Happy Birthday John Lazenby!

[Fastbrit]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOHN!

[.]

Happy Birthday John !
 

[javabug]

Happy birthday John!

[Nico86]

Happy Birthday !

[TexasTom]

Far out! .. a fellow Aprilian ...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JOHN!

Hope you enjoy the day!
Tom

[SCOTTP]

Happy Birthday John! I hope you had fun at the bowling party DKP threw for you yesterday!!

 

[Jason Foster]

Happy Birthday John!    Have a great day.

[Randy Jewell]

Happy birthday John 

[Dave Rosique]

Happy Birthday John!
 

[Rennsurfer]

Happy B-day, John!

[Kaferdog]

"Best Of B-Dayz " ...John ...

[Sarge]

Happy Birthday!!

[speedwell]

happy butternut day john 

fabs 

[edcraig]

Happy Birthday big guy!

[Rick Meredith]

Happy Birthday John!

[Ben67]

Happy Birthday John  Hope you have a great day

[DKK Ted]

Happy Birthday John!

[butterskotch]

Hippy Birthday John, hope you have/had a great day 

[Rick Sadler]

Happy Birthday John!

[johnl]

Thanks to all.  Christie and I had a great time on Saturday at the "DKP Bowl O Rama"    .  Neither of us had participated in the activity in at least 30 years.  Saturday night I fell asleep in my chair and when I staggered to bed I slept for 10 hours, something I never do.  There was much time to dream of Hemi's and Weber powered VW's.

We spent the official day driving to the Valley for what we thought was Spring Fling which is the largest MOPAR event west of the Mississippi River, can you all say "White Trash"??    After arriving we quickly learned that the event wasn't that weekend, so we went to the Getty Museum where there was virtually no "White Trash".  I'm not much into that type of art because none of it has wheels, but none the less it was a beautiful day outside and I got to spend it with the Babe.... 

One year and counting until Medicare.  Fleming has already told me much about it.

[dyno don]

a BIG Happy belated Birthday wish for you  John/nice to see you and the wifey at the orange car show...   butternut was my first crush/ CHEERS..!!   Dyno don

[johnl]

a BIG Happy belated Birthday wish for you  John/nice to see you and the wifey at the orange car show...   butternut was my first crush/ CHEERS..!!   Dyno don

Don,  good to see you out and about.  We enjoyed the show and seeing some special friends.  I'm always asked why I don't have "car or cars" entered in these.  The answer is I don't like being locked into something all day and have the general public "pawing" my Detroit Iron.    Doing shows all of these years had made me rather selective on what I'll participate in.

Thanks for the B-day wish and the kind words about Butternut.  I sure miss that car.

Best,

John

[dyno don]

Hi John, I am asked the same question a lot about not entering or sometimes attending these events....NOTHING more irritating than being asked STUPID questions,especially from some that should know better. Im sure its more frustrating for YOU personally considering your dedication and perspective to period pieces that you have taken a shine to. Another thing that gets me is the "white trash factor"...I couldnt believe my eyes to see the typical butt cheese heads that show up to these events with non showered smelly bodies with wrinkled,hole ridden clothing with stains/LOL....and the shithole cars that should be kept parked elsewhere....     HEY....had a great time otherwise/(GRIN).....  BTW..my personal favorite of the entire show was in fact the PRIMO WOODIE on the northeast side of the show...WOW..!!   peace out old boy/Dyno

[Frenchy Dehoux]

    Happy Birthday John !!!!!!

    Frenchy

[So.Cal.Life]

      Hi John, Thank you for the lounge welcome, and Happy B-Day , sorry we missed talking @ Schleys last year. I beleive we met in 73-74 ish @ Howell st.F.A.T. I was about 17yr.old , I remember your car from maybe 2 or 4 years before that. I rode my bike downtown for motorcycle parts at Robert M Law Triumph and Norm Reeves Honda across the street for dirt bike parts, then if DKP cars were at Pickwick , I would hang at the Bus station, or across the street lookin at the cars,and thinking , maybe someday. I hope to see you in person again.  And again, Thank you, and Happy Birthday!           Keith Goss                     ps , Do you know what happend to or whereabouts of Butternut?  Im new to the Lounge so I havent read everything, not up to speed.

