Why are you into Cal Look?

[Stephan S]

Why are you into Cal Look? Cool topic!

I'll try to make it short, especially since it’s way too late. I always loved cars – even as a toddler – and discovered the custom and hot rod scene through various European magazines during the late ’70s.
In 1982, at age 15, I found out about California Look VWs through a French magazine, which featured hot rods, customs, etc. (This was the first article on the subject in France). I fell in love with one car from that 2-page article in particular, a ’68-69 equipped with Porsche alloys that belonged to DKK (Bill Schwimmer’s club at the time). Hope to build a replica of that car one day…
In 1985, I made my first pilgrimage to Orange County. I thought I was in heaven! At the time, it seems that I loved as much rods/customs as California Look VWs. Yet, after that trip abroad, American cars did not matter that much anymore. I wanted a Cal Look Bug!
In 1987, I bought my first Bug, a ’65 typical of the era – lowered front & rear, dechromed, one-piece window, Ford Peppermint green paint, etc. A ’60 Ragtop followed before I bought my current ’57 Rag in late ’92.

Anyway, I think the main reason why I became a California Look addict is because the ’80s Cal Look cars I first witnessed oozed attitude. Sure, a Nova or a ’32 Ford were cool; but these Bugs looked darn tough, and sounded awesome compared to my aunt's ’72 1302. And from the magazines I read, I knew they could simply leave the aforementioned boat-mobiles in the dust… Somehow, I liked the Bugs underdog attitude.

Why am I still into the hobby after 25 years? The cars themselves are only part of the equation. People play a key role, too. I remember feeling somewhat lonely with my Oval, almost 15 years ago – the Cal Look hobby seemed at its lowest point! Things have certainly changed now. I made some great friends along the way; friends from the U.S. of course, but also Germany, Belgium, the UK, Japan, etc. Thanks guys!

[Rick Meredith]

Short answer - I wanted a Hot Rod and I couldn't afford it. Cal-Look VWs had that stance and look of a hot rod but were affordable. The first true Cal Look car that I saw was owned by my best friends older brother, Mark Roos. It was a black '67, decromed, lucas lights, t-bars and Empi Sprint Stars. I know he went to a few DKP meetings back in the day but never became a member.

Funny thing is now years later, I have my hot rod, a '26 T Roadster, yet I feel drawn back to my VW that had set untouched for over 20 years.

In talking with Bill Schiwimmer, he's given me some clarity in this issue. In my hot rodding, I tend to favor cars from 40s, 50s and 60s and I admire people like Vic Edelbrock, Alex Xydias, Ed Iskendarian and Ed Roth and look at them as the History of the Hot Rod. When I look at VW History, most of the people I hung out with are the ones cited as the people on the vanguard of the movement, then and now. I remember Bill as a teenager with his 1st VW and Greg Brinton as the kid who was riding his BMX bike over to my garage and watch me work on my '67 before he got his license.

[Rick Meredith]

Short answer - I wanted a Hot Rod and I couldn't afford it. Cal-Look VWs had that stance and look of a hot rod but were affordable. The first true Cal Look car that I saw was owned by my best friends older brother, Mark Roos. It was a black '67, decromed, lucas lights, t-bars and Empi Sprint Stars. I know he went to a few DKP meetings back in the day but never became a member.

Funny thing is now years later, I have my hot rod, a '26 T Roadster, yet I feel drawn back to my VW that had set untouched for over 20 years.

In talking with Bill Schiwimmer, he's given me some clarity in this issue. In my hot rodding, I tend to favor cars from 40s, 50s and 60s and I admire people like Vic Edelbrock, Alex Xydias, Ed Iskendarian and Ed Roth and look at them as the History of the Hot Rod. When I look at VW History, most of the people I hung out with are the ones cited as the people on the vanguard of the movement, then and now. I remember Bill as a teenager with his 1st VW and Greg Brinton as the kid who was riding his BMX bike over to my garage and watch me work on my '67 before he got his license.

yeah, same deal for me, except wanted a Porsche 356 Carrera, NEVER afford that.

I'll take one of those too!

[Georg/DFL]

I made some great friends along the way; friends from the U.S. of course, but also Germany, Belgium, the UK, Japan, etc. Thanks guys!

Same with me! Good to see you here, Steph! Time for a longer phone call... 
Take care my friend!

