With all this talk of what happened in the US back in the '60s and '70s, I thought some of you guys might be in what a group of us got up to in the UK about the same time...
First of all, let me apologise for an almost total lack of photos. That's something I can't do much about as I don't ever recall any of us being particularly photo-minded back then! If or when i come across some, I'll post them.
In 1974, I bought my first Bug and, as I was into the hot rod scene, began to mess with it. At the time there were no custom VW clubs other than a very few buggy clubs. Certainly no club was dedicated to hot or custom Beetles. I was good friends with a guy by the name of Keith Glassborow whom I'd met while cycle racing. He got into choppers and then decided to buy a Beetle. This was fitted with a Selecta-Drop, 6x13in slot mags on the front and 7x15s on the rear. The engine was a 1600 with dual 34ICT Webers. Originally red, it was painted black and pinstriped by me. The car was crashed and written off and the parts used to create another similar Bug which was painted metallic green. Where it ended up I'll never know. Keith used to drive the hell out of his cars, which seemed fast at the time but would feel very average now!
We both belonged to Surrey Street Rodders, one of the original street rod and custom clubs in the UK (I was member number 12) and, as was common at the time, we'd bump into other VW owners at rod shows. This set me thinking. I wrote to Custom Car magazine and they published a letter from me asking if anyone in the south of England would be interested in forming a club for modified VWs. About seven or eight people contacted me, the first being Tim Sneller, of whom more at a later date. We arranged to hold a first club night at the Cricketers pub in Eversley, UK, the same pub where the Surrey Street Rodders met (That way I knew they wouldn't mind some loud cars showing up!). About a dozen people came along, but one guy left because he was disappointed there weren't more modified cars there (he owned a stock 1200 Bug with 1300 heads... Go figure). This was late 1975 or poss very early 1976.
We continued to meet up once a fortnight and gradually our cars came out of the woodwork.
By this time I drove a 1967 sedan with 1500 motor, ported heads, 'hot road' cam, Ansa glass-pack and a dual-throat Weber. It was also lowered in front and dechromed. Interior had a pair of Corbeau GTB seats and a Grant steering wheel, Speedwell tach and a Quickshift. Wheels were stock steel at the front and widened steelies at the rear.
Keith Glassborow drove his sedan as described above.
Tim Sneller came along in his dad's 1966 1300 which had a gold paint job and 356 rims all round, plus a Zenith carb I believe.
Clive Househam (owner of Ultra VW magazine) had his Oval-window Bug with 13in Wolfrace slots on the front and massive 10x15 Ansens on the rear. This was the first Beetle I'd seen in the UK with a lowered front end.
Chris Abbott (who worked at Autocavan, the VW performance shop) had a 1970-ish 1300 Bug with slot mags all round and vinyl covered fenders (don't ask). It also had a 1600 with dual ICT Webers, I think.
Chris Grant had a metallic blue 412LE Variant with Ansa exhaust and Wolfrace slot mags all round. He used to own a late-model Beetle with EMPI 88s and a Holley Bugspray.
Brian Grantham (also from Autocavan) had a 1966 Beetle on widened steels with a 1600 and dual ICT Webers.
Clive Pightling was in the process of building a stunning black Oval on chrome EMPI Sprint Stars.
Tony Weston had an Oval with 88s and dual Solexes on DDS manifolds, 010 etc, chromed glasspack and chromed Porsche 356 rims, metallic purple paint.Very cool.
This was the core of the club, which survived for just a couple of years as Air Kool Kustoms (AKK!) – snappy name, huh?
More tales as I remember them (only if you're interested), but that at least 'marks the spot'... AKK lives, OK?
The Cal-look Lounge
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