When did the California Look fever take off in Europe?

[Jim Ratto]

Hi guys, I'm interested when the traditional California Look took off over there? Which country kind of led the way? Has this happened over there before? Or was this increased interest a "new" thing for you guys? I have to say, a lot of the cars that come across the posts here and make the magazine pages are truly nice cars. Where I grew up (Northern California), the traditional California Look thing never really took off, there were a sprinkling of cars, but nothing like it seems like Southern Calif was enjoying. Good to see the appreciation and enthusiasm so strong across the Atlantic.
How much did KS' book have to do with the increase of Cal Look cars over in Europe?

Thanks for sharing your feedback....
Jim Ratto

[lowfastbus]

Jim,

As far as I know cal-look is going strong over here for more than 12-13 years. There were lookers before that but less.
The current trend off the real seventies cal lookers is something off the last 4 or 5 years I think.
The UK showed alot to the rest off Europe with Volksworld and KS bible.  But also in Belgium cal look was strong too from late nineties.

[speedwell]

in france there's some magazine like nitro who talked about cal look in the 80's and nitro mag made two special issue with cal look  to introduced the super vw mag in 87

[Russell]

Jim

I think Cal look was really more like new wave look in europe, pastel paint and lowered to the deck, more custom cars as well, I firmly beleave that with out KS's book we would not have the hard core cal look cars of today, this has been helped by the dedication of the european clubs (no names you know who you are).

I also think that the DKP reunion must have helped raise the profile as well.

IMHO.

[Jim Ratto]

I can imagine, KS' book, did have a somewhat strong influence in what everybody became fascinated with. I remember when I got my copy back in 1995 it was "exactly what I was looking for." Up until then, it was digging through old Hot VW's for old pics of D.K.P. cars and so on. Seeing so many pics provided by guys like Greg Bunch and Ron Fleming etc all in one book, along with stories of "what happened" was like an overload.
What's interesting, is how a segment of the VW hobby, almost has developed a sub-hobby within itself. Yeah, in the 90's, I think some VW guys got sick and tired of the pink and green and flash stuff, and took notice of cars like Schwimmer's etc, and, like myself, realized you could have a tasteful, stock-appearing car that would blow the doors off the wanna-be V8's and so on. Then, I think we all realized, that that "look" matured from the pics in KS's book, you know, from the mid 60's gang, Sarge and Lazenby and those cats, and then the race guys, Ron and Greg Aronson, and the lack of molding, etc... but in the 90's, the hobbyists are still taking note of the "stock-ness" of the DKP III style cars, and more and more of them are built in that vogue...every time I went to the Classic in the 90's it seemed that the 48IDA cars with stock paint, etc, were multiplying like rabbits. So it's going hard core, everybody's taken notice by 1998-99-2000, right?... Maybe not the "pure" traditional Cal Look stuff like the Aronson white '63 and Dave Rhoads green sedan, but those are still to come.... but like KS said in his monumental book, the Cal Look term has been used on most any VW with a lowering job, unfortunately...(which is why I still try to avoid that term)....which is still actually happening. Anyway, how cool is it to see an appreciation of what makes up the scene being appreciated so strongly? Very cool. And this message board, unlike the OTHER ONE is keeping the scene around and keeping the interest strong. Whereas the other site has become a "how do I slam my Bug...tell me for free!" or "what cam and jets and heads and tires and gears and axles and seats and wheels should I run to be Cal Look DRKC car?" you guys here seem to, like myself, be more interested in who, when and why...  not so much "who has the best deal on RLR cages?" or "where do I mount my electric fuel pump?" or "where should I buy my turbo?"
Having a fast hot rodded VW is a sort of way of life that sticks with you. Right?

[ESH]

This board is great, no doubt but please lay off the CLF. Sure it has its faults but it's the board that bought a lot of people together and helped revive things in a big way. Back at the beginning of the forum thing in the Cal-Look world I got to know a few great people and for a guy in Europe starting out that was pretty damn cool. Today there are people with different ideas out there, there are another bunch pushing things forward and there are also some of the guys that are just like a lot of the people here. It's not all good for sure but it's not bad either, I can think of far worse forums with a great many more idiots (and worse than that) on them!

