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Who Remembers The 80s CAL-STYLE
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Big Bill
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PostPosted: Sun Oct 11, 2020 7:11 am    Post subject: Re: Who Remembers The 80s CAL-STYLE Reply with quote

This was my first attempt at a Cal-Look bug, late 80s
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vwkidd
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 13, 2020 6:37 pm    Post subject: Re: Who Remembers The 80s CAL-STYLE Reply with quote

@BigBill that is a clean "California Look" ragtop.
Now if it was lay'd out like that back then you would be Cal Stylin!
We have a saying in Los Angeles...."if it don't lay it ain't from LA!" LA has been slammng all original VW's since 1978.
Here is my first Lowrider Influenced Cal Style VW i got in 1981. Here it is in 1982 "slammed" to where my shoe would barely fit under the lowest part of the fenders front and back. That's how I would determine how low a VW was back then by sticking my foot between where the gravel guards were and the street
Check my VW KIDD plates, Vintage Volkswagen Club of America sticker on the windshield. I was a member and probably the only all original Slammed VW at the time in the club.


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Big Bill wrote:
This was my first attempt at a Cal-Look bug, late 80s
Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

_________________
1955 151 Deluxe L219 Congo Green (Project)
1951 11A Standard L21 Pear Gray
1954 117 Deluxe L227 Strato Silver "Delilah"
1966 141 Cabrio. L554 Cherry Red (low mileage)
Owned: All in the 80's slammed & running BRM's,Fuchs,OG Empis w/ big motors & 48IDA's LA Style!
1959 Convertible 151 L41
1955 Convertible 151 L41
1958 Convertible 151 L349
1966 KG Convertible L456
1967 KG Convertible L41
1959 117 Deluxe L451
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Big Bill
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PostPosted: Sat Nov 14, 2020 8:04 am    Post subject: Re: Who Remembers The 80s CAL-STYLE Reply with quote

Thanks vwkidd, that VW was one I wish I had never sold. I was able to buy that car from the OG owner, I think he was almost ready to cry when i backed out of his driveway when I bought it, he loved it as much as I did. A photo of it with its garage mate, both cars are gone now, Sad I was also a member of the Golden Gate Vintage VW club then and was the only one with a lowered VW at that time.
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disneyherbie
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PostPosted: Sat Jan 30, 2021 11:03 am    Post subject: Re: Who Remembers The 80s CAL-STYLE Reply with quote

Still plugging away on the Johnny’s South Gate 80s survivor. Paint is coming back nicely and I was able to save/preserve the original painted logo on the decklid. Currently gathering parts for the 1835 period motor and will be doing everything in chrome/hot pink. It’s been a great project to remember how great the Vw scene was in the 80s and what great memories of that time I still have...

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CorvallisKevin
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PostPosted: Sat Oct 30, 2021 11:38 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

j8bug wrote:
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I recently had the opportuntiy to ask someone that's been around the VW parts biz a very long time what the deal was with the other Vintage parts store that opened up in the mid-80s not far from the original one also on San Fernando rd. According to Ruben Velasco; the original owner of Vintage VW Parts split it and sold it leaving behind the original one now named KDF and the new one up the road called Vintage Parts. I was always curious. Early L.A. history none-the-less...
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Man, this is taking me way back now. I grew up on Olmsted, just up the street from KDF. Gary was a great guy, and Noel (RIP) was one of our good friends. We were also friends with Jaime, Jimmy, Jimmy’s brother Richard, etc. All cool cats. Jaime worked on my S.African ‘59 Deluxe Beetle at one point, over at Bobs (BCE). And I once sold Jimmy a ‘59 Ghia cabriolet that had been wrecked in the rear, but was otherwise complete. He was going to eventually weld it with a good front end, but idk if he ever did.

