car needed a little modification to hang with these guys, so within the next couple of months, I pulled about half of the torsions out of my front end, repainted it a '76 Chevy Burgundy, slapped on a set of chromies with Porsche nipple caps, a pair of single port Kadrons, 009 distributor, a Berg QP muffler, a GT steering wheel, DDS shifter [which I still have], and I got a set of the coolest club stickers with a lowered bug with a gun turret on top. A half a dozen VW's and almost 35 years later, with the help of guys like DKK Rick and this forum, I'm back on touch with my VW family again.

Here's a shot of my first Cal-Look, circa 1976



-jeffrey

[Rennsurfer]

VERY cool, Jeffrey.

[Bewitched666]

I stumbled upon the scene some 25 years ago when my cousin who first drove a standard beetle made his stocker into a cal-look 80's look beetle with a hot 1700cc engine in it and i was hooked.
After that i wanted my own beetle and we went to this junkyard in florida and bought a beetle which i turned into a callooker.
Then it got worse and i started dragracing,streetracing etc. Took a few years off from the scene and am back after years again.
Somehow i cant let it go

[DKK Ted]

I also stumbled onto VW's in 74'. At the time I had a 67' RS Camero. I blew the engine and needed a car.  friend of mine had this 63' Bug, bought it for $400 back then, was in pretty good shape. Just drove it back and forth to work. Then I started to notice bugs fixed up, in my area at the time, they put Cragers with little tiny tires on them. At the time I thought they were cool. Then I started to talk to a machinist at work where I was doing my Apprenticeship for Machinist. This guy was telling me about the Cal-look scene and how they would get HP and dropping the front end with a Select-A-Drop. Sounded pretty cool to me at the time. SO I ended up selling my NEW Cragers with tires and ended up buying a set of Capri Gold wheels, with tire's, used. Had a Select-A-Drop put in, in a shop near my house. I HAD a motor built form a guy in Montebello, Yankee Beadle Workshop (Jack A.). That's the way he spelled it. It was a 40 Horse with a Big Bore Kit and a Zenith Carb. and a 010, Man, I thought I was the badest bug on wheels till I started going to Bug-Ins. But from then on, I got deeper and deeper in this fun hobby, and started to work for some of the VW shops around. Built my first motor when I worked for Auto-Craft Machine, was a built 1776cc with Auto-Craft heads 40X35.5, E110 cam. 42DCNF's, at first, then later IDA's. That's all she wrote after that. It's been a fun hobby since then.

Ted

[Jim Ratto]

I wish I had a time machine and could back to the very day I first saw a VW cook its rear tires off in a Safeway parking lot after I flipped the guy driving it the bird. Did some serious damage to my way of life.

[deano]

Ryan Price opened my eyes.....

[bugnut68]

Ryan Price opened my eyes.....

I'm glad I was sipping any coffee just now...

[deano]

Hey Larry, you didnt happen to live off Cypress and Lambert in La Habra did you? I remember there being a split window in a garage on the corner and every once in a while the door was open and I'd get a glimps. ...

I grew up and lived in La Habra from 1961-1977, and I recall about 1972-73, there was a guy in town who drove a Split-Window Baja Bug with plastic side windows and painted yellow and blue... Wild. I bought my first dual-port heads from him...

[Larry S]

Hey empioval57, Do you remember the color of the cal look that spanked you by chance? I spanked a lot of Chevelles in my time with my black oval rag, most of the time I got thumbs up but I pissed a few V8 guys off. I beat a Shelby GT500 one day on Rosecrans Blvd. A guy at work (Hughes Aircraft in Fullerton) had one of the factory 350 Chevy Monzas and he never understood how I could beat him with a Bug. Another guy at work had a 429 in his old ranchero and he tried all kinds of ways to beat me but never could. A guy in a To#¤ta Celica Supra turbo tried to beat me one day in 1982, poor guy still had paper plates on the car, he was so mad he was yelling at me, I told him to take it home to his grandma since he was being a jerk. I still think he took it back to the dealer the next day and told them something must be wrong with it since a bug whipped his butt. I raced a early 70's vette with a turbo on a side road over by Gene Bergs. I was on my way to Bergs to pick something up and after I got off the 57 freeway this guy pulled beside me and was gassing it. We drove by the 7up place and turned south on a road and went to it, I will say it ran pretty good, he front end was by my back tire but he couldn't catch me. I kind of flew over a rail road track going pretty good. At the next light I did a u turn to head back to bergs and the guy wouldn't even look at me, man that was some fun times. I got beat a couple of times but I definitely won a LOT more than I lost.
Larry

[empioval57]

Hey Larry, See what you started!  If it wasnt for that Damn black oval I wouldn't be doing an oval now!  I had to have a oval rag after getting my pants beat so bad....funny thing is I sorta wish I still had the chevelle only because they are bringing so much money now.  I sold my ss 396 4spd for $3500 and giggled all the way to the bank in 84or 85 shortly after that.  I will never forget the sound of that car as it went by our me.  I have a 60 with a pumped 1835 and I love the tone of the exhaust when I step on it.  reminds me of your car.  what ever happend to it?  my chevlle was blue with whie stripes awsome car, until that fateful day.....

John