Butternut recently discoverd photos

[johnl]

Here is another shot of the finished car at a Bug-In I'm thinking in April of 1972.  You  can see the interior from the driver's side.  This was at the DKP display and the sign you see towards the front of the car I still have today.  Unfortunately it is one of the few physical items I have to remember those times and the car with.

[Fastbrit]

EICO? Or should that be IECO..?

[Peter]

Damn. Seeing your pics i realize i reaaly was born in the wrong time and at the wrong place..
My god, I would do everything to live there and then (and still)

[Peter]

Great shots by the way..
And super thanks for sharing John!

[butterskotch]

Simply awesome.   

I've been waiting to see pics like this for years, and the wait was well worth it.  Always has been and always will be my favourite bug ever.

Shame that my dash layout on my replica is different, but hey ho, kind of still keeps your car yours and mine more a homage to yours that an out and out replica.
Thanks for sharing John.

Brad 

[Straight Time]

Great pics and stories.

Very motivational for those of us building our dreams.


Keep em coming old timers !   

[johnl]

EICO? Or should that be IECO..?

Honestly, I don't remember, but I do know that you "Brits" have always talked funny...   

[johnl]

Damn. Seeing your pics i realize i really was born in the wrong time and at the wrong place..
My god, I would do everything to live there and then (and still)

From my perspective it was a "magical" time.  I think growing up in the 50's into the early '70's was the best no matter what your flavor, (flavour) for you Keith, in cars was.  Guys that were "playing car" in the late 40's tell me the same.  The fact that we were in SoCal just made it that much better as that was and still is the Meca of the car world.  Don't believe me, just show up at Cars & Coffee in Irvine on a Saturday morning and you will become a believer.

Today's youth just don't look at cars the way we did.  With all of the electronics available cars are just another tool and nothing more for 99.9% of them.  I wonder if cell phones, calculators and computers were taken away from today's youth would they be able to function.  Somehow we made it through the "Stone Age" and had a great time doing it.

[johnl]

Simply awesome.   

I've been waiting to see pics like this for years, and the wait was well worth it.  Always has been and always will be my favourite bug ever.

Shame that my dash layout on my replica is different, but hey ho, kind of still keeps your car yours and mine more a homage to yours that an out and out replica.
Thanks for sharing John.

Brad 

I'm pleased you are enjoying the photos and sorry it has taken me so long to deliver.  Your comment about your "favourite" flatters me beyond words, but I must say it is and was my "favourite" also.   

I'd advise all of you to keep good documentation in photos, the written word, etc.  What I'm sharing with all of you is all I have to remember the car and it's times.

[Donny B.]

Today's youth just don't look at cars the way we did.  With all of the electronics available cars are just another tool and nothing more for 99.9% of them.  I wonder if cell phones, calculators and computers were taken away from today's youth would they be able to function.  Somehow we made it through the "Stone Age" and had a great time doing it.

Boy isn't that the truth! They don't have a clue.  I grew up in the '50s and wouldn't trade that experience for anything.  The car has always been the center of my universe.

[johnl]

This one is for Deano and Jim.  Another shot of Sarge's car in the driveway at the Butternut build.  I don't know who had the most changes in wheels over those years, but nothing lasted very long with either Jim or myself.  Jim, remember those trips to Johnny's Speed & Chrome or as we affectionately called it "Johnny's Chip & Peel"?  That would be when his retail shop was located at Beach Blvd. and Rosecrans Blvd. in La Mirada.

Johnny Hewey (sp) was a real character, but I'll save those stories for Rick Sadler as I'm sure he knows more than I.  One comment I will make is I'll always remember him in the back of that store where it was somewhat dark screaming out prices to people and had a huge wad of $$ in his hand.

[deano]

Great photos.... Seeing that last photo of Sarge's car, reminds me of how it looked when I first rode in it at Bob's Muffler. Porsche caps all the way around, and 40P11s/1835. Loudest VW interior  I ever rode it!

IECO.... Sonny (Raoul) Balcaen's business.

John, I recall when you had your "big" engine built, I believe by Ron Fleming, or was it by Doug Hayden?

Your car always amazed me sitting in front of Auto Haus on Beach, how it kept so clean in that area, and two, how it didn't get smashed from behind by some crazed customer!

[Sarge]

Hahaha!  My car had to be about eight years old when that pic was taken.  By then, it had been through a half dozen wheel and tire combos as well as countless exhaust (not to mention engine) modifications.  Then the "diet" happened when all the excess baggage got removed (switch to fiberglass seats, aluminum door panels, no headliner, no sound deadener, no ANYTHING).  Coupled with some of the first (noisy) close ratio gears and solid mounts, you'd feel like you were going a hundred mph all the time.  I'll take comfort nowadays!

[johnl]

Great photos.... Seeing that last photo of Sarge's car, reminds me of how it looked when I first rode in it at Bob's Muffler. Porsche caps all the way around, and 40P11s/1835. Loudest VW interior  I ever rode it!

IECO.... Sonny (Raoul) Balcaen's business.

John, I recall when you had your "big" engine built, I believe by Ron Fleming, or was it by Doug Hayden?

Your car always amazed me sitting in front of Auto Haus on Beach, how it kept so clean in that area, and two, how it didn't get smashed from behind by some crazed customer!

