Led Zep's # 1 fan: The John Rayburn Thread

[Jim Ratto]

Check out John's new wheels.....  while I always liked his car with the old Empi's, I think the JGE rims absolutely suit his car perfectly. Nice choice John!

I stole the pic from The Sarge Archives.

Very cool old car, John.... how long has it been in your family? tell us some stories about you and  your car.....  back in the 90's I remember your car running 94 x 78.. w/ 130 cam, 48 DRLA's (trademark Rayburn red linkage ), etc? Was that the car's first big motor?

[63 ripper]

looks cool. how did you get them to work with disc brakes ?

[nicolas]

OK i heard a rumour about a rebuild or a freshing up. so spill the beans please 

[Jim Ratto]

yeah well I heard a rumor he is painting this on the side of the car

[Stephan S]

LOVE the new look, John!

[John Rayburn]

I'm glad the new look has been so well received! Thank You! My father bought my car new in October of 1963, and I came home from the maternity hospital in Lakewood Calif, as a newborn in that same car. My very first memories on the planet revolve around being in or around it. I used to ride behind the back seat when all five of us were going somewhere. The mystery to this day, is how a Germany bound car ended up at a California Dealership? The car was ordered, but never delivered to a VW factory employee. My Dad ended up as the first owner. VW records don't sort any of this out. Anyway, my big brother was supposed to get the car, but ended up buying his EMPI demonstrator from Timmons VW in Long Beach, and that meant I was next in line, as our sister had gotten a real nice 71 Beetle with an EMPI mahogony GT steering wheel. I started working on the car in '79. The first things that went on the car were a set of Koni adjustable rear shocks ( still on the car) ,a Hurst shifter, and a set of Michelin 135's, along with a lowering job from my friend Dave. It didn't take long for the original 40 horse to break the crank, so the first " built engine was a 1385cc ( 40 horse with big bore kit) an engle 100 and single weber. First trip down the street was my first speeding ticket! Most of the racing at Bug Ins was don via a 1700 with 110 and 44 IDF's, and fooled around with a 1900 type 4 that we converted upright. That thing could climb walls, but very short winded. The 78 stoke X 94 was a great engine that I drove daily for years. The car ran consistent low thirteens through a set of Denham non welded heads. When I wanted more power, and started looking into a crank, Dave Rhoads, said he needed my crank, rods , flywheel, etc for a project, so worked a deal for building the 84 X 94 in exchange for my parts. Jeff built me a new set of heads and everything has made a pretty reliable 206 horsepower for the last several years with just one freshening up , just recently. My car ran EMPI five spokes for about 9 or ten years when I made the change to the sprintstars, for what I call " safety reasons" . Some know the exploding wheel story. I always loved the D spoke wheels, but could never hook up with a set until Joe Gallagher made these beautiful copies. I needed to take the Porsche brakes off , and was able to get them to clear a set of AC discs. Luckily, before I bought the discs, Bill Schwimmer let me mock things up on his to see if the whole thing was feasable. It was. I had to produce a half inch spacer and do some clearancing to the caliper bracket and calliper, but it all worked nicely, and was pretty straight forward an operation once all the measuring was done. The car really stops well!

[Rennsurfer]

Wait just a dog-gone minute... isn't that same car that pretty much lived in the Long Beach Auto Haus parking lot in the early '80s?

 

John, the new wheels look great. Good seeing it in person, the other night.

[John Rayburn]

Spent alot of time gawking at EMPI catalogues didn't we Mark?

[Rennsurfer]

Spent alot of time gawking at EMPI catalogues didn't we Mark?

Yeah, that... and other "things." (coughcarwashcough) Nice to see that I'm not the only American that spells catalogue that way.

[John Rayburn]

Mark and his GIANT binoculars!!!!!!!!

[Rennsurfer]

Mark and his GIANT binoculars!!!!!!!!

Naw, I never had to bring mine to the shop. Those were Mike's (the owner's son). Back on topic... how did you make number one Zep' fan? I guess that makes me number two. Hard to believe that someone listens to Zep' more than me. We've got serious issues. I keep tellin' my girlfriend that.

 

[jamiep_jamiep]

I was listening to the second album on the way to work this morning... just awesome!!!

Your car looks awesome on the wheels John, I'm considering a set for mine if I ever get sick of cheapo BRM copies! What are they like weight wise? I know modern alloys can sometimes weigh more than the car they're trying to push along the road, but I used to own a set of their raders and they were pretty light wheels...

[Rick Meredith]

I hate to see the Sprint Stars go but it looks pretty bitchin' with its new shoes! 