You mentioned Fleming, he still races right and the car he's rolling in isn't exactly Cal-look but it's not an issue is it? 

[louisb]

I don't mind so much the questions of how since its always good not to have to reinvent the wheel. (Though using the search button first is a good idea. RTFW!) I just got tired of it being race, race ,race all the time. Racing is an important part of Cal-look, but so is street. To me its about fast street cars. I find it interesting that you are seeing such high quality fast street cars being built in Europe. A place that usually has much stiffer regulations than in the US.

I think the wide spread popularity of hot rodded VWs would not be what it is without KS's book. The reappearance of fast VWs may have started with cars like those of the early DKP III members, but no one would have known outside of OC without the Bible.

One thing I like about the Euro cars is there is still a lot of diversity. Maybe due to the lack of influence of the DRKC belly button cars you see so much in the US. Or maybe it is that lack of history that has freed them up to be so creative with the Cal-look formula.

--louis

[Zach Gomulka]

It scares me to think where I would be if it wasnt for Keiths book. That was it, changed my life!

[SlingShot]

It scares me to think where I would be if it wasnt for Keiths book. That was it, changed my life!

You probably would be jerkin off with 4x4's And I would be a Vintage Ford Mustang guru. 

[Donny B.]

Some of us actually had our cars done when Keith's book showed up.  I love that book because now I know why I love what I have.

[Rick Meredith]

It scares me to think where I would be if it wasnt for Keiths book. That was it, changed my life!

You probably would be jerkin off with 4x4's And I would be a Vintage Ford Mustang guru. 

 
I have both!

[LuftsickTero]

The UK showed alot to the rest off Europe with Volksworld and KS bible.  But also in Belgium cal look was strong too from late nineties.

UK lead due thanks to Volksworld magazine. I guess Sweden, Norway and Belgium lead the second wave.

The cars that were more like the ones in Hot VWs and VW Trends but still "localized" started to appear in early 90's in Finland, these two pastel coloured beauties were featured in Finnish hot rodding magazine called Street&Race around 1992-94.

[LuftsickTero]

Hey Sven-Olof, when did you guys start with Der Brucken Renners?

[alex d]

I discovered the California Look in 92, when I read the "VW Custom Handbook" by KS (the copy is all torn of too much rereading!), then I started to buy VW magazines, (mostly french Super VW Mag and Volksworld,  HVWs and VW Trends now and then), and learned about DKP III cars, in 96 I bought the bible and then it all made sense 

[streetvw]

the first car to really turn me on to proper cal look was the feature on Hector Bonnilla's bug it just made sense after that it was all about the then termed old school cal look clean subtle quick bugs that was followed by the Volksworld feature on the DKPIII which was soon followed by that book has any other book made such an impact on the scene?

[LuftsickTero]

has any other book made such an impact on the scene?

Probably only this one..

[SOB/RFH]

DBR or Der Bruckenrenners....That is a long story. So I think I will have "to do a Ratto" with a lot of word, sorry for any misspelling.......Well me and some friends built a full tilt Volkswagen street race car back in the late 80's. High elvens and like they did back then among the V8 street racers....we used a big motor (2.6 litre type 4) and Nitrous. I was in to VW's and had a Cal-looker back in 78-82 but sold the car and all my precius hot VW mags. Went on to a big-block 69 Chevelle and did my time street racing. Anyway, I think we were sort of hard core, to speak. I moved on to an other town but kept my car and more importantly my friends. And then one of these coinsidents happen, two guys meet without knowning each other and we have the same idea. The idea was: let's meet at the local McDonalds, hang out and have fun. So here we were, something like 10 guys with a common interest in Volkswagens and we had a lot of fun. Some were in to Beach Buggies and some were in to racing and some were more like racing, street racing, making noice (hooligans?).......So over the time it more and more evolved in to a club, or as we call it, a cospiracy couse we have no resposibillities that comes with a club, just a lot of fun.

