Lost History -- The Mark Dean '67

[56BLITZ]

Thanks to Stephan and Brian Plummer we  finally have a picture of Mark Dean's '67.

For me personally, this car was one of the biggest influences in how I perceive Cal-Look. It was built in the late '70s. The color was a Datsun/Nissan color but I can't remember the name of it. Everything on the car was color coded. It looked like the whole car was dipped in a vat of paint.

Stephan sent me 2 scans of the car from the original magazine article. I did the best I could to stitch the the scans together but there is obviously a section missing. I also tweaked the color to match what I remember the color to be.

[ Attachment: You are not allowed to view attachments ]

Wow! I am brand-new to the forum and breakin’ the rules already with my first post! I bumped this dusty, old thread because it seemed like a good place for my introduction and I think maybe I can add some worthwhile info on the details and history of my car. I gotta get this written down before I forget . . . I’m not getting any younger!  Lol!

First of, a big thanks Rick fer starting this thread and for posting the scan of that pic from the magazine . . . I have never seen it before joining The Cal-Look Lounge! It blows me away you remember it so well! And thanks to everyone for the positive complements on the car I built.

I happened to find the forum last weekend, and since then, I’ve been doin’ some reminiscing about my cars and the ol’ days . . . GOOD TIMES fer sure!
 I dug out a bunch of my old photos and memorabilia, and if ya don’t mind, I’ll share them here. I can tell ya all the background on the ‘67 and my recollections of the Cal-look scene from the mid-seventies to the early-eighties as it pertained to my experiences with this car . . . at various times, two stroker-engines, two paint jobs, two interiors, two VW clubs, and a whole lotta fun! I’m lookin’ forward to hangin’ out with you folks and I’ll get some photos posted after I get them scanned.

[ Attachment: You are not allowed to view attachments ]

[LuftsickTero]

For me personally, this car was one of the biggest influences in how I perceive Cal-Look. It was built in the late '70s. The color was a Datsun/Nissan color but I can't remember the name of it. Everything on the car was color coded. It looked like the whole car was dipped in a vat of paint.

Welcome to the forum, your '67 is among my favourite Cal Lookers and so far I've only seen the picture in the first page. Looking forward in seeing/learning more

[speedwell]

welcome to the lounge , enjoy the place ,

fabs 

[Stephan S]

Hi Mark! I'm a huge fan of your car.
See you at Nick's Burgers on the 5th? Bring your photos!

[Rick Meredith]

MARK!! How the heck are you!!

PM Sent!!

[Dan Mazur]

Another pic for the DKK guys... That's Dan Meiser's [spelling?] late-model Bug, which belonged to DKK. Pic is taken from Rod et Custom Magazine (June 1982). This was the very first "real" article about the California Look in France. It explained how to build such a car - this is where it all started for me. I absolutely love this car & may build a tribute some day.
All cars featured in the 2-page article belonged to DKK. Note Low Riders in the background.

Thank you Stephan!!

And thank you Rick for remembering my last name!

[Nico86]

Welcome to The Lounge Mark 

[Rennsurfer]

Welcome to The Lounge, Mark. Somewhere in my photo albums... I have a picture of your '67 and my orange '66 when we showed our cars at a VW event (Bug-In?) from the early eighties. Good to see you on here.

[DKK Ted]

Welcome Mark to the Lounge.

Ted

[DKK Ted]

Finally, Bruno Courbon's timeless 23-Window Bus, built around 1986 - one of the first "Cal Look Buses" in France.

Who said Buses can't be Cal-Look, very clean bus. Any more pics of it, and the inside?

Ted

[56BLITZ]

Thanks guys, for the warm welcome . . . you’re awesome!

Somewhere in my photo albums... I have a picture of your '67 and my orange '66 when we showed our cars at a VW event (Bug-In?) from the early eighties. 

If ya ever run across it Mark, I'd love to see it!

[56BLITZ]

I’m going to start at  the beginning for the story on my ‘67 . . .
A short time after the Feb. ‘75 Hot VWs  “Cal Look” article hit the stands, my brother, John, taught me how to drive a four-speed in his nearly-new Beetle.  That was before I had a learners permit and his car was not yet DUMPER, but just another ‘73 Super Beetle. It was that early driving experience combined with the magazine article that affected me so profoundly . . . I was hooked and I HAD to have my own VW.
In December 1977, after looking at several cars, I bought an oval sunroof that was a stillborn cal-look project. It had no engine, so I decided to take care of that first. John and Jon Chabot helped me build a stroker . . . a 76mm crank, N.P.R. 90mm pistons (1934cc) stock d/p heads topped with 48IDAs on short manifolds and a single Quiet-pack muffler. I would eventually find that my engine made enough power to break stock transaxles at will, but since the oval-window needed a bunch more work, I was unable to try it out.
 That was about to change. Early in 1978, my brother offered to help a co-worker. The guy had a Bug with a bad engine . . . spun rod bearing. They broght the car to John’s house, pulled the engine out and disassembled it, then the car sat in the driveway. It took only a month or two for the guy to decide to sell the Bug. Perfect!  A clean, complete ‘67 just waiting for a new engine. In May 1978, I paid $350 for the car, and in just a few weeks, I was cruising. By the end of the year, I became a member of DVB.