[johnl]

Hi Keith,  I enjoyed reading about you lurking around the bus station at the Picwick Hotel!!  When I was a kid of about 10 I rode my Schwinn Black Phantom down there and would go to "Tiny's Hobby Shop" on the front side of the hotel.  Also on Chestnut was a rather young man with a "peg leg" and white overalls sitting on the curb mixing paint for "Hot Rods".  That was none other than Stan Betz of Betz Speed & Color who has to be in his 80's now.  I visited with him a few years back.

Here is a link that will tell you some about Butternut and also a recreation of such.  http://cal-look.no/lounge/index.php/topic,15303.0.html

I sold (gave away) the car in late 1973 for $1600.00.  That was with a Becker's paint, Brads interior, 5 new American's 78.4 Okrasa with 88's, Berg 42 DCNF9 Webers with his manifolds and linkage and this list goes on and on.

Six months later the guy I sold it to rolled it.      I saw it sitting in a lot on Harbor Blvd. in Fullerton and then it was no more.  Roger Grago and a couple of others got the wheels, gauges and who knows what else.  Today I still have the original owner's manual and the hood badge which are very special to me.  That was a memorable time in my life and I'm enjoying the current DKP group and appreciate being accepted and appreciated for the little I brought to the table back in the day.

[Russell]

JL Happy Belated Birthday

[So.Cal.Life]

       John, sorry end to a great car,all to many unhappy endings , the very reason I let my car go to Keith Sueme ,I knew with him , it was in safe hands. If you did another HOT VW, could be like the" Fountain of Youth"  just think ,less need for Viagra, LOL.  John you and Butternut are one of the building blocks of what has become an international hobby enjoyed by , God only knows how many people , You,Pete,Ron,Greg,Sarge,all of DKP 1, are VIPs, John , go look in a mirror and ask yourself if what you have contributed to is better , cleaner , and more positive & fun for people than " SNOOP DOG & GANGSTA RAP " if its not, I do not want to wakeup in the morning...      STAN BETZ had a tiny old place on Lincoln & Loara across the FORD dealership, when I was in jr.high school ,I worked under age for EK sportscenter on Lncoln & Manchester,assembling new Nortons, Yamahas,and Ajs motorcycles out of the crates,with Denny Kanegae ,the owners son, and an ASCOT PARK flattrack mc racer .STAN later moved next block over to Broadway between Loara & the RR tracks,diagonally from Harmony Park ,does that ring a bell ? RIGHTOUS BROTHERS played there many many times. I watched Stan do colormatching and mixing often before and after work back then ,years later got to visit and hang with him when I was hanging around PETE BAGNARD ,during the FAT-BAGNARD days ,his place on Katella across from stadium drive in theaters  STAN BETZ , AN ARTIST ,AN ICON ,NUFF SAID. sorry for long winded diatribe but its good typing practice, and maybe reminds you of places & memories,hope so.     ps , whoever the people responsible for BULLDOZING OLD DOWNTOWN are , should be doing LIFE AT SAN QUINTIN,or HELL , MAYBE DEATHROW!!       Keith Goss

[TexasTom]

SEE JOHN?!!
Referencing some of KG's points ... do you remember some of our conversation during the ride back from Shoob's Memorial?
CRAZY (would be to me) to think of the impact you created all those years ago ... !
All these people, including myself, over all these years ... just 3 kids with some crazy ideas to have some fun?
So GLAD You and your cohorts decided to Take The Road Less Traveled ... !
Maybe, just MAYBE ... when the market is ready, ONE (less favored) piece of American Iron could be replaced by a New/OLD World replacement (possibly better than resurrection of the past?) for the past long since extinguished?
After these years, so long ago ... not so very LONG though .. what changes would or could be made?
Every Flame starts with nothing more than a SPARK!

