Butternut recently discoverd photos

[johnl]

As some of you know I've been converting very old 35mm slides to digital and have uncovered much history of the early DKP days and also very early photos of TarBabe at the F&A shop prior to it becoming FAT along with some photos of my '63 VW when it was becoming the Butternut car.  I'll be sharing the TarBabe and early DKP stuff with you in the future.

You will now be able to see some interior shots and to my knowledge these are the ONLY ones that exist.  As memory recalls there were two different sets of gauges used in this format.  What you are seeing is Auto Meter and Stewart Warner I think.  Later I switch to the yellow face VDO gauges.  Switches are Lucas and you can also see the Butler steering wheel.  After this photo the steering column was removed and I found some really neat engine turned tape that was wrapped around it.  That tape matches the Hanline engine turned sill plates, headlight housing, etc.  The entire interior, sunroof, trunk and bra were done by Don Bradford, Brads Interior in Orange.  He was the best and a really cool guy.  There were a couple of helpers who worked with Brad and either Jim or Ron Fleming named one of them "Candy Face" as the guy was always eating the stuff.

You will see a rather young Jim (Sarge) Edmiston along with myself doing reassembly work on the car.  I think Jim had just turned 25 and I was 24.  Jim was very instrumental in assisting me putting the car back together and Jim if I didn't thank you then let me do it now.  Those were great times and always put a big smile on my face when I think of them. 

There is one shot of my then young bride (21 years) , Christie, standing in front of the driver's side of the car at our first home.  In some of these shots you will see our 1970 vert, Reggie and Rag Top, as Christie named it.  For you locals this house stood where Palm St. met Harbor Blvd. in Garden Grove and has since been torn down and a medical building stands there now.

[Matty c]

Wow, Cool pictures John!
Pure gold
Matt

[johnl]

More shots.

[johnl]

I just realized the trunk shot with Jim is reversed.

[speedwell]

  waouww awesome john ,thanks for sharing those one , your car is the one which tempted me to put americans racing on my 61, I liked these wheel  in the daytime  I saw a photo of your with them ,that goes back in the mid 90s with keith's Bible

[Nico86]

Thanks for sharing John! Great photos 

[Fastbrit]

Very cool! See you at Cars'n'Coffee on Saturday! 

[rick m]

Wow John.  Great shots.  Wierd seeing Sarge with dark hair.  As long as I known him it has been gray.  :-)

Rick M

[deano]

John, can you date when those photos were taken? Sarge's car looks pretty spiffy there too...

[Rick Meredith]

Great stuff John... Thanks for sharing.

[johnl]

Wow John.  Great shots.  Wierd seeing Sarge with dark hair.  As long as I known him it has been gray.  :-)

Rick M

Jim is lucky as he still has a good head of hair even though the color has changed.  I didn't fare as well.   

[johnl]

Very cool! See you at Cars'n'Coffee on Saturday! 

Actually I wasn't planning on being at C&C this Saturday as Christie and I are going to a BMW event at Woodley Park in the Valley.  Keith, now that I know you'll be there I'll get up at o'dark thirty and make the jaunt.  Always good to see a Fleming look alike..   

[johnl]

John, can you date when those photos were taken? Sarge's car looks pretty spiffy there too...

Dean, I'm thinking those shots were late September to late October of 1971.  All of the shots of Jim and myself were taken by Christie, infact she may have shot most of them.  Sarge was always a "spiffy guy".   

[Sarge]

WOW.... who'd a thunk it???  Somebody just cracked open the door to my fading memory!  Nice pics, John and many thanks to Christie for taking them.  Those were truly the days!

[Fastbrit]

Very cool! See you at Cars'n'Coffee on Saturday! 

Actually I wasn't planning on being at C&C this Saturday as Christie and I are going to a BMW event at Woodley Park in the Valley.  Keith, now that I know you'll be there I'll get up at o'dark thirty and make the jaunt.  Always good to see a Fleming look alike..   

Looking forward to it!