Really good times back then for VW’s. They were everywhere, and cheap. But also A LOT of really nice cars were destroyed by the thieves that stole and re-panned them.
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No VW’s right now, but used to own:
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1957 Deluxe Sunroof Beetle (US)
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CorvallisKevin
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PostPosted: Sat Oct 30, 2021 11:48 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

vwkidd wrote:
vwkidd wrote:
Sambanistas time for another L.A. Cal Style story. Here is a picture of Jaime Lopez from the mid 1980s, who I and many other LA VDubbers that were in the VW cruising and LA party scene during those early pioneer years of the Vintage Cal-Style (Resto-Cal) 1978-through the mid 1980's consider the Vintage VW parts Dubfather. Jaime is recognized by the pioneering Vintage Cal Style guys in the East Sides of Los Angeles during this time as the person along with Rene Ruelas of the Dukes lowrider family & Bugs Buddies VW Syndicate as the person who without a doubt fueled the growth and spreading of our Latino inner city way of personalizing an air-cooled VW. Guys like myself will always respect, appreciate and thank Jaime for his contribution back then working for Bob Scott at Vintage VW Glendale and later KDF Enterprises. He was sourcing rare NOS parts for our Vintage low rider influenced Cal-Style rides way before there was a Wolfsburg West, a Bugs for You, and many other restoration parts supply houses that are around today. No doubt he will be one of the main players in a video documentary in the works (a contrast to the OC Cal look "Older & Faster" documentary) of the origins and impact today of the L.A. Cal-Style that's worldwide and the most popular way to fix up a Vdub that has indured for almost 40 years going back to 1978. Today Jaime is doing his thing at Koch's restorations and if you ever see him at any of the VW shows or swaps just know that he is the reason you see clean slammed all original Vintage VW's on smoothies or polished Fuch alloys today. Guys from Echo Park, Highland Park, Huntington Park, Cypress Park, Lincoln Heights, Pico Rivera, Latino South Central all can agree that Jaime supplying us with the chrome original bling vintage VW parts back then was able to impact a generation of teens in the 1980's LA cruise and party scene.

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Another Image of Jaime and his homie John cruising LA in a lowered Vintage Cal Style Vert early 1980s. where you can see the lowrider "Bomba" influences.

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Haha…Jaime has ALWAYS had that killer stache! I think he came out the womb with it! 😂

The last time I saw him was at Koch’s. He was working on a gorgeous creampuff oval cabriolet, white with red interior. Late 90’s or so. He’s just a down to earth cool dude. Always liked that guy. 😁👍🏻
_________________
No VW’s right now, but used to own:
1959 Deluxe Beetle (S.African-RHD)
1957 Deluxe Sunroof Beetle (US)
1956 Deluxe Beetle (US)
1960 Deluxe Beetle (European)
1957 Karmann Ghia
1959 Karman Ghia Cabriolet
1962 Transporter (Panel)
1964 Standard Microbus (13 window, walk-thru)
1968 Standard Microbus
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1964 to 1954
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PostPosted: Sat Oct 30, 2021 2:43 pm    Post subject: Re: Who Remembers The 80s CAL-STYLE Reply with quote

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vwkidd
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 10, 2021 12:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

CorvallisKevin wrote:
j8bug wrote:
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I recently had the opportuntiy to ask someone that's been around the VW parts biz a very long time what the deal was with the other Vintage parts store that opened up in the mid-80s not far from the original one also on San Fernando rd. According to Ruben Velasco; the original owner of Vintage VW Parts split it and sold it leaving behind the original one now named KDF and the new one up the road called Vintage Parts. I was always curious. Early L.A. history none-the-less...
Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


Man, this is taking me way back now. I grew up on Olmsted, just up the street from KDF. Gary was a great guy, and Noel (RIP) was one of our good friends. We were also friends with Jaime, Jimmy, Jimmy’s brother Richard, etc. All cool cats. Jaime worked on my S.African ‘59 Deluxe Beetle at one point, over at Bobs (BCE). And I once sold Jimmy a ‘59 Ghia cabriolet that had been wrecked in the rear, but was otherwise complete. He was going to eventually weld it with a good front end, but idk if he ever did.

"Really good times back then for VW’s. They were everywhere, and cheap. But also A LOT of really nice cars were destroyed by the thieves that stole and re-panned them."