All this took place around 1992 so that is the beggining of conspiracy. A few years later, like in 1994 we had about 5 cars doing ET's bellow 14 seconds in the 1/4 mile. The look of our cars had started to get in the same directions.....a little trashy on the outside, lowered and cool wheels........some got hooked by the devil of horsepower while some stayed clear (so we had a few years of the fastest 1600 for those but someone spoiled it like allways happen when there is raicng). Today we are a steady going group of people and more and more cars are faster and they get a better and better look but few gets a paint job. I think we are rather known around the european scene but we are not as hard core and  does not influence as mouch as we did back then. Anyone remeber the trip with Boulevard Bomber to Volksworld show...that was a round trip of near 2000 km in a high 12 second car...that is typcial DBR!!! 

[Neil Davies]

I didn't get into VWs until 1995, but a neighbour gave me some Volksworlds including the one with Dave Rhoads' green '64 in it, and when I got the Feb '96 issue with the Taormina Aronson replica I knew that this was something special. I don't remember seeing a many proper Cal Look bugs about until probably 1999 - up until that point there were the few well known cars but the average bug was still lowered at both ends and looked a bit shit.

[Ivan]

When I started on VolksWorld in 1991, I was into Old School Cal Look and had been collecting the parts to build one - I had all the happy stuff like BRMs, Skat Traks, bla,bla,bla. I was friends with Hector Bonilla - I'd met him when I first went to California and kept in touch via mail - there was no internet or email then.
I got him to send photographs of his car along with Gary Shubrook's red Oval and I wrote the story. This was in March 1992 and was the first 'Old School' feature in VolksWorld - prior to this, well things were very different.
It is also worth mentioning I had been in contact with Flat 4 in Japan since about 1987 and had catalogs from them annually. I had heard they were reproducing the BRM in alloy, and made damn sure VolksWorld was first with the news. I wrote this in the same issue - March 1992, and even went to the trouble of working out what they would cost including shipping, duty and tax for readers.
The next Old School style Bug to be featured was in August 1992. I had news from Flat 4 in Japan about a black '67 which Takashi Komori had built which featured the new repro BRM alloys, I asked them to send photographs over for a feature and so this became the first Japanese feature car in VolksWorld.

I got my '67 in 1992 - within a week it was dumped at the front and on the BRMs - a week later I took it to Bug Jam and had it on display on the VolksWorld stand.
At this stage it was basically stock, but had an EMPI EZR shifter and GT rosewood wheel fitted. It did, however, have the start of the right look, a statement of intent, if you like.

With the help of Hector and Bill sorting things out, Keith Seume shot 11 DKP III cars at El Dorado Park (the same park as the DKP II  cover shoot for Hot VWs June '77) for the February 1993 issue.
And I wrote the feature - with help on the details from Hector. Keith wrote a brief background history on the club at the end of this feature.
In April '93 I slipped photo of one of my five lug Sprints into the news pages.
Around this time Keith was still into his racing, but was also getting heavily into his Vintage VWs - and had bought the green Split Beetle with Okrasa power. Vintage was something we both got heavily into to be honest. The Classic VW magazine series started this year.
In September 1993, I wrote a news piece on page 79 which gave people an update on the '67 project I was working on and showed the front of the car lowered with a BRM wheel on. Page 80 showed the OEM style carpets which were going into the car.
In November 1993 on page 68 I wrote a piece about the Wendy Gordon '65 'DOH 2C' which had been on the cover of Safer Motoring magazine and had Speedwell BRMs an EMPI camber compensator and gauges.

I would say July 1994 is when things really kicked in.