[johnl]

WOW.... who'd a thunk it???  Somebody just cracked open the door to my fading memory!  Nice pics, John and many thanks to Christie for taking them.  Those were truly the days!

Jim,  If you liked these you are REALLY going to enjoy future post of "our" history.  I can't think of a better friend to have shared those times with.   

See if you remember this one.....    

[johnl]

Well, somehow the two photos above didn't get the text I sent with them.  The engine shot is my first "BIG" motor at 69x88 with a 110 Engle and really shaved heads that even pinged on Chevron White pump 103 back in the day.  Note the glass pack with the small tip.  That was the style prior to the quiet pack.  The engine was built by Ron Fleming at Berg's first shop on Lemon St. when Ron and Greg worked there.  Ron named it "Teats Two Barrell" which was kind as he thought of any motor with a pair of 48's "Asthmatic"

The garage shot is our '55 rather pristine sedan that I never did anything with.  I may have sold it to generate $$ to purchase the Doug (Underdog) Gordon - Bruce Crower (Crower Cams) '50 split window.  That car was sold to assist with the downpayment of our first house as every home prior was rented.  Here are the photos again.

[Sarge]

That driveway shot is MONEY... look at all the tire OUTSIDE the fenders on my rig!  I see fiberglass rear fenders on yours.  For a second there I thought I got a wiff of a Chevron station rest room.... 

[johnl]

That driveway shot is MONEY... look at all the tire OUTSIDE the fenders on my rig!  I see fiberglass rear fenders on yours.  For a second there I thought I got a wiff of a Chevron station rest room.... 

Well, your eyes still work and if you got a wiff that was probably just your memory going back about 42 years.... 

[.]

Fantastic photos and story John !
 

[johnl]

I really can't express how much joy I get in sharing this stuff with you all.  Today I moved some cars around in our build starting with my M5 E39 BMW then on to a 1962 Chrysler New Yorker wagon and then a 1956 Lincoln Premier.  All of these are museum quality examples.

Then I dug out these photos to share and am so excited when I start doing this stuff I never want to stop, God I feel like I'm going to have a Heart Attack I'm so stoked.

After 64 years I think I've realized that cars are my drug of choice and people like all of you just make it that much better.  I'm so glad I got back into the VW scene and can share this stuff with people who are willing to listen to an old guy ramble on and on and on and on and on and on.  Well you get the idea....   

[Rennsurfer]

Great stuff, John! Thank you for sharing some cool history with you and Sarge.

Good seeing you at Cars & Coffee, last Saturday. Sorry I didn't stay long... my best friend and I walked the entire lot then split.

[lawrence]

John, thanks for sharing. It amazes me to know that these types of photos, which until this point have only been seen by a few people, are still out there. Continue discovering this stuff.

[javabug]

John, these pics are well worth the wait. So cool.

Looks like they scanned pretty nicely, too!

[kingsburgphil]

Well, somehow the two photos above didn't get the text I sent with them.  The engine shot is my first "BIG" motor at 69x88 with a 110 Engle and really shaved heads that even pinged on Chevron White pump 103 back in the day.  Note the glass pack with the small tip.  That was the style prior to the quiet pack.  The engine was built by Ron Fleming at Berg's first shop on Lemon St. when Ron and Greg worked there.  Ron named it "Teats Two Barrell" which was kind as he thought of any motor with a pair of 48's "Asthmatic"

The garage shot is our '55 rather pristine sedan that I never did anything with.  I may have sold it to generate $$ to purchase the Doug (Underdog) Gordon - Bruce Crower (Crower Cams) '50 split window.  That car was sold to assist with the downpayment of our first house as every home prior was rented.  Here are the photos again.

Small typo on John's post, " Which was kind as he thought of any motor 'without' a pair of 48's asthmatics".
   
I too suffered this indignation as I ended up with Sarges two barrel motor. Which by the way ran very well in it's time.