[Eddie DVK]

When I was about 15/16 years old(this was 1986\1987) I already loved bugs and started to go to bookstores to look for magazines and books about VW s, there was a UK magazine called Streetmachine that regular featured a vw bug then I stumbled on the book "Air-cooled Volkswagens" by Colin Burnham... (I had the same as JHU  ) only I fell in love with the car pictured on page 14, it is the beginning of the callook chapter in the book, I liked the style, nose down no trim, I thought damn thats the way I want a bug to look. A few years later when I was at a bookstore I saw a specialist magazine about aircoold vw s called HOT VWs.
It was the Callook issue of 1990 which featured car with BRM(original) wheels
Bill Schwimmer s coral red 59, Hector Bonilla s burgundy 67....dawm I was hooked
only Cal-Look (old school) cars for me.

It took me some while to finaly own my own vw. It s a 73 1200 beetle that I restored in 2001-2003 it  looks like a 68-72 model with the trim removed. It is on the wrong wheels at this moment and I dont have a powerfull engine in it, but I am working on that.

Regards Eddie

[Georg/DFL]

Hi Eddie,

good to see the Cal Look scene growing in the Netherlands – it's about time! 
Cheers,

Georg

[Dave Galassi]

Greetings to a great group of enthusiasts.  I'm not much of a poster, but this one hit home.  Thanks for the new place to spend time when I should be figuring out the Carter YH carburetor on my ragtop.........

What a nostalgic thread.  Stephan and a few others seem to strike a common thread that I remember attracted me as a kid in the 70's.  The VW's were underdogs, cheap, and a great way for a youngster to learn about cars.  As a kid in the San Gabriel Valley, North of OC, my dad would take me to gas stations and parts houses to collect stickers (early 70's).  Sure, I remember the blowers and tunnel rams at Blair's Speed Shop, but I also recall these spaghetti looking tubes with the pipe hanging out the back (header and stinger), the tall manifolds and carbs, and, after being told what they went on,  thinking how cool they would be on dad's ghia.  I can also remember a trip to Competition Engineering on Lake Avenue (for stickers), where Ray Litz built high performance engines for Porsches, and a few VW's, among them, the Iguana.  My dad sold his '60 ghia in '71 and bought a brand new ghia at Bob Bozzani VW in Monrovia.  I remember the ride home like it was today.......the hum of the engine, the faux wood grain dash and the smell of the coco mats.  All I wanted to do was work on and ride in it.  I can also remember the day the guy who bought his old '60 ghia drove it over to our house to show us what he did to it...!!!!!!  He had painted it metal flake gold, with a set of rims (my memory tells me they were 5 spoke Empis), a header and a Budweiser tap shift knob. I'd never seen anything like it.   Groovy baby!

My dad was a school principal, and he knew the way to motivate a car crazy kid.  If I got good grades, he would take me and my brother to Speedway 605 (ironically, just across the 605 freeway from where the new Irwindale Speedway is!) where on Saturday nights, there was a class with lowered beetles in it, with stingers out the back, and man were they loud!  I can vaguely recall some other econo cars in the same class, but we always rooted for the beetles.  There was also a teacher at my dad's school who campaigned an early 60's Plymouth Belvedere, named "The Mayflower", at the drags.  When I was good (always.....), my dad would ask him if I could ride along to the races, and several times I got to go to OCIR with him.  As a kid, I thought he had the coolest car there, but I can recall seeing the VW's and thinking they were the coolest too.  And they were fast.  This would have been around '75 or '76.   

As much as my family drove VW's as transportation, I was indoctrinated into the American car scene (my dad bought me a '30 Ford Coupe basket case when I was 13 and my brother had the early Nova itch).  I still couldn't wait to get a VW because they were easy to work on, as I was learning in auto shop in high school.  Girls didn't want to ride in my stock '30 coupe, which I had finished, but a lowered VW with rims and a header, now we're talking!  I sold the coupe, paid off my dad and started the hunt at the end of '82.