This is the earliest pic I found. The chrome wheels (with 135s and 185-70s) and black T-Bars came from my oval. The side and hood trim was shaved; the chrome head light rings and front marker lights were painted black; the brake drums were painted light blue. Note the Talbot mirror and roll bar. Not sure, but I think this photo was taken by a fellow DVB member as I was leaving his house. The car was indeed lowered in the front (we removed the 6 half torsion leaves from the beam), but the worn-out shocks let the suspension rise to stock height during this burn-out. I really dig the tire smoke! [ Attachment: You are not allowed to view attachments ]

[56BLITZ]

I had preferred parking while at work . . . this is in front of European (known later as Street Scene) in Anaheim. The shop was right around the corner from my brother’s house and he stopped by often. John took this photo. It’s easy to see the fresh body work and new fenders (note; the front marker lights are gone), but you have to look close to tell that the front fenders are fiberglass. Wink mirrors were quite popular at that time and my car had one. Oh, and look Ma . . . no license plate!
The green truck is a rotary engine Mazda . . . before he had this shop, Jon Chabot would sell VW parts out of the back of his truck at the Orange Drive-in swap meet. That’s where my brother and I first met Jon. [ Attachment: You are not allowed to view attachments ]

[Rennsurfer]

Somewhere in my photo albums... I have a picture of your '67 and my orange '66 when we showed our cars at a VW event (Bug-In?) from the early eighties.  

If ya ever run across it Mark, I'd love to see it!

Mark, I don't remember your '67 having a factory pear shaped side mirror... but is that your car to the left of mine in this photo that I took?


Great story on your car, Mark! Keep the words and pictures flowing, please. Those were fun days.

[Rick Meredith]

Keep it coming Mark. 

BTW what's up with your brothers?

[56BLITZ]

Rick, thanks for askin’ about my bros. Gary and John are hangin’ in there, but not really into the VWs anymore. I get to see each of them about ten times a year.

Man, you work fast Mark . . . thanks fer posting the pic. Your car is lookin’ really good there!
You are correct, that’s not my ‘67, but it sure looks like it could be a twin, doesn’t it? One of the first additions I made to my car was the Talbot mirror, and once it was in place, I never looked back at the stock mirror again!

I found this in a box in my attic . . . the only original part that I have off of my bug. This is the glove box door that was in the car when those first two photos were taken. I’m sure I saved it because of the dash plaques.
When we were in the VW club, there were  five, no, only four excuses that would be acceptable reasons for missing a Bug-In. But then again, why would you NOT want to go . . . the Bug-Ins were a BLAST! As much as I enjoyed the Bug-Ins though, I really, really looked forward to the navigational rallies. Following those goofy instructions was fun, but challenging! It would be something like this . . .

navigator-“okay, we’re on a roll....... that’s three down, thirty-one more to go!
driver-“so what’s next?”
navigator-“we need to count the telephone poles up to the next intersection.”
driver-“then what?”
navigator-“if the number of poles is even, turn right. If the number is odd, go straight.”
driver-“you’re not counting! didn’t we pass the first pole already?”
navigator-“uh.............uh...................uh, did we?”
driver-“I don’t know!!!!!! I’m asking you!”


[ Attachment: You are not allowed to view attachments ] Check the dates on those dash plaques. I collected all of them before I bought the car! I rode with my brother John to those Bug-ins and navigated for him on those rallies. As soon as I got the ‘67, I displayed these dash plaques on the glove box door, but interestingly, all the dash plaques I collected while driving my car went into a box at home. Go figure! [ Attachment: You are not allowed to view attachments ]

[Rennsurfer]

Sorry 'bout that... I didn't know that we had a car that looked like yours with color coded door handles. We had so many cars in D.K.K. it's hard to remember 'em all. Especially NOW. HAHA!!

Great posts and pictures, Mark. So stoked to hear from you after all of these years. I dig the glove box door, too. That's the only part of my orange car that I kept, too, for the same reason. Was your car originally Zenith Blue? Hope that your brothers are doing good. You guys all had some really nice cars and were fun to hang out with.

[speedwell]

mark , check this tread there's some pictures of DKK and some of your brothers(page 3 ,etc..) , like dumpers , red notch , oval on empi 5 etc...

rgd
fabs

[Rick Meredith]

The rallies were always a ton of fun... Especially the party at the end!

[Nico86]

Thanks for sharing stories and pics guys 

[Stephan S]

Thanks for sharing stories and pics guys 

Good stuff, indeed!

That was Mark Kessinich sp?  also known as Fred have'nt seen him or the car for years  (decades). I am pretty sure  Mark Dean worked @ Street Scene in Anaheim.

It would be neat to see him again. I went to Long Beach State at that time and would always go across the street to hang out. He was friends with Ray Zimmerman, whom I went to high school with. He was a sqareback guy.

Yeah, who is that Mark/Fred guy? 

[Rennsurfer]

Yeah, who is that Mark/Fred guy? 

No one, really... just a guy that people love to hate.

