Why are you into Cal Look?

[Rocket Ron]

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?

What happened to your orange looker ?

[Luftkraft]

hey Koko, thanks for posting my old bug. never thought it might become inspirational but glad it did  but don't tell anybody that it still had its 30hp engine on this very pic

Cheers Koko

[Rennsurfer]

What happened to your orange looker ?

Made a bad decision and sold it in 1985, after six years. Regretted it ever since.

[Rocket Ron]

What happened to your orange looker ?

Made a bad decision and sold it in 1985, after six years. Regretted it ever since.

is it still about, looks like it was a killer car

[Jeff68]

I was exposed to Vw's at a very early age as my Dad had a '62 beetle that I ws brought home in after i was born.  I have many great memories of helping my Dad maintain that car as well as it taking our family (Dad, Mom, and three kids) everywhere.  My Dad later got a '72 Super when the '62 became too rusty.  The '72 was the first car I drove when I was 14 years old.  I just really liked these Beetles.  At an early age I had a huge interest in cars and began finding and reading everything I could, especially Hot Rods, Muscle cars, and fast cars.......I always loved understated, underdog type cars, the kind that no one expected to perform.  I also remember my dad showing me Hot VW's magazines when i was a young kid in the grocery store when my Mom was doing the grocery shopping, that planted the seed.

Years later I Hot Rodded a V8 car (1970 Olds Cutlass) but the funny thing is I modified it in a way that was similar to a Cal-Look VW and i didn't even realize it.  I dechromed it, (except for the bumpers), painted it a factory color, gave it a subtle nose down rake, Wide tires in the rear but inside the fenders, Hot Rodded the engine and transmission, and redid the interior, and there ws absolutely no evidence of it's performance capability until you fired it up.  A few years later my Uncle gave me a '71 Super Beetle which I tried my hardest to Cal-look - lowered the front end, dechromed it, Ansen slotted mags, Porsche Guards red paint....but it was an AutoStick :-(   Sold it for a profit and bought a 5.0 Mustang, hated it.  Bought a '68 Bug (which I have now) restored it, lowered the front end, Pedrini's, appliance white paint, stockish interior, and put an all Berg 2110 with Ida's in it.  It took me years to get all of the engine parts and during those years Cal-Look has become the rage once again, THANK GOD!  I think my taste will always be Cal-Look - Simple, Clean, classic, understated, with a big dose of power waiting under the decklid - What could be better?!

[Koko81]

Did a little mistake:
The Mag is from September 99. 
just had a little searching Action and found it!


@Luftkraft: 30Hp rocks!   

[Jim Ratto]

I've always liked "under the radar" cars, not just VW's. In fact, before getting my '67 when I was 16, 24 yr ago, I wanted an MGB or Spridget or something and I wanted to hot rod that. Anyway, I've been wildly into cars since 6 or 7 yr old (no, really. Drawing F1 Alfa engines, trying to make ground effect cars that worked out of Legos, made a wind tunnel for 5th grade science project), always dug no-nonsense cars with too little weight and too much horsepower. Think 911RS 2.7 Carrera, Shelby GT350R, Miura Jota, etc...  before I had my license I wanted my BMX bike as stripped and as light as I could get it. Shaved tread off my Comp III tires with a rasp... 
Anyway, got into VW scene at a wierd time, mid-late 80's in SF Bay Area, which was drizzled in all show, little go (except for a handful of cars at the time). Pete Staat's car blew my 16yr old mind @ Pleasanton Bug Bash, though technically it doesn't fit into the Cal Look rulebook. I know I crossed paths with Schwimmer's beige oval @ Baylands, I just don't remember him... but his car was all about what I was kind of looking for, but didn't even know it. Later, I met him, after his cover shot on '90 Hot VW's appearance, either bakersfield or Sears Pt... can't remember, right around same time I first saw DKP "III" cars lined up in Costa Mesa, talk about mind blowage...  Mason's car alone rocked my soul. Just maybe 1 year prior to this whole obsession thing got out of control, Frank and I had come upon old Hot VW's mags, Feb '75 of course, wore a few issues out, 1980 issue with "Berg's Bomb" (G Berg's first incarnation of "Berglar" '67 before 7.5:1), then all the renewal and revival of the Cal Look scene, what early 1990's...1993 at the latest, Volksworld DKPIII issue, VW Trends did a blurb on Dave Rhoads' car, stumbled across Kurlinski's green sleepin' '67 at Jamboree one year. It all snowballed. Confirmed to me that there were other guys that had same mindset as I was looking for.
Sometimes, I think my best memories were waiting in lanes @ Sac or Sears Pt, baking and sweating in the car, waiting, then ripping off a 13 on radials, bumpers, etc... all to the dismay of the V8 Nova that was laughing you down in the pits.
Gotta thank all the "old timers" in DKP III that welcomed me in back in '06, you guys know who you are. Having more fun than ever in the last 24 yr.