Funny thing is, I never owned a beetle until the 90's!  I always wanted a Type 3, after seeing a lowered fastback with a TV in the center console (Hot VW's, somewhere in the late 70's....).  I surfed, so a Squareback seemed most appropriate.  Bought a '67, lowered it myself, bought the S&S header and an Alpine and I was gone.  Met Bill and Steve and learned what a Notchback was......danger, Will Robinson!
I found one that had been sitting for 10 years under a tree.  You know, sometimes, we don't have control over what we fall in love with.........
I had no girlfriend for 4 years.  I got a job at Russ's VW Recycling ( a junkyard) and worked every moment I wasn't at college to scrounge the parts I couldn't get N.O.S..  I can honestly say I put every penny into that car.  It was one of the hardest and most rewarding things I've ever done, and I met many of the VW friends I still have today.  Russ Welch, who owned the junkyard I worked at, showed me how to use the 944 brakes (in 1985!) amongst other bad habits, Gary Shubrook (one of the most learned Cal Look experts there is) taught me the history of high performance VW's and helped me lose all of my money to the EMPI Gods (you should have seen the EMPIre he had.......), and with Steve Walker and Larry Rick, taught me about quality.  When I finished the car,it was not Cal Look, nor screaming fast, but it was influenced by what the Cal Look/ street racing scene was doing.   I just wasn't able to afford the 48's, tickets, or handle the shaky right foot I got after a street race!  I tried, but I was better at building and tuning (especially since I was the one with the carb synchronizer in my group of friends with dual carb cars) than I was at racing.  After that, it was a string of cars, two of them Cal Look.  The latest being a pre Cal Look car because I enjoy and respect the history.  I am also helping Russ Welch build his '52 split, that will be a traditional Cal Looker.  Pretty simple, really, and not overdone.


Well, my apologies for the long thread, but this one really hit my memory bank.  More than the cars, though, I really look forward to seeing old/ meeting new friends at upcoming events, helping others with their projects and continuing to drive these great cars.  I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Hope to see some of you at Drag Day in October.


Dave Galassi

P.S.  I sure do admire the European scene.  Great quality, and not afraid to drive them! 
P.P.S.  Ratto, I still love your posts......... 
 

[Rick Meredith]

Great post Dave,,, thanks for sharing it!

[Georg/DFL]

Hi Dave,

thanks for sharing those memorys with us! Great!
Cheers,

Georg

[Dave Galassi]

Thank you alll for hosting such a great site. 
Yes, Jim, I am in Pasadena, about six blocks from Blair's and less than that to the old Competition Engineering building on Lake.  Unfortunately, they did not leave the original Iguana behind!  There are, though, many nice cars here.  Ironically, where I work is on the property that used to be part of the original Irwindale Raceway........A long history of street and strip racing here as well.
Jim, would love to have you over if you are ever out this way.  You, me, your '67 and my crewcab, up Angeles Crest to Mount Wilson.  Might make your nice drive list.........

Again, I really am appreciative of this place and your posts.

Dave

[lawrence]

 Good post, Jim.

I truly believe it is genetic...yeah the cal-look gene. Although people come and go from the scene there is definitely something that drew them to it.

My neighbor got me into volkswagens, when I was in elementary school, by giving me his old vw magazines, but it wasnt until high school that I got into cal-look vw's. My passion for lookers was created by magazine feature cars since I had no direct experience with them. The January 2000 issue of VW Trends, which on the cover has a picture of Muffler Mike and Jim Hagethorn doing burnouts right next to each other, was the turning point for me. I remember taking that issue with me to woodshop class freshman year and talking about vws with a senior who had and oval with empi 5s, a 1914 and a stinger. That car was too cool!! Dave Conklin's car was featured in that same issue, and at the time I didn't know what that large gauge attached to the dash was, but I knew that it looked perfect there in plain view of the driver.

Seeing Art Guitierrez's 67 featured a few months later in Hot VWs was another cal-look tuning point for me. That car has some strange grooved slicks and some type of cloth rapped around the header that made it seem badass. Awesome car!!  I later found out what all those cool race parts were.

[Jordy/DVK]

I've been deeply sleeping and dreaming of 100% stock, vintage VW's until a couple of years ago. And then, as it often happens, I got into the wrong bad boys group and was initiated to the worst drug ever!

 I used to be a huge fan of stockers too, but when I got older I discovered the original tuning kits like Okrasa, Shorrock etc. Via this way I found more and more fast vw's and found that tuning VW's is a topic with such a great history and I was hooked...

[Rick Meredith]

I got into cal look because all the cool kids are doing it! 

[Cornpanzer]

Cool kids....I thought it was just us geeks on here!   