Jan 94 saw Paul Rui's white Old School '62 featured on Sprints - so that would technically make it the first European Old School car in VolksWorld. March '94 had a photograph of Bill Schwimmer's Bug on page 6. April had news on the DKPIII planned race meet at Terminal Island and a full feature on Bernard Newbury trimming the seats of my '67 with plaid centers - something which he'd go on to do a lot of.
We also announced the upcoming 1st VolksWorld Show and the fact my '67 would be complete and on show, along with the Keith Goss chop top Keith had bought at the end of 1993 and had shipped over from So Cal. May saw the report on the show with a photo of the two cars together.
The two VolksWorld cars were on the cover of the June 1994 issue  with the coverline 'Old School UK!' 'Over powered, Over the top and over here...' Dave Mason's '62 was also in this issue - we'd commissioned Mike Key to shoot the car when he went to California. Also in this issue was a feature on the original Speedwell demo car, a '65 with Speedwell BRMs, steering wheel Stromberg CD150 dual carbs and a lot more. The report on the DKPIII race meet at Terminal Island was also in there - I flew over and went along. A awesome experience and a chance to meet some more DKP III members.
Keith had become friends with Bill Schwimmer and in July 1994 we featured Bill's '59 ragtop - Keith had shot the car when he was over in So Cal and wrote the feature. I have to say the photographs were excellent.
Around this time Keith had started to collate material for the California Look VW book.
The most popular style in UK in '95 was Resto Cal and our Feb issue was a Resto Cal special, but by 1995 people were building Old School cars. March saw Dave Rhoads green '64 featured and I put together a comprehensive wheel guide with loads of old wheels. May '95 saw Bernard Newbury's Oval (in it's first form) featured in the VolksWorld Show report. The car was featured in full in June '95.

July 1995 was when we first advertised the California Look VW book in the magazine.

August '95 featured Rick Mortensen's '67 with words and pics from Keith. It also featured a great picture on page 58 of the DKP III club tent with a VolksWorld banner hanging beside the DKP III flag. The cars on display included Dave Rhoads, Bill Schwimmer, Stephan Szantai's Oval and Dave Mason's black bomber.
September '95 included Jean Rene Feller's '60 from France - so that'd be the first French Old School styled Bug we featured.
The December 1995 issue included a group of young and enthusiastic guys from Belgium - who had started a club and had squeaky clean cars, one of which was clearly Old School. The club was, of course the DAS, and the feature includes a photo of a very young pair of twins - Fred and Mike di Placido - The Feb 2008 issue included Fred's latest car - a '63 ragtop see here - http://www.volksworld.com/news/cars/172468/fred-s-1963-ragtop-beetle.html

Before the end of 1995 I became Editor of VolksWorld and in February 1996, having cleared it with Dean Kirsten - VolksWorld published the first California Look Specials. With seven feature cars including Andy Jewels grey Bug which we have just re-featured - again in the 2008 Cal Look Special.

UK built cars were coming out thick and fast, and people were building cars in Belgium, France, Scandanavia and many other countries started to catch on.

I would say the fact Volksworld as a magazine and myself and Keith did so much to promote the style helped fuel the scene in the UK and Europe. Keith's book was published at exactly the right time, and as we all know it has become to many known as the bible. I am still proud to have built and still own the only Bug in this country which is in the book. I think his is probably most important book on VWs in my collection.     
     
Sorry if this reply has gone on a bit, but I thought I'd answer the question from my point of view.
     
         

[louisb]

Great reply, some cool information in there. I guess we shouldn't forget the role the mags played in the Cal-look revival. (As well as the die hards who kept the look going during the 80's and early 90's.) Without them we would all be driving pepto pink lookers with 1641s for power.   

--louis

[Neil Davies]

Ivan, spot on answer!

[alfie the monster]

I was about to say the Volks World DKP III feature along with yours and the Goss chop top feature 

So are you saying it's your fault that it kicked off over here? In which case my bank manager wants a word with you 

[Lids]

whats cal-look? I've never heard of it.  Must ahve passed me by!!!
























































Suckers

[SOB/RFH]

When I started on VolksWorld in 1991, I was into Old School Cal Look and had been collecting the parts to build one - I had all the happy stuff like BRMs, Skat Traks, bla,bla,bla. I was friends with Hector Bonilla - I'd met him when I first went to California and kept in touch via mail - there was no internet or email then.
I got him to send photographs of his car along with Gary Shubrook's red Oval and I wrote the story. This was in March 1992 and was the first 'Old School' feature in VolksWorld - prior to this, well things were very different.
It is also worth mentioning I had been in contact with Flat 4 in Japan since about 1987 and had catalogs from them annually. I had heard they were reproducing the BRM in alloy, and made damn sure VolksWorld was first with the news. I wrote this in the same issue - March 1992, and even went to the trouble of working out what they would cost including shipping, duty and tax for readers.
The next Old School style Bug to be featured was in August 1992. I had news from Flat 4 in Japan about a black '67 which Takashi Komori had built which featured the new repro BRM alloys, I asked them to send photographs over for a feature and so this became the first Japanese feature car in VolksWorld.

