The Old Days

[Sarge]

After looking at some of the pics from DKK Lisa, I got to thinking about the old days and some of the stuff we used to do.  One time we all cruised up to Universal Studios for the day.  Wish I'd taken more pics.  The first is a shot of strongman Danny Czapla hurling a giant bolder.  Next, Mark Thurber, John Lazenby and Christie, Jim Brooks and your truly spend some time in jail... Thurbs looks like he could use a beer.  Last is Sharon in the blocks...

[Sarge]

After the club called it quits, Aronson and Thurber decided to go in halves on a ski boat which they aptly named Half & Half.  The place to be was at Buckskin on the Colorado River.  The park rules stated no more then six per cabana, but somehow it always turned into a mob.  Half & Half was short lived... the Hilborn injected 396 was a pain to start so Greg built a reserve fuel tank with an auxillary pump to prime the injectors.  One day at Elsinore he neglected to turn the pump switch off and the engine caught fire.  The boat sank in minutes.  The fastest sensation of speed I've ever felt in my life was in the passenger seat of American Pie... unbelievable!

[Wünderwolff]

I absolutely love the boats, used to subsribe to Hot Boats solely for the flatbottoms and shovels. Almost bought a sanger here in europe, but the engine was too far gone and the price was too high.

This is the reason by the way for my interest in VW, I was planning (still am) to build a small European Flatbottom V-drive, and what better engine than a flat four to build it with. So I started buying magazines and was instantly hooked to all the other aspects besides the engine.

I have some parts lying around to start this project: seats, industrial engine to be rebuilt, waterproof magneto, bellhousing from a pump and most importantly a small V-drive, good for up to 100 horses. Biggest holdback is the boat itself, need to design and mold a boat from scratch.

[BeetleBug]

NICE!! friends, sun, drinks, fun, water and boats.... soon we can do the same here.

[Fastbrit]

I'd heard about Greg's legendary boatzilla – those tall injectors look oh so cool. What a ride that must have been.

[ESH]

Not sure what for but I need a boat like that!       

Great pics. 

[Lee.C]

NICE!! friends, sun, drinks, fun, water and boats.... soon we can do the same here.

And VW's Just like last year hey dude 

AWSOME pic's Sarge 

[Sarge]

Ah, the halcyon days of life at the River.   The grassy area between the cabanas and the water was the site of many a heated volleyball match.  I almost lost the Datsun pickup once while launching the boat (the moss on the concrete boat ramp and the wide, dry tread T/A radials were not a good match ).  Then there were the trips down river to Fox's for two-for-one drinks in the afternoon .  The noise from the injector stacks made talking impossible and you didn't want to get too close to those hot exhaust manifolds, either.  Here's a couple more shots... that's Jim Holmes in the first shot shortly after the boys bought the boat.  Elsinore was and still is a mud hole of a place, but it is closer to home and a good place to test out new improvements... several good lakeside bars, too .  In the second shot L-R is Jeff Aronson, Greg, and the Thurbs... dig them white shades!  One last piece of pie... a few weeks after I got my ride, the boat suffered a broken steering lanyard and sank but was able to be salvaged.  What I remember most was there was nothing to hold on to, the back of the seat barely came up past the top of my ass (constant worry about winding up plastered against a hot motor), the roar from the 454" nitrous fed motor and my vision being a blur... more SPEED captain!

[BeetleBug]

Have to ask.. please excuse me for being so narrow minded; what speed did you guys manage to push those boats up to?

[javabug]

How cool is the picture of Ms. Sharon with shiny injector stacks in the bottom corner???   

Thanks for the pics...ya can't beat the light & vibe from images of that era.

[nicolas]

Have to ask.. please excuse me for being so narrow minded; what speed did you guys manage to push those boats up to?

i know why you ask that question 

[Sarge]

Have to ask.. please excuse me for being so narrow minded; what speed did you guys manage to push those boats up to?

Hard to say... there actually is a speed limit on the river and there were plenty of warnings (police boats that appear out of nowhere).  The American Pie hydro once pulled a barefoot waterskier through the quarter mile at Long Beach Marine Stadium at 104 miles per hour (which, by my calculations, would feel like close to 200 mph... the "sensation" of speed on the water is mind boggling).  As for Half & Half, it was fast enough to get your attention!