[j-f]

 I always like old vw and old cars. I bought my first vw mag in 96 and in the same time my first us car mag (Nitro).
 I remember the car on the cover. A 72 hugger orange Z28 camaro with RS bumpers and Weld pro racing wheels. A true street machine with an Hi perf 350ci. I was 14. 
 With this magasines I've discover another car culture than the "tuning" that prevailed in my area and that I did not appreciate at all.
 At this moment, I knew that what I want is an old car with hi perf, but with not too much exterior mods. I've continue to read these magazines, appreciating the us car culture, the look and history of the Beetle while waiting the day I can offer one. This is how I've discover the VW scene.

 But, I really discover the true cal look  a couple of years ago. With Internet, I could find a lot's of old pictures, some forums to discuss about, buy some nice stuff  as old magazines and books. Like lots of people who did not live the great periode of the 70's and 80's, the revelation come with the read of the bible of Keith Seume. And know, with you and this forum, I learn lot's of things about the history of cal look. I do not take part much because I'm a newby and I don't have lot's of knowledge to share but I read all the posts and I learn what I always sought. Thank you, the "old cal looker" to share with us your vw stories, your old pics and the rest  It really help people like me who just know what they read in magazines 

[Oldschool]

I first got into Cal Look in 1997 when I bought Keith Seume's book and that was the revelation to me.

Bugs look nice but Cal Look VWs are the thing to go and since then I've always dreamt of having my own Cal Look 67 Beetle, though I already own a stock 66 fontana grey beetle, a vw blue 66 fastback and a 71 Type2!

I just need to get my hand on a sound 67 and put all the parts I've collected over the past 10 years or so!

Here's the reason why I got into Cal Look 

Best R.

Oldschool

[Shubee2 (DSK)]

Greetings to a great group of enthusiasts.  I'm not much of a poster, but this one hit home.  Thanks for the new place to spend time when I should be figuring out the Carter YH carburetor on my ragtop.........

What a nostalgic thread.  Stephan and a few others seem to strike a common thread that I remember attracted me as a kid in the 70's.  The VW's were underdogs, cheap, and a great way for a youngster to learn about cars.  As a kid in the San Gabriel Valley, North of OC, my dad would take me to gas stations and parts houses to collect stickers (early 70's).  Sure, I remember the blowers and tunnel rams at Blair's Speed Shop, but I also recall these spaghetti looking tubes with the pipe hanging out the back (header and stinger), the tall manifolds and carbs, and, after being told what they went on,  thinking how cool they would be on dad's ghia.  I can also remember a trip to Competition Engineering on Lake Avenue (for stickers), where Ray Litz built high performance engines for Porsches, and a few VW's, among them, the Iguana.  My dad sold his '60 ghia in '71 and bought a brand new ghia at Bob Bozzani VW in Monrovia.  I remember the ride home like it was today.......the hum of the engine, the faux wood grain dash and the smell of the coco mats.  All I wanted to do was work on and ride in it.  I can also remember the day the guy who bought his old '60 ghia drove it over to our house to show us what he did to it...!!!!!!  He had painted it metal flake gold, with a set of rims (my memory tells me they were 5 spoke Empis), a header and a Budweiser tap shift knob. I'd never seen anything like it.   Groovy baby!

My dad was a school principal, and he knew the way to motivate a car crazy kid.  If I got good grades, he would take me and my brother to Speedway 605 (ironically, just across the 605 freeway from where the new Irwindale Speedway is!) where on Saturday nights, there was a class with lowered beetles in it, with stingers out the back, and man were they loud!  I can vaguely recall some other econo cars in the same class, but we always rooted for the beetles.  There was also a teacher at my dad's school who campaigned an early 60's Plymouth Belvedere, named "The Mayflower", at the drags.  When I was good (always.....), my dad would ask him if I could ride along to the races, and several times I got to go to OCIR with him.  As a kid, I thought he had the coolest car there, but I can recall seeing the VW's and thinking they were the coolest too.  And they were fast.  This would have been around '75 or '76.   

As much as my family drove VW's as transportation, I was indoctrinated into the American car scene (my dad bought me a '30 Ford Coupe basket case when I was 13 and my brother had the early Nova itch).  I still couldn't wait to get a VW because they were easy to work on, as I was learning in auto shop in high school.  Girls didn't want to ride in my stock '30 coupe, which I had finished, but a lowered VW with rims and a header, now we're talking!  I sold the coupe, paid off my dad and started the hunt at the end of '82.