I got my '67 in 1992 - within a week it was dumped at the front and on the BRMs - a week later I took it to Bug Jam and had it on display on the VolksWorld stand.
At this stage it was basically stock, but had an EMPI EZR shifter and GT rosewood wheel fitted. It did, however, have the start of the right look, a statement of intent, if you like.

With the help of Hector and Bill sorting things out, Keith Seume shot 11 DKP III cars at El Dorado Park (the same park as the DKP II  cover shoot for Hot VWs June '77) for the February 1993 issue.
And I wrote the feature - with help on the details from Hector. Keith wrote a brief background history on the club at the end of this feature.
In April '93 I slipped photo of one of my five lug Sprints into the news pages.
Around this time Keith was still into his racing, but was also getting heavily into his Vintage VWs - and had bought the green Split Beetle with Okrasa power. Vintage was something we both got heavily into to be honest. The Classic VW magazine series started this year.
In September 1993, I wrote a news piece on page 79 which gave people an update on the '67 project I was working on and showed the front of the car lowered with a BRM wheel on. Page 80 showed the OEM style carpets which were going into the car.
In November 1993 on page 68 I wrote a piece about the Wendy Gordon '65 'DOH 2C' which had been on the cover of Safer Motoring magazine and had Speedwell BRMs an EMPI camber compensator and gauges.

I would say July 1994 is when things really kicked in.

Jan 94 saw Paul Rui's white Old School '62 featured on Sprints - so that would technically make it the first European Old School car in VolksWorld. March '94 had a photograph of Bill Schwimmer's Bug on page 6. April had news on the DKPIII planned race meet at Terminal Island and a full feature on Bernard Newbury trimming the seats of my '67 with plaid centers - something which he'd go on to do a lot of.
We also announced the upcoming 1st VolksWorld Show and the fact my '67 would be complete and on show, along with the Keith Goss chop top Keith had bought at the end of 1993 and had shipped over from So Cal. May saw the report on the show with a photo of the two cars together.
The two VolksWorld cars were on the cover of the June 1994 issue  with the coverline 'Old School UK!' 'Over powered, Over the top and over here...' Dave Mason's '62 was also in this issue - we'd commissioned Mike Key to shoot the car when he went to California. Also in this issue was a feature on the original Speedwell demo car, a '65 with Speedwell BRMs, steering wheel Stromberg CD150 dual carbs and a lot more. The report on the DKPIII race meet at Terminal Island was also in there - I flew over and went along. A awesome experience and a chance to meet some more DKP III members.
Keith had become friends with Bill Schwimmer and in July 1994 we featured Bill's '59 ragtop - Keith had shot the car when he was over in So Cal and wrote the feature. I have to say the photographs were excellent.
Around this time Keith had started to collate material for the California Look VW book.
The most popular style in UK in '95 was Resto Cal and our Feb issue was a Resto Cal special, but by 1995 people were building Old School cars. March saw Dave Rhoads green '64 featured and I put together a comprehensive wheel guide with loads of old wheels. May '95 saw Bernard Newbury's Oval (in it's first form) featured in the VolksWorld Show report. The car was featured in full in June '95.

July 1995 was when we first advertised the California Look VW book in the magazine.