Yup! You are correct about the "cambio" pan jobs........crazy to to think how many are still out there that were once a stolen VW.
_________________
1955 151 Deluxe L219 Congo Green (Project)
1951 11A Standard L21 Pear Gray
1954 117 Deluxe L227 Strato Silver "Delilah"
1966 141 Cabrio. L554 Cherry Red (low mileage)
Owned: All in the 80's slammed & running BRM's,Fuchs,OG Empis w/ big motors & 48IDA's LA Style!
1959 Convertible 151 L41
1955 Convertible 151 L41
1958 Convertible 151 L349
1966 KG Convertible L456
1967 KG Convertible L41
1959 117 Deluxe L451
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vwkidd
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 10, 2021 12:13 pm    Post subject: Re: Who Remembers The 80s CAL-STYLE Reply with quote

Great looking "custom" 80s VW but not how us Los Angeles 80s Cal Style kids rolled. Our style was at that time a niche local to the east sides of LA, lowrider influenced and was keen on originality, with original accessories lowered to the extreme for the times on the "Daytons of VW" polished Porsche Fuchs and we were customers of the first VW restoration parts house in the USA, Bob Scott's Vintage Volkswagen, Inc. buying NOS original VW parts for our Chicano Style VW's.

This car would be perfect for the Facebook Group hosted by my friend "Philly Bob"

https://www.facebook.com/groups/946622255679130


1964 to 1954 wrote:
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_________________
1955 151 Deluxe L219 Congo Green (Project)
1951 11A Standard L21 Pear Gray
1954 117 Deluxe L227 Strato Silver "Delilah"
1966 141 Cabrio. L554 Cherry Red (low mileage)
Owned: All in the 80's slammed & running BRM's,Fuchs,OG Empis w/ big motors & 48IDA's LA Style!
1959 Convertible 151 L41
1955 Convertible 151 L41
1958 Convertible 151 L349
1966 KG Convertible L456
1967 KG Convertible L41
1959 117 Deluxe L451
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vwkidd
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PostPosted: Fri May 27, 2022 10:44 pm    Post subject: Re: Who Remembers The 80s CAL-STYLE Reply with quote

Early on in this thread I wanted to document and tell about the history of the lowrider influenced LA Style Vintage VW. I have done that by sharing actual pictures from that era late 1970s to 1985. (The years I consider the pioneer years of the Cal Style). You can see additional pictures on my Facebook picture folders here.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.190891251057253&type=3

A picture recently was sent to me by an 80s friend from Pico Rivera who knew the owner of this VW from Huntington Park through me.

This picture was taken in 1982 and it shows how we would completely lower an original Vintage VW on whitewalls with original parts from Vintage VW Parts Inc. Glendale (the first restoration parts store in the USA) in keeping with our Lowrider influences. Turkis color with off white fender bead, gangster whitewalls, with paint detailed hubcaps. This VW was personally lowered by me back then and when it was re-painted the original turkis color the windows were installed with new rubber and chrome trim from Bob Scott's Vintage VW.

Raul was heavy in to the LA Mobile DJ and cruise scene back then hence his nickname.

Raul "Disco" Lopez 1982.



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_________________
1955 151 Deluxe L219 Congo Green (Project)
1951 11A Standard L21 Pear Gray
1954 117 Deluxe L227 Strato Silver "Delilah"
1966 141 Cabrio. L554 Cherry Red (low mileage)
Owned: All in the 80's slammed & running BRM's,Fuchs,OG Empis w/ big motors & 48IDA's LA Style!
1959 Convertible 151 L41
1955 Convertible 151 L41
1958 Convertible 151 L349
1966 KG Convertible L456
1967 KG Convertible L41
1959 117 Deluxe L451


Last edited by vwkidd on Fri May 27, 2022 10:56 pm; edited 1 time in total
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EverettB Premium Member
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PostPosted: Fri May 27, 2022 10:50 pm    Post subject: Re: Who Remembers The 80s CAL-STYLE Reply with quote

Nice, that car would still look super cool today.