[So.Cal.Life]

   Hi John, I love seeing all of these pics of yours, thanks for sharing them, You must have lived about an eighth mile from Palm-Harbor hospital, a place I came to know all to well back then, also across the street from the Firehouse Motel- nightclub, I noticed this from the background in the pics,  I also had a glasspack muff with the small tip like yours on the first motor I ever built for myself, a killer 40hp with 83mm big bore, 110 cam, Holley300cfm, p&p heads and headers, thought I was hot stuff    till I saw what you guys had, I had to figure out a way to up my game    All of these pics are very special, I can hardly wait to see more!!!       KG    

[johnl]

Well, somehow the two photos above didn't get the text I sent with them.  The engine shot is my first "BIG" motor at 69x88 with a 110 Engle and really shaved heads that even pinged on Chevron White pump 103 back in the day.  Note the glass pack with the small tip.  That was the style prior to the quiet pack.  The engine was built by Ron Fleming at Berg's first shop on Lemon St. when Ron and Greg worked there.  Ron named it "Teats Two Barrell" which was kind as he thought of any motor with a pair of 48's "Asthmatic"

The garage shot is our '55 rather pristine sedan that I never did anything with.  I may have sold it to generate $$ to purchase the Doug (Underdog) Gordon - Bruce Crower (Crower Cams) '50 split window.  That car was sold to assist with the downpayment of our first house as every home prior was rented.  Here are the photos again.

Small typo on John's post, " Which was kind as he thought of any motor 'without' a pair of 48's asthmatics".
   
I too suffered this indignation as I ended up with Sarges two barrel motor. Which by the way ran very well in it's time.

  Phil is correct on the "typo".  I hammer these things out when time permits at work usually.  My boss is really tough on me, so I have to sneak them in without getting caught.    Also forgot to mention that with this motor the car ran 15.40's

[rick m]

Those motor shots with Holley 2 barrels is a classic.  Was the first set up I had on my motor as well. I don't know if you guys remember a company called EICO but for a short stint they were selling VW stuff. I think that is who I got my 2 bbl manifold from.  I actually used dual ports on my motor and they had a manifold for the dual port heads.  I will have to try and find a motor shot too.  The shots of your two cars really brings back memories of the period.

Rick M

[johnl]

  Hi John, I love seeing all of these pics of yours, thanks for sharing them, You must have lived about an eighth mile from Palm-Harbor hospital, a place I came to know all to well back then, also across the street from the Firehouse Motel- nightclub, I noticed this from the background in the pics,  I also had a glasspack muff with the small tip like yours on the first motor I ever built for myself, a killer 40hp with 83mm big bore, 110 cam, Holley300cfm, p&p heads and headers, thought I was hot stuff    till I saw what you guys had, I had to figure out a way to up my game    All of these pics are very special, I can hardly wait to see more!!!       KG    

Hi Keith,  Yes Palm Harbor was just beyond the No Tell Motel which you can clearly see in the driveway shots.  I do remember the Firehouse Motel Nightclub across the street.  What comes to mind is one night the wind was howling and Christie and I sat in the living room looking at the Bank of America sign about 40 feet in the air moving around.  We were making bets with each other when it was going to come down.  It never did, but we had no $$ and found stuff like this to be good entertainment.

[johnl]

Those motor shots with Holley 2 barrels is a classic.  Was the first set up I had on my motor as well. I don't know if you guys remember a company called EICO but for a short stint they were selling VW stuff. I think that is who I got my 2 bbl manifold from.  I actually used dual ports on my motor and they had a manifold for the dual port heads.  I will have to try and find a motor shot too.  The shots of your two cars really brings back memories of the period.

Rick M

Rick, I do remember EICO.  Auto Haus also had those manifolds either in a plenum or isolated tube versions.  I never had one because I couldn't afford the DP heads.  I bought a BugSpray because it was about $35 and a 32NDIX Zenith was around $60.  It wasn't to long after the Butternut car was finished I managed to build the 78x88 motor with 48's and install it.  I thought I was on top of the world and Christie just shook her head...