I'm quite alright with that, 'cause it means I'm living my life correctly and having the most fun possible.

 

Mr. Dean, please do continue with the great photos/stories. Hey, a few of us DEEKS from D.K.K. are going to VW Drag Day this Sunday... do you still live in So Cal?

[Rick Meredith]

Yeah, who is that Mark/Fred guy? 

Mr. Dean, please do continue with the great photos/stories. Hey, a few of us DEEKS from D.K.K. are going to VW Drag Day this Sunday... do you still live in So Cal?

X2... If you can make it, we'd love to see you Mark

[56BLITZ]

Have you noticed how time flies? I have been meaning to post more photos of my old  ‘67, but I have been busy gathering parts for a new project. In case yer interested, I bought another oval window. A guy can never have too many projects, right? Anyways, here’s a couple more stories for ya ...

Cruisin’ Van Nuys Blvd

Don, my good buddy/partner-in-crime/life-long friend,  spent as much time in, around , and under the ‘67 as anybody, except maybe me. We had a lot of fun cruising in it at Whittier Blvd. and we went every chance we could. One night, however, Don and I decided to make a run up to the legendary Van Nuys Blvd. cruise. We got a little bit of a late start because I did some work to the
car before we left . . . I think it was an oil change. Seems like it took over an hour to get there, and it was way after eleven when we started cruising. We had made just a few passes when I thought it would be a good idea to leave my mark . . . you know, a burnout  I revved it up, dumped the clutch, and BANG! A busted transaxle, right there in the middle of Van Nuys Blvd.! At midnight!
Don and I pushed the car to the side of the street and I gave a call to my brother John. He was cool about driving up to help us, but he made it a point to make sure that I did not “try” another stock transaxle in my car. I had Don Strong at Der Transaxle go through my gearbox so it would hold up to my abuse. Never had another transmission problem after that!


The Crush

So . . . there was this really cute girl that lived in my neighborhood at the end of my block. While in grade school, I had been invitied to he house for her birthday parties and other occasions, but I was not smart enough to “make a move”, so we stayed simply “just friends”. Later, during high school, she started dating some dude and one day while passing her house, I saw his wheels in her driveway. It was a MINI-TRUCK! Well, I was ready to impress, so as I went around the corner, I opened-up the 48s, dumped the clutch, immediately spun-out! I ended up going over the curb in front of her house and stopped in her front yard . . . OOPS!
Fortunately, the doll was gone with him, in her car. Unfortunatlly, I limped home with a bent beam, bent wheels, flat tires, and wasted fiberglass fenders and apron.

That was what it took to make me finally get paint on the ‘67!
Our good friend, Gerhart Eschbach agreed to help me with the bodywork on my Beetle . . . these photos (circa 1978) were taken at his home . . .


Getting there . . .
[ Attachment: You are not allowed to view attachments ]
[ Attachment: You are not allowed to view attachments ]
Shaved on the inside also . . .
[ Attachment: You are not allowed to view attachments ]
[ Attachment: You are not allowed to view attachments ]

[56BLITZ]

That's Gerhart's Bug parked in his front yard. Stock engine, stock interior, two-piece Empi eight spokes, and LOW! I was totally stoked he let me drive it to school one day while he was working on my car! [ Attachment: You are not allowed to view attachments ]

[56BLITZ]

Jerry Seivers at Paint-N-Place sprayed the Datsun Mediterranean blue single-stage enamel.
[ Attachment: You are not allowed to view attachments ]

Those are the NOS Empi 5-spokes that my brother John found for me . . . I gladly paid fifty dollars each for them!
[ Attachment: You are not allowed to view attachments ]

Aluminum dash panels I made in my high school shop class are bolted in with counter-sunk Allen bolts. Polished fire extinguisher under the dash. And dig the five-band graphic equalizer for the cassette stereo!
[ Attachment: You are not allowed to view attachments ]

[Rick Meredith]

Awesome Mark. Great to see it in process. That car is one of my top 5 influences.

[56BLITZ]

Didn't Mark's car have polished Empi  5-spokes before the Porsche alloys?

Kevan

Kevan, you have a good memory! The Empis were actually painted silver on the spokes. This photo was taken during the transition. Here, the Ghia disc-brake front end is about to go in. Also note . . . in the garage under the cover is my '56 waiting for the Five-Spokes. I don’t remember how long I drove the ‘67 with ‘half-n-half’ wheels like that, but when I put the Empis on my Oval-window, they were silver on one side and gold on the other . . . it took my neighbor weeks to figure out that it was the same car!

[ Attachment: You are not allowed to view attachments ]

Deep 15X6 Fuchs pollished by Charlie Sihilling . . .
The fronts were 15x5.5
[ Attachment: You are not allowed to view attachments ]

[56BLITZ]

I drove that ‘64 around for a short time. It had a 1641 Kadron motor built entirely with core parts I got while working at Street Scene. Check out the plates on my cars. . . only 202 numbers apart! Fullerton DMV probably registers that many cars in a day or two. [ Attachment: You are not allowed to view attachments ]

[Fastbrit]

Very cool photos and memories!