Take care,
TxT

[johnl]

      John, sorry end to a great car,all to many unhappy endings , the very reason I let my car go to Keith Sueme ,I knew with him , it was in safe hands. If you did another HOT VW, could be like the" Fountain of Youth"  just think ,less need for Viagra, LOL.  John you and Butternut are one of the building blocks of what has become an international hobby enjoyed by , God only knows how many people , You,Pete,Ron,Greg,Sarge,all of DKP 1, are VIPs, John , go look in a mirror and ask yourself if what you have contributed to is better , cleaner , and more positive & fun for people than " SNOOP DOG & GANGSTA RAP " if its not, I do not want to wakeup in the morning...      STAN BETZ had a tiny old place on Lincoln & Loara across the FORD dealership, when I was in jr.high school ,I worked under age for EK sportscenter on Lncoln & Manchester,assembling new Nortons, Yamahas,and Ajs motorcycles out of the crates,with Denny Kanegae ,the owners son, and an ASCOT PARK flattrack mc racer .STAN later moved next block over to Broadway between Loara & the RR tracks,diagonally from Harmony Park ,does that ring a bell ? RIGHTOUS BROTHERS played there many many times. I watched Stan do colormatching and mixing often before and after work back then ,years later got to visit and hang with him when I was hanging around PETE BAGNARD ,during the FAT-BAGNARD days ,his place on Katella across from stadium drive in theaters  STAN BETZ , AN ARTIST ,AN ICON ,NUFF SAID. sorry for long winded diatribe but its good typing practice, and maybe reminds you of places & memories,hope so.     ps , whoever the people responsible for BULLDOZING OLD DOWNTOWN are , should be doing LIFE AT SAN QUINTIN,or HELL , MAYBE DEATHROW!!       Keith Goss
Keith, yes it definitely was a sad end to a huge portion of my life.  At the time I sold the car there was no interest and thus when a buyer showed up I was motivated, but even then felt I was giving it away.  Memory tells me I was trying to get somewhere between 2.5 & 3K which would have been big $$ back in the day.  You were certainly wiser than I regarding who your creation went to.  Wish Keith Sueme had been around then.

I’ve thought and continue to do so about yet another Cal-look car.  At times I’ve thought of doing a recreation, but then think that something different might be a better move.  Over the years my taste has changed some and I do have a “vision” of what I’d like in today’s world.  As I did with the Butternut car I’m still driven by the fact that I like comfort and class over an all out race car.  My life has been based around this and thus why I’ve been into Chryslers and Imperials over Plymouth and Dodge.

I continue to hear how influential the Butternut car and I along with all of the other names mentioned were and are.  Most of us didn’t have a clue as to what we were doing or creating.  For me it was just such a part of my life with my love of cars and sharing it with some great people.  To me Greg Aronson’s car was the foundation for what I did with modifications to more of a finished interior approach.  I’ve told the story before, but back in the day VoA had a limo that was my inspiration for the interior which was something that no one else had done to that point.

Stan Betz, I remember ALL of the locations you speak of and did you ever see his “movie props”?  They were unbelievable and such historical items.  Stan was and is such an easy guy to talk to.  When he was located at Katella & Main St. in Orange a very close friend owned the sign shop next to him and the three of us spent time together.

Harmony Park was a local hang out back in the early to mid ‘60’s for me.  We use to go and see Dick Dale & the Del Tones perform along with the Righteous Brothers and other popular groups of the day.  Bobby Hatfield’s parents owned and operated Ritz Dry Cleaners on Center St. close to Olive in Anaheim.  Did you know that he went to Anaheim High where many of the DKP founders came from?  My high school friend John Long had an older sister, Lynn that dated Bobby back in the day.

Regarding what those in control of Anaheim did to the original city is criminal.  I grew up there and they destroyed my home, but not my memories.  On occasion I drive around there and the memories all come back and put a smile on my face.  Just the other day Christie and I drove by where the Pickwick Hotel and Chestnut St. were and my heart pounded, so I guess that will never die within me.  I’m so old school I still call Anaheim Blvd., Los Angeles St. and Lincoln Ave. through downtown Center St. because to me they still are.  We go to the Ruby’s Diner at what use to be “Five Points” adjacent from Anaheim High School and as I eat my food I continue to stare over at the AHS parking lot which is now buildings and can see my history.

Anyway, by now you know I love my Chryslers, but I probably have too many and need to thin the heard down.  Should this occur I can see yet another Cal-looker in my future.  I’ll always keep my current ’63 VW sedan as our relationship is coming up on 30 years this June and the affection still remains.