Funny thing is, I never owned a beetle until the 90's!  I always wanted a Type 3, after seeing a lowered fastback with a TV in the center console (Hot VW's, somewhere in the late 70's....).  I surfed, so a Squareback seemed most appropriate.  Bought a '67, lowered it myself, bought the S&S header and an Alpine and I was gone.  Met Bill and Steve and learned what a Notchback was......danger, Will Robinson!
I found one that had been sitting for 10 years under a tree.  You know, sometimes, we don't have control over what we fall in love with.........
I had no girlfriend for 4 years.  I got a job at Russ's VW Recycling ( a junkyard) and worked every moment I wasn't at college to scrounge the parts I couldn't get N.O.S..  I can honestly say I put every penny into that car.  It was one of the hardest and most rewarding things I've ever done, and I met many of the VW friends I still have today.  Russ Welch, who owned the junkyard I worked at, showed me how to use the 944 brakes (in 1985!) amongst other bad habits, Gary Shubrook (one of the most learned Cal Look experts there is) taught me the history of high performance VW's and helped me lose all of my money to the EMPI Gods (you should have seen the EMPIre he had.......), and with Steve Walker and Larry Rick, taught me about quality.  When I finished the car,it was not Cal Look, nor screaming fast, but it was influenced by what the Cal Look/ street racing scene was doing.   I just wasn't able to afford the 48's, tickets, or handle the shaky right foot I got after a street race!  I tried, but I was better at building and tuning (especially since I was the one with the carb synchronizer in my group of friends with dual carb cars) than I was at racing.  After that, it was a string of cars, two of them Cal Look.  The latest being a pre Cal Look car because I enjoy and respect the history.  I am also helping Russ Welch build his '52 split, that will be a traditional Cal Looker.  Pretty simple, really, and not overdone.


Well, my apologies for the long thread, but this one really hit my memory bank.  More than the cars, though, I really look forward to seeing old/ meeting new friends at upcoming events, helping others with their projects and continuing to drive these great cars.  I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Hope to see some of you at Drag Day in October.


Dave Galassi

P.S.  I sure do admire the European scene.  Great quality, and not afraid to drive them! 
P.P.S.  Ratto, I still love your posts......... 
 

Thanks For The Post Dave I Wish I Still Had The EMPI EMPIre LOL  Dave Did Not Mention That Steve Walker and Larry Rick are also DSK  Club Members We are the Only Three Original Members  We Started the Club In 1976 All Three of Us Are Still Very Much In To The Old School Cal Looks And Are All Making a Comeback With NEW OLD SCHOOL CARS You See WE Never Got Rid Of Anything we Had So Be Prepaired to See at Least 3 DSK Cars Coming Out Of Retirement 30 Years Later!!! Between the Three of us we have over 30 Original BRM's, EMPI GT Valve Covers,Deano Shifters Ect. We Are Planning To Turn Back The Hands Of Time...

[Shubee2 (DSK)]