Is it the shadow in the photo or does it have really wide front tires?
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vwkidd
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PostPosted: Fri May 27, 2022 11:10 pm    Post subject: Re: Who Remembers The 80s CAL-STYLE Reply with quote

EverettB wrote:
Nice, that car would still look super cool today.

Is it the shadow in the photo or does it have really wide front tires?


Its the shadow making them look wide. Back then we would use a 145 or 155 tire up front and 165 in the rear with whitewall inserts or use actual bias-ply Remington whitewall tires.

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_________________
1955 151 Deluxe L219 Congo Green (Project)
1951 11A Standard L21 Pear Gray
1954 117 Deluxe L227 Strato Silver "Delilah"
1966 141 Cabrio. L554 Cherry Red (low mileage)
Owned: All in the 80's slammed & running BRM's,Fuchs,OG Empis w/ big motors & 48IDA's LA Style!
1959 Convertible 151 L41
1955 Convertible 151 L41
1958 Convertible 151 L349
1966 KG Convertible L456
1967 KG Convertible L41
1959 117 Deluxe L451
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vwkidd
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PostPosted: Wed Jun 08, 2022 5:05 pm    Post subject: Re: Who Remembers The 80s CAL-STYLE Reply with quote

Sambanista’s another early LA VW history post for you. It’s a long read.

Early on, when I first discovered and jumped on this Samba thread started by Jimmy J8Bug who is a few years younger then me and was also from my hometown Huntington Park back then but didn’t know me personally but knew of me and my VW KIDD cars along with other Cal Style VW’s prevalent in our neighborhoods, I wanted to clear up some confusion with pictorial documentation and tell the Los Angeles “Cal Style” story and its origins from a firsthand experience being there from the beginning going back to 1979.

In 2010 when I dropped my first post here, I stated that in the early 1980s the Latino East Sides of Los Angeles were building Lowrider influenced all original Vintage VWs way different then the popular for the times de-chromed Cal Look Customs. Our style was fueled by Bob Scott’s Vintage VW Parts Inc. near Dodger Stadium where we bought are NOS parts and accessories.

I also mentioned a few VW clubs that I remembered back then but most importantly I mentioned a club I was associated with called the “Buggs Buddies” who were the first to take all original Vintage VW’s and extremely lower them for the times on polished Fuch alloys and larger displacement performance engines…...what some call today a “resto cal”. The “Buggs Buddies” members all had lowrider influenced backgrounds growing up in the neighborhoods we did. The Buggs Buddies were an outlaw club and therefore meant that along with that came notoriety both good and bad.

Recently I have been talking via phone call to one of the most active Buggs Buddies during the 1978-1983 era, Bill Noguera. I considered Bill the Buggs Buddies most charismatic member. Bill and I built his last Vintage VW in 1982 a 1962 Black Convertible slammed on Porsche alloys. Lowrider magazine had a picture of it at a La Puente Car Show in 1982. (see pic below).

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In 1983 at only 18 years old Bill Noguera left the Vintage VW scene abruptly because he was incarcerated to death row.

Now I can tell the factual story and origins of the Original Outlaw Vintage VW club The Buggs Buddies because I now have the personal blessing of Bill and a few other founding members. I’m a few years younger than the OG’s. so, my association with the Buggs Buddies didn’t start until 1982. Below is a first-hand account from Bill and others of the origins of the club.

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“ORIGINS
In 1975, influenced by the Los Angeles Chicano Lowrider lifestyle and culture, Eddie-Boy Chacon and his brother Adam formed the idea of building a “Cal-Style” VW which would combine their love for the older Volkswagen’s symmetry but with Lowrider influences.

At the time the very popular Orange County “California Look” VW comprised of lowering the front end, shaving the chrome moldings, removing the bumpers, replacing them with T-bars, removing the vent wings and adding one-piece door window glass. The motors were modified for performance and the stock wheels were replaced with either Empi BRM’s, Empi 5 or 8 spokes or Centerlines.

Although the OC “Look” had a certain appeal to it. Eddie-Boy and Adam believed in the purest form the original older Volkswagens offered and began forming a multifaceted idea and bringing their mindset to reality.