[speedwell]

  nice boat  and pictures bro  thx for sharing

fabs

[Jim Ratto]

DKP band of gypsies...  having way too much fun AGAIN  ...  very cool Sarge... keep the history coming. We love it

[louisb]

Cool pics. And once again I have to wonder how a misfit like Sarge managed to land a babe like Sharon. 

Speaking of almost losing a truck launching a boat, I had that happen. We forgot to take the tie down straps off the boat that connected it to the back of the trailer. Put the boat in the water and noticed that the trailer was floating under it. 

--louis

[TOM / EINHEIT 11]

  oh cheeezzzzz. i m sitting in my garage and read the storys about the past in K.S last cal - look book. Im not the guy U would name,,Sissy ,, but i can tell U, the storys & pics gives me  ,,goosebumps,, each time. Now U post some cool pics with boats on this topic Sarge....and.....do U know what? i remember the time ( 1989 -1993 ) i raced my 454 Hemi powered ,, nutshell ,, up at ,, Castaic Lake ,, and my skin starts again to pimple. ! I will post some pics in near future.

Thanx to all U ,, grey barb ,, cal-look legends for all the cool storys from the past......................it makes me feel like ,, exist to live ,,

greetz from switzerland

TOM

www.einheit11volkswagenclub.blogspot.com

[Sarge]

Thanks for the kind words, guys!  Of all the friends I've made over the years with VW's one of the best is Jim Holmes.  From the early days at Fullerton Junior College to today, we've shared a lot of good times.  One of Jim's favorite hobbies was building and flying model planes.  He had a job with Cox and later landed a job at Disneyland flying airplanes in a fenced off area of Tomorrowland; a pretty cool accomplishment.  Here's a pic of a nice single wing he built and, with the help of Greg Aronson, flew with amazing dexterity.  Jim also had an amazing green thumb back in the '70's... everybody SMILE .  The bike shot was taken on the Santa Ana River Trail and was what got me into cycling...

[Lee.C]

Dude is that what I think it is in the second pic 

[Dave Rosique]

Dude is that what I think it is in the second pic 

Good eye, Lee!
Looks like tomato plants to me too

~DR.

[Sarge]

Best damn tomatoes I ever ate!

[JS]

Dude is that what I think it is in the second pic 

[Lee.C]

Best damn tomatoes I ever ate!

 

[TOM / EINHEIT 11]

do U remember.........i am a customs security inspector and ,, TomatoPlant ,, specialist, hahahaha.

www.einheit11volkswagenclub.blogspot.com or ( http://www.ezv.admin.ch ) 

[Sarge]

Er, moving right along folks........   I've posted in the past about my time working in Riverside and hanging out with DV at Econo Motors.  One of Darrell's friends was a guy named Carl Robinson whose nickname was d grub.  Grub was free spirit who shunned work at all costs and lived in an A-Frame house surrounded by orchards in Highgrove.  His compound was aptly named the Highgrove Gypsy Camp.  Sharon and I were still living in a dinky 800 sq ft rented house in Brea and quickly found solace puttering around Grub's "estate."  Living as close as we do to the San Bernardino mountains, it was a mystery why we never did any hiking.  Grub knew all the cool places to visit and before long we got our legs, so to speak and would spend the weekends during the hot summer months hiking to Aspen Grove, Deep Creek, Dollar Lake and Onyx Summit.  This was usually followed by a Swiss Steak dinner at Law's Cafe in Oak Glenn.... an apple growing area near Redlands.  The finale was a slice of hot apple pie with ice cream with warm cinnamon sauce.

[Sarge]

Deep Creek is a place that is on the backside of Lake Arrowhead... you take a paved, narrow twisty road through Cedar Glenn which turns to dirt at the Malt Shop (the best you can get, period!), cross a small stream (no bridge) and then follow the ruts for a mile or so to the Deep Creek crossing before parking the car (our current '67 made this trip countless times).  The hike up-stream takes about an hour before you start to see naked sunbathers on the boxcar size rocks.  It's a serene place where inhabitions are quickly thrown by the wayside... I have to say sun burnt stuff that has never seen the sun hurts like hell!

[Lee.C]

Man I need to take my manx up there 

[JS]

Nah, you´d be afraid to drive it that far! 

[bugnut68]

Boats I'll always admire from afar... doesn't take too much to scare the chocolate hot dogs right outta me...that, and I can't swim.

[Jim Ratto]

nice pics Sarge. That one with the cliff.... did Sharon push you off? 

[Sarge]

That's not me, bro.... I'm WAY chicken