Dean,  The 78.4x88 48 IDA motor was built by me.  Ron did the heads but that was it.  I remember it's first run when I buried the throttle through each gear as I figured if it was going to come apart it might as well be then.  It stayed together and ran well.

I kept the car clean by wiping it several times daily in front of the AH store on Beach Blvd.  It was just luck than nothing ever hit it as there certainly was enough traffic to do so.  Keeping it parked in my sight made me more comfortable even with the dangers of the traffic.  I've located a black & white photo of the car parked in front of the AH store and the shot to the left is myself warning the official AH shirt provided by the company.  The guy in the shot with me is Jim (??) who also went to Anaheim High.  He would come in and spend hours and never buy a thong.   

[johnl]

The guy in the shot with me is Jim (??) who also went to Anaheim High.  He would come in and spend hours and never buy a thong.

Bet you "youngies" never thought AH offered "thongs".  We were a very colorful company for the times.      Actually that was suppose to say "thing".     

[56BLITZ]

Hey John, thanks fer sharing these cool photos! I was in that store several times, but it must have been a while after this shot was taken . . . . Muntz tapes? 4-tracks? Wow!
While in high school, I had a job at a company that was located right across the parking lot from the Auto-Haus warehouse. I bought stuff there instead of the store . . . the guys at the warehouse were really cool and gave me a discount on parts.

[johnl]

Hey John, thanks fer sharing these cool photos! I was in that store several times, but it must have been a while after this shot was taken . . . . Muntz tapes? 4-tracks? Wow!
While in high school, I had a job at a company that was located right across the parking lot from the Auto-Haus warehouse. I bought stuff there instead of the store . . . the guys at the warehouse were really cool and gave me a discount on parts.

I still have a 4 track player and also one that plays 4 and 8 track with an FM cartridge.  Besides these I have boxes of tapes, mostly 4 track.  How many of you can say that?  Prior to the 4 track players I had a record player that sat under the glove box.  The play arm was mounted upside down and after a 45 finished it dropped into a holding area.  Worked well except when you hit bumps or railroad tracks.  While the record player was in use I also had a Vibrasonic.  Geeze, I'm really dating myself I think, so I'll shut up.   

[.]

I have a 4-track player in my 1960 Austin Healey 3000 and a 45 rpm record player in my 1956 Samba.
 

[So.Cal.Life]

      A question to ponder , are thongs cal look ?       

[johnl]

I have a 4-track player in my 1960 Austin Healey 3000 and a 45 rpm record player in my 1956 Samba.
 

Richard, we are stuck in a time warp.......................................

[johnl]

      A question to ponder , are thongs cal look ?       

I'd say only if you are female and have the body for it.  I think that leaves about 99% of us out in the "cold"..

[So.Cal.Life]

       And we know what "cold' means.......shrinkage!!!!!!

[johnl]

       And we know what "cold' means.......shrinkage!!!!!!

Keith, quit it as you don't want to "be-LITTLE" some of us........

[edcraig]

Good photos John.  Yep...that was a lot of fun back then.  Still is, but I think especially that era in the OC was pretty special.

....Ed

Legendary DRA

[deano]

I still think the current DKP should re-do the old DKP club display like what was used at the Bug-Ins of the past, flags and all! I always thought it had a lot of class.

[edcraig]

Yeah..I agree Dean.  DKP had by far the best looking club displays back then.    Always very well done.  It would be good to see a couple more pics of them.  Be even better to see one re-created at a upcoming Bug in. 

Ed

Famed DRA

[Sarge]

I still think the current DKP should re-do the old DKP club display like what was used at the Bug-Ins of the past, flags and all! I always thought it had a lot of class.

Yeah..I agree Dean.  DKP had by far the best looking club displays back then.    Always very well done.  It would be good to see a couple more pics of them.   

Ed

Famed DRA

Can't remember if this has been seen or not... Rick Meisner has the original I believe.  Seeing these old pics is like opening up a treasure chest full of fun memories.

[johnl]

I still think the current DKP should re-do the old DKP club display like what was used at the Bug-Ins of the past, flags and all! I always thought it had a lot of class.

Yeah..I agree Dean.  DKP had by far the best looking club displays back then.    Always very well done.  It would be good to see a couple more pics of them.   

Ed

Famed DRA

Can't remember if this has been seen or not... Rick Meisner has the original I believe.  Seeing these old pics is like opening up a treasure chest full of fun memories.

For those of you who want to see more DKP Bug-In shots I've created a separate topic.

[Nico86]

Damn. Seeing your pics i realize i really was born in the wrong time and at the wrong place..
My god, I would do everything to live there and then (and still)

From my perspective it was a "magical" time.  I think growing up in the 50's into the early '70's was the best no matter what your flavor, (flavour) for you Keith, in cars was.  Guys that were "playing car" in the late 40's tell me the same.  The fact that we were in SoCal just made it that much better as that was and still is the Meca of the car world.  Don't believe me, just show up at Cars & Coffee in Irvine on a Saturday morning and you will become a believer.

Today's youth just don't look at cars the way we did.  With all of the electronics available cars are just another tool and nothing more for 99.9% of them.  I wonder if cell phones, calculators and computers were taken away from today's youth would they be able to function.  Somehow we made it through the "Stone Age" and had a great time doing it.

Oh yeah...

[Lee.C]

WOW!!!!! I haven't been on here in a while and the first thing I find when I do log in I come across these AWESOME photos - Thanks for sharing john