[Rick Meredith]

Wait... Stella is a fella?? 

[roland]

Cal-lookers understeer, are noisy, drink a lot of gas, cost a lot to build and maintain but, damn, they are SO MUCH FUN!

In the straights and also in the bends, if you enjoy it for what it is. Wild, raw, pure smoky fun... 

[Rennsurfer]

is it still about, looks like it was a killer car

Thanks for the kind words. I have no idea where the car is now... but just found out that there's a car that fits it's description in the northwest part of the States. Hopefully, my newfound D.M.V. contacts will help me track it down. If I'm lucky enough to be able to buy it back, I'll refinance my house to get it.

Cool stories, everybody, please keep them flowing.

[Rick Meredith]

That would be way cool to find your old sled!

I always dug that car. 

[1957lowlight]

I'm into VW's since 1994 and my car is finished since 1997.  I was still a student back then and I did not have the cash to finish the car the way I wanted but only the year after I debuted the car with 4,5 and 6 inch fuchs wheels and an Empi GTV steering wheel witch was an engagementpresent from my wife Eva (I gave her a ring, she got me an EMPI GTV steering wheel, isn't that great!).  The same year I started collecting parts for my hot 1776cc engine with all Berg parts inside and this car is now still running in Kurt's 67 ruby red ragtop. 
I got in contact with the californialook due to the guys of Der Autobahn Scrapers VW-club Belgium.  In those early days I did go from time to time to their Friday get together at the QUICK restorant in Waterloo.  It were Kobus, Fastfred, the Boss, Mike,the twins, Pat... who were into the look already at that time.  Kobus got his 1964 white callook inported from the states on genuine BRM's before he even had a drivers licence and Fastfred was the first with a stroker engine on IDA's.
I love the look because of it's tradition.  I try to use as much original parts as I can on my car, so it looks like the car is build in the seventies.  I'm certainly not against repro stuff, as this gives the posibility to younger guys to built a very nice callook without braking the bank, but to me, who bought his 4,5 inch original fuchs' for 175 €/wheel (thanks Kobus), I wanted to stick to original.
When I started my intrest in the look in 1994, there weren't a lot of cars in Belgium except for the DAS cars, so I was an early Belgium callooker.
To finish I would like to thank the contributers to the look, as there are the callook only clubs like DKP, DKK, DAS, DFL,... who keeps the callook alive and of course also magazines as Volksworld, Super VW, Hot VW's,... for there efforts in the past and the future.  I would like to thank Ivan Mc Cutcheon for featuring my car in the callook februari edition in 2000.
The thing I discuss regulary with my callook friend of the Flatline Lowriders is that I want them to stick to our love for callook forever, as I want to drive my hot beetle for a long time in the future.  If I look at the pictures of the recent BUG IN 35, I would like it to drive my car when all my hear is grey 
And for what Ivan said about driving the cars even with rear parts on it, I totally agree.  Kurt and I drove our car to Hannover this weekend and that was a 1100 km drive in one weekend and Kurt's car also run's on genuine BRM's and we both drive italian IDA's, so keep on driving them guys!