It Started for me when I was 15 I Got my First Bug A 64, I Loved that Car It was so cool and Fun To Drive after I Got My License I Started checking Out The VW Shops To See What I Could Get To fix up my Bug well I ended up at Auto Haus in Pomona I was amazed at the stuff they made for Bugs A few Months after my 3 times a week visit's to Auto Haus I asked the Owner if They Were Hiring Well I Got The Job.. In between customers I would look threw all the catalogs in the rack I thought I was in heaven.The first thing I bought for my 64 was a Deano Shifter $39.95 the second week I bought an S&S Header with a Glasspack then I saved my money for a few weeks and bought a set of porsche chrome wheels and caps Now were Talking LOL I thought I had a Porsche Now, Got the Shifter, got the Vroooom Sounds of the Exhaust, then the Wheels and Caps but then I wondered what do I do Now? Well a customer came in the store and I was talking to him he told me he wanted to lower his Bug I told him that we sell Select A Drops and they are alot of work to install he Didnt care He Bought it and went on his way A week later he Pulls up in front of the store with his car Dumped in the Front I thought it looked Bitchen, Well you know whats coming  I talked to My Boss as he did VW work in the rear of the store we Pulled the front beam out of my bug and he installed a Select A Drop On My Beam I Did All the Labor  he just did the cutting and welding after I got the Beam back in I put new King and Link Pins in, then came the Problem I wanted it Low but the 165's were just way to Big and did not look good Keep in Mind this is 1973 I went to Sears and Bought two 500x15 Bias Ply Blackwall tires $19.95 each put them on and I was in Love the Car Looked Great, the car still had a 40 H.P. I thought it was fast I was always winding it out I loved the Sound then one Day I heard A not so Good Sound alot of noise and smoke? I opened the Engine Lid there was Oil Everywhere And A Rod Sticking sticking out of the top of the case   I had it Towed Home pulled the motor it was Junk my boss gave me another 40 Hp shortblock we rebuilt it and put a Big Bore Kit an engle 100 cam, an 010 dist, and a 2 Barrell Holley Bug Spray, It ran Really Good Now, I got Laid Off, And went to work at the Buena Park Auto Haus, This was Really The Begining of a Whole New World for Me, All These  Trick Looking Bugs coming in With Brm's,5 Spokes,8 Spokes,Big Wheels,Deanos,Americans, it was a whole new Level of car Dechromed,lucas lights,Buggy Bumpers,T Bars, the List Goes On and On I Bought my First Set Of 5 Original BRM's for $500.00 off the For Sale Board at Auto Haus Then I Bought A Motor a Guy Was Selling, it was a 69x88 (1700) All Berg 120 Cam and 48 IDA's for $550.00 Back Then That Was alot of Money I Decided to Get In to A VW Club  I Joined DVB VW Club in Orange County in 1975 I was in the Club about a Year And me and a few other's left DVB and Started DSK  Over the Years I Have Had 47 VWs all Cal Looks I Got Out of them about ten years ago and got in to Early Chevy II's then I was On Samba one Day Looking in the 67 Cars For Sale And Saw My Old 67 Convertible for sale that I had Owned 20 Years before I E Mailed The Owner he was in San Diego Calif  we Talked about the Car sharing Stories  and agreed to meet at the VW Classic two years ago After That Day I Saw alot of People I Use To Hang With that were Still in to them  to make a long Story Short  I Got The Damm Bug Again!! I Bought my 48th Vw about 6 months ago and am Building A 1967 OLD SCHOOL SEDAN just like it was 1975 all over again!!  This car will take you all back in time to the way it was and meant to be OLD SCHOOL Lives In Shubees Garage  LOL..   Its in the Works!!!

[Dirk / DFL]

The first time i`ve heared about cal-look was in the book "Air-cooled volkswagens" from Colin Burnham, i was hooked from the photos of the cal-look car like the red 1303(!!) from John Dean, never seen an cooler long-nose bug. That was the time when i first bougt a copy of VW Trends and Hot VW`s, in one issue of Hot VW`s i saw the blue 1967 bug of Gary Berg, one of my alltime greats. Also in this time i bougth my bug by a local VW dealer and restore it the first time: respray in VW türkis, 1776ccm engine with 40idf, schleicher cam with 296° and an porsche fan shroud. Rims were standard rims in 5,5 and 7" with 195-60 tyers, the car was defenitly not cal-look, but resto. Sometimes i drove it with an roof-rack...That was in 1989. Over the years i was more interested into oltimer sports like youngtimer trophy, i restored an 77 GTI and an BMW 1600 TI dto drive it on the track. But in all the years my bug was with me. Then, in 2000 i met the DFL Guys in the Internet and was hooked from the idea to build an traditional cal-looker as seen in Keith Seumes fantastic book. So i resprayed my car and add Fuchs-rims on it, the car is my love affair since 18 years and i will never sell this thing, it will be my coffin one day.......

[kev d]