August '95 featured Rick Mortensen's '67 with words and pics from Keith. It also featured a great picture on page 58 of the DKP III club tent with a VolksWorld banner hanging beside the DKP III flag. The cars on display included Dave Rhoads, Bill Schwimmer, Stephan Szantai's Oval and Dave Mason's black bomber.
September '95 included Jean Rene Feller's '60 from France - so that'd be the first French Old School styled Bug we featured.
The December 1995 issue included a group of young and enthusiastic guys from Belgium - who had started a club and had squeaky clean cars, one of which was clearly Old School. The club was, of course the DAS, and the feature includes a photo of a very young pair of twins - Fred and Mike di Placido - The Feb 2008 issue included Fred's latest car - a '63 ragtop see here - http://www.volksworld.com/news/cars/172468/fred-s-1963-ragtop-beetle.html

Before the end of 1995 I became Editor of VolksWorld and in February 1996, having cleared it with Dean Kirsten - VolksWorld published the first California Look Specials. With seven feature cars including Andy Jewels grey Bug which we have just re-featured - again in the 2008 Cal Look Special.

UK built cars were coming out thick and fast, and people were building cars in Belgium, France, Scandanavia and many other countries started to catch on.

I would say the fact Volksworld as a magazine and myself and Keith did so much to promote the style helped fuel the scene in the UK and Europe. Keith's book was published at exactly the right time, and as we all know it has become to many known as the bible. I am still proud to have built and still own the only Bug in this country which is in the book. I think his is probably most important book on VWs in my collection.     
     
Sorry if this reply has gone on a bit, but I thought I'd answer the question from my point of view.
     
         

Hey Ivan

At the time of the early 90's i got my street racer Volkswagen in print in Volkworld....Dark grey exterior and black wheels and brown tinte windows.......I still remember being called "psychopath" due to the all out aim for the car......That was the first feature of a DBR car ever!!

Happiness is a Hot VW!!

[lee-maynard]

I think HOTROD MAGAZINE OCT 1981 was the defining moment for me.

[Russell]

Guys

I agree with Ivan almost 99% But to be fair back in 87 with Custom Car "VWxyz" when keith had the fastback it was done in cal look style straight paint, dechromed, empi5s and how can we forget Colins red 68 it was again cal look style, both these cars along with a few others (ritchie king had one) were really where it started, all be it very slowly.

Theres no doubt your 67 is one of the coolest cal lookers in the UK and was away ahead of its time !!!! Or did you actually copy Arnie Molhmans ? Only Joking ! ha,ha

[Georg/DFL]

Jim, I guess Ivan gave the answer. Volksworld (Keith and Ivan) played a leading roll in promoting the real Cal Look. Up until that time every pastell colored, lowered beetle was called a Cal Looker in Germany - and everywhere else in Europe.

When I begann to work for VW SPEED magazine in 1996, there has been no real Looker in any of the german Custom or VW magazines. I knew readers would not accept that style, if the car we feature has foreign licence plates. Luckily I knew of a car in Germany that was build in the traditionell way: dechromed, 70s color, big IDA typ 1 engine. The car belonged to Michael Hess and is now in the possession of Xavier Adam from DAS. The problem was: Before Michael got the 67 (that used to be a 84) TUV legal, he sold it to Belgium. That must have been around '96. So I had no proper german car to promote the Look in Germany.

The second german car in the true California Look spirit was Christian Veits 65, running on sprint stars, lowered front, t-bars but missing a big engine at that time. He is one of the founding members of DFL but not active anymore.

The first german Looker VW SPEED featured (before any other german magazine featured one) was Walter Jelineks 66 as late as the year 2000. That car was more of a 90s Looker with stock body, but it got all the other goodies. Car ran 12s on the quarter.

When we started DFL in 1997 we would have never thought about Cal Look getting that big in Germany. Today it's one of the most popular styles in the german aircooled vw scene.

Looking forward seeing you this summer at the Classic!
Cheers,

Georg

[Jim Ratto]

Thanks Georg, I agree I think KS and Ivan had much to do with the spread of the craze. I think Stephan S. had much to do with it too, with his articles and photography. Yep see you this year in Irvine!

Jim

[Frank LUX]

Personally I think clubs like, DFL, DBS, DKT, Bahnstorners and off corse DAS played a major Role in promoting the Real California Look Cars over here in Europe...

Sorry if i Forgot any Club...

Frank

[Georg/DFL]

Frank, I think you didn't forget one - these were the clubs promoting the style big time.

But you have to agree that - I guess - every member of these clubs was inspired by the articles in Volksworld and through Keith's California Look VW book.