[speedwell]

I hate to see the Sprint Stars go but it looks pretty bitchin' with its new shoes! 

i hope that mine will looks the same with the d spokes too

[John Rayburn]

I was listening to the second album on the way to work this morning... just awesome!!!

Your car looks awesome on the wheels John, I'm considering a set for mine if I ever get sick of cheapo BRM copies! What are they like weight wise? I know modern alloys can sometimes weigh more than the car they're trying to push along the road, but I used to own a set of their raders and they were pretty light wheels...

                                                          I make them out on the scale at home at about 14 lbs. per wheel. They feel lighter with tire than a Sprint without one. You have to listen to the third all the way through now, I love the raw , relaxed feel. Like sitting in on a session!

[Jim Ratto]

Zep III was my favorite album for a long time in HS. Actually it was a toss up between Physical Graffiti and III. PG had such a wide range and texture of songs (plus the cassette tape was so long on each side....awesome for road trips), but III had such a gentle, kind of pastoral feel on the 2nd side.... "Tangerine", "That's the Way".... etc, though my fave song on that album has to be Out on the Tiles.... pure Zep rock!

now I would have to say my favorite album is Zep I for all the good memories it brings back from when I was younger.

[Bewitched666]

Moby Dick rules

[John Rayburn]

A clients daughter was parading around the house today in a Zeppelin 1 T-shirt while I mural up her bedroom. She said she had just taken a college class on the history of Rock and became a huge fan... She hasn't even heard half the songs yet. I guess there is hope for today's youth!!!!

[javabug]

What's the mural for her room...Houses of the Holy album cover?

[nicolas]

A clients daughter was parading around the house today in a Zeppelin 1 T-shirt while I mural up her bedroom. She said she had just taken a college class on the history of Rock and became a huge fan... She hasn't even heard half the songs yet. I guess there is hope for today's youth!!!!

hey i have seen Lez Deppelin t-shirts a lot over the past year with skaters. seems like they are starting another trend as always... right fred? seems they have caught up with the good songs that have been put in some skaters parts in recent years. always weird to see that what skaters do to be their own ends up being mainstream...  now think about that. 

[Rennsurfer]

hey i have seen Lez Deppelin t-shirts a lot over the past year with skaters. seems like they are starting another trend as always... right fred?

Yep. Over the last couple of years, more Zep' shirts on kids at the skateparks, for sure. Kids are realizing that a lot of the new stuff is junk. My two sons listen to Zep', late '70s punk, and the early '80s stuff (Police, Split Enz, etc.) and early '90s grunge (S.T.P. Soundgarden, etc) Our iPods almost mirror one another. They just don't like any of the new releases. The only thing I can't get 'em to listen to are Louie Prima, Frank Sinatra, and Ray Charles. Maybe when they're older, yes? HAHA!!

[John Rayburn]

What's the mural for her room...Houses of the Holy album cover?

                                         She's a big fan of Europe, so I'm putting Big Ben and cityscape on one wall with the Eifel Tower and City scape on the opposing wall, with the channel connecting the two.

[ESH]

... She's a big fan of Europe ...

That's nothing to be proud of! 



 

[Neil Davies]

Damn, Mat beat me to it!

[Rennsurfer]

Whoa, full-throttle AquaNet™ Brigade.

Let us properly adjust the retinas back to a normal state of being, shall we?



There... I believe that should restore the thread back to it's rightful dignity and honor.

 

[Neil Davies]

I've said on here before about Robert Plant - he drinks in one of the pubs in town, and my girlfriend just knows him as that bloke from The Varsity who's in a band...

[ESH]

Imagine coming round and finding out that at some time in the last how ever long it was you'd acquired a Boeing. Rock and Roll baby!

 

[nicolas]

so we are still talking about Europe, right?
at least one of them has a better hairstyle!  or is this material for the weightsavingtread again?

[javabug]

You guys have really derailed this thread...

...let's get back on track talking about girls wearing nothing but Led Zeppelin t-shirts.   

[Jim Ratto]

A clients daughter was parading around the house today in a Zeppelin 1 T-shirt while I mural up her bedroom. She said she had just taken a college class on the history of Rock and became a huge fan... She hasn't even heard half the songs yet. I guess there is hope for today's youth!!!!

I think the lure of Zeppelin, for the masses, comes and goes in waves. Every 10 years or so I'll see an outbreak of scraggly looking pre-teens and teens donning Zeppelin t-shirts. But, for some, like me, they will always have a spot or two in my changer. I first got into them around 1982 when my aunt lent me her Zep II record and I wore the grooves out of it. All through high school it was Zep all the way, only topped in the last year by Floyd, after borrowing a friend's "Piper at the gates of Dawn" cassette.

oh yeah, this is a VW forum. Sorry....  squeeze my lemon for getting off track.