This is a cool thread which could run & run...
I was always into cars as a kid because my dad was - I was in the garage helping or hindering him since I could walk!
He used to own beetles in the 60`s & 70`s then started buying & repairing mot failure bugs when we could pick them up locally for £25-£150 - this was in the early to mid 80`s.
My first car at 15 was an accident damaged `73 GT beetle which was repaired during the summer holidays then sold on for a small profit - although £300 seemed like a fortune to a 15 year old!
I had been reading street machine magazine since  I was 10 years old & in november `85 the december issue had Colin Burnhams bug on the front cover - I was hooked from then and used the cash from the GT to build a typical UK looker of the day, a very low `71 with early panels, de-chromed with one peice windows and yellow paint.
A lot of vw`s have come & gone in the 22 years since that magazine - not all modified let alone cal look cars - but I now see the original DKP1 style as the purest version of a look which has gone through many incarnations in its time.
I bought the Colin Burnham car a couple of years ago, although it looks dated as an 80`s car now & probably means nothing to anyone who was`nt around in the UK at the time, it did introduce many people to the cal look of its day.
The standard of cars built now though is mind blowing - the quality of detail, fit & finish & combination of parts are all far beyond what has ever come before (with a few notable exceptions of course!).
The look of a nose down de-chromed bug with the `right` peformance is timeless - thats why I think we`re still doing it 30+ years down the line!
 

[Bewitched666]

For me it started round 1985 and back then that was the look in most of teh vw mags in the usa where i lived then.
80's callook was the way to go then.

[bullitt]

i am into cal-look cause i love street racers.

starting from open lid fiat abarths, going to lowered mini coopers, passing thruogh tuned muscle cars, i love them all.

i love this kind of cars cause they are an underground world. just to drive by night. and when you drive they you can turn from dr jekyll  to mr hide, waring your leather jacket and doing things that you tell other people not to do when you talk at the bar daytime.

they are illegal....

they are not race cars at all. not to drive around on the trailer. you can use them, and they are ferociously fun.

in particular cal-look is a great style. simple, essential, but sophisticated in its taste.

i will told forever that smartness is simplicity.

and then i love volkswagens...that's all.

[louisb]

My folks owned VWs since the time I was little. (I learned to drive in a 70's bread loaf) But I was not really into VWs. For me it started with a friend's Mustang. This was in the early 80's right before the muscle car craze that sent prices through the roof. Between the prices and the fact that you had to have a perfectly restored car which felt restraining to me i moved into hotrods from the 30s and 40s. I was also 15 getting ready to get my license and i had just bought a '54 Chevy 210 sedan as my first car. My dad was never really mechanically inclined, more of a hammer and nails kind of guy. (And I can't drive a nail straight to save my life.) So I learned how to work on cars taking things apart and putting them back together. From high school to college I progressed through several early Fords and Chevys.  But my favorites were the 39-40 fords. I had a '47 ford coupe in progress but was getting ready to go to college and needed some reliable transportation. There was a metallic green '71 bug sitting on a dealer lot with a price tag of $1,200 so I bought it. The car had been dechromed, lowered and sat on a set of chrome five spokes. I just thought it was a cool looking bug and it reminded me of a late '30s Ford. I joined up with a list serve called rec.autos.vintagvw I think. (I still remember the uproar that happened when a certain Ric Campbell cut up a split window to use as a race car. ) Of course wanting to go faster I started buying all the VW mags I could find and eventually stumbled across this book with a white VW on the front. It had all these hipo VWs inside with these wild looking dual carb setups. What really got me going though were the pics of Bill S.' and Dave M.s' cars in the back. They were just too cool. (Oddly enough at the time I didn't like Brinton's car, go fig.) I had also ordered a bunch of Berg literature and their catalog and was reading all about Gary's blue sedan. I couldn't believe you could make a VW go that fast.  I think the last straw though was when I discovered the CLF. I joined the CLF right at the end of the "What is a Cal-Look car debate" and right before "What is a street car debate". There were some really cool and knowledgeable folks on that forum. some really great knowledge being passed back and forth. (At least when you could read it through some of the ugly backgrounds the owner kept using ) Been hooked ever since.

--louis

[Nico86]

I've just found this thread ! Great stories, I thougt that maybe we could here some new. I will add mine soon.

[johnl]

I have been into VW's for as long as I can remember. But when it comes to the cal-look style I suppose a certain book made its impact on me too.. Thanks to mr Seume for writing that book and make so many of us see the light!
As for why.. I love the cars, the look and the VW-community. Lots of nice people who share the same interest is great.
I am also very fascinated by all the old and sometimes mysterious parts that were made back in the 60s and 70s.
At the moment I am into the "pre-cal" style and building my car in the spirit of the early DKP pioneer cars.

Lets do what we can to keep this thing alive!

Anders

Hi Anders,  Actually it was your photo of Pam Bunch next to Gregg's car that caught my eye.  I was at there home last night prepairing for the DKP 45th reunion.  Pam looks pretty much the same, but doesn't have the "outfit" anymore..   I guess I never really left it and now I'm back in deeper than ever.  For me and I'd suspect some of the other seniors      we'd say that we really enjoyed the life back then and those mysterious parts you refer to were all we could come up with at the time.  The younger groups of today may think they are having more fun than we did, but I don't think that is the case.

[johnl]

See what happens when you get OLD..    That is not Gregg Bunch's car, but that hack of Big Al Tamming (aka Ron Fleming) who was Gregg's best man.

[Rennsurfer]

Hmm... I thought we had another thread on this topic. But, hey... cool thread, anyway.

For me, it was already determined that I was going make a '60s VW Bug my first car. My mind was made up when we bought our brand new '68 Savannah Biege Bug in late '67. From that point on, I fell in love with the VW and Porsche cars. But the Cal Look thing just kind of fell into place. Because when I was old enough to drive in 1978, Cal Lookers were already on the streets and in the magazines. So it just made sense to piss off everyone at my high school and build my orange one. They all had late '60s and early '70s American muscle cars, which I loathed. My best friend, Bob, and I had the only VWs in our graduating class that I can remember that were Cal Looked.

My family has had many VWs both air and water cooled, over the years. They've been great and very fun cars. Besides, we've also met many wonderful people and continue to keep the old friendships alive, today.

Next?

[Dave Rosique]

My love for VW's began at an early age (see "Bubblegum Day" http://cal-look.no/lounge/index.php?topic=8091.0 )
After my Brother's return from 'Nam he bought a '65 Beetle that he did the full late 60's wide tire, fiberglass fenders & hoods treatment to. I helped as much as a kid could and really liked working on the VW. Fast forward a few years to 1974. I'm on my second VW by now... my first VW was a bit of a hybrid with Chevy wheels and flared fenders out back and stock fenders, 14" front wheels with the front nice and low. By now, I'm paying more attention to the VW Gassers  and the "new trend" of street cars. We called it "The Stock Look" and of course I was referring to what would later become Cal-Look. I've mentioned Marc Souter's Aqua '67 sedan before... that car along with Rusty Mazzery's "Appliance White" '67 w/BRM's and buggy bumpers drove home the style VW I thought of as my favorite.
I too believe Cal-Look cars should be driven... I've always rooted for the underdog... I believe there is nothing more priceless than handing the driver of some high dollar "super car" his arse in a drag race... I tend to "floor it" when entering tunnels just to hear the IDA's... I dig the less is more thinking on a Cal-Look (well, to an extent anyway )

I wish I had the words to convey the inner feeling a "Hot VW" brings me... and now, after way too many years I'm hoping to experience it again soon

~DR.

And remember, Cal-Look has no "rules"
 

[Koko81]

1998 I visited my Grand Uncle in Los Angeles (Inglewood). He had a silver T2b, which I took every morning (5:30 am) to venice beach playing Basketball.
I bought a VW Trend in a Supermarket. One feature was a Papler Police Beetle (Coverfeature).
But the Feature why I am into Cal-look was the Karmann Konnection Beetle.
three years ago I found pics of the car again.



with a hand beaten aluminium engine lid.

VW Trend told the story of the Inch Pincher in this Feature.
This is why I read more about Cal-Look.
By the Way, this is how I found the DFL Homepage. The Guys helped alot.
And also the Luftkraft Homepage, with the Black 1960 on Ercos( Ex Beetle from Marc). This was my fav Cal-Looker.



Cheers Koko

[71CALRIPPER]

1998 I visited my Grand Uncle in Los Angeles (Inglewood). He had a silver T2b, which I took every morning (5:30 am) to venice beach playing Basketball.
I bought a VW Trend in a Supermarket. One feature was a Papler Police Beetle (Coverfeature).
But the Feature why I am into Cal-look was the Karmann Konnection Beetle.
three years ago I found pics of the car again.



with a hand beaten aluminium engine lid.

VW Trend told the story of the Inch Pincher in this Feature.
This is why I read more about Cal-Look.
By the Way, this is how I found the DFL Homepage. The Guys helped alot.
And also the Luftkraft Homepage, with the Black 1960 on Ercos( Ex Beetle from Marc). This was my fav Cal-Looker.



Cheers Koko

That oval turned up a few months ago, I think it had suffered some rust issue but was still up for big money