In their garage in La Puente, California, working through drawings and sketches, the idea was refined until the “Style” was born. That “Style” is what today's VW enthusiasts refer to as Retro or Resto-Cal.

BUGGS BUDDIES 1975-1984
The name “Buggs Buddies” has one origin. Brothers, Eddie-Boy and Adam Chacon came up with the catchy name and were the notorious car club’s founding Fathers.

In its earliest beginnings. The Buggs Buddies set out to do what no other car club had ever attempted to accomplish. To redefine a culture and VW style unique to themselves and the LA Latino Teen scene.

Within months of their idea being born, the Chacon Brothers began recruiting some of their closets friends who had the same mentality and means to pull off what the brothers had envisioned.

By 1978, the club had eight members. All expressing the founder’s vision of 1967 or older, fully original VWs with all its chrome and bumpers, dumped to the ground with Porsche alloys and a high-performance engine. Every member’s car had to be in car show condition all the time.

THE EARLY 1980S L.A DISCO SCENE
In 1980, the Buggs Buddies had grown to twelve members and their influence on the Los Angeles teen party and Vintage VW scene was evident. Although the clubs’ OG members were all from La Puente CA, their reach and reputation seemed unstoppable.
More and more VW's especially in the Latino neighborhoods began to copy the “Style” that the Buggs Buddies executed perfectly. This became very evident in the Los Angeles teen Disco/Dance scene when members would cruise and park their Cal Style VW’s at these dance hall venues as special guests and were treated like Rock Stars. Adding to their mystic and popularity was the fact that one of their made members was a well-known pioneering mobile DJ named Victor Aleman. He was a mobile DJ for “Elektra” and later “Black Tie”.

A few Buggs Buddies distinguished themselves and raised their profile above the rest. One was Larry Hernandez whose beautiful ragtops and convertibles set a high bar most guys at the time could only dream of attaining. Larry quickly became one of the clubs most public figures because of this.
Another member who became the most notorious of the group was Bill Noguera who's legendary 1956 oval window ragtop with a 2180cc IDA engine often-raced V-8 muscle cars, but what set Bill apart was his reputation and leader of a crew that included Robert “VW KIDD”, and several others from Huntington Park, South Gate, Echo Park, South Central, and East Los Angeles. Bill distinguished himself even further as an outlaw when in December of 1983, he was arrested, tried and was convicted of murder and sentenced to death. Ending his reign as the “Prince of Thieves”.
Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

However, his story as that of the Buggs Buddies doesn't end there. Even with the burden of prison and a death sentence, Bill has proven most wrong. Today he is an award-winning artist and author of “Escape Artist, Memoir of A Visionary Artist On Death Row”.
He also co-hosts “Death Row Diaries” A True-crime Podcast.

LEGENDS
The lore of the Buggs Buddies continues today with stories of deeds the original members were known for, and of those who associated with them. But mostly from those who either admired or hated them. Whichever narrative you choose to embrace the fact remains The Buggs Buddies accomplished their goal and gave birth to a movement and style that has influenced the So Cal VW scene that now has spread globally, and thus making them legends and the fathers of the” Cal Style” or resto/retro Cal look.

TODAY
More than forty-five years have passed since Eddie-Boy and Adam founded the club in their garage. Most of the members have faded into normal lives, while others remain in the shadows, watching with the eyes and ears of whom they once were, smiling to themselves when they hear so-called outsider “experts” talk about the origins of the Resto Cal Style they gave birth to but no one, except a few know the truth…......until now.”
_________________
1955 151 Deluxe L219 Congo Green (Project)
1951 11A Standard L21 Pear Gray
1954 117 Deluxe L227 Strato Silver "Delilah"
1966 141 Cabrio. L554 Cherry Red (low mileage)
Owned: All in the 80's slammed & running BRM's,Fuchs,OG Empis w/ big motors & 48IDA's LA Style!
1959 Convertible 151 L41
1955 Convertible 151 L41
1958 Convertible 151 L349
1966 KG Convertible L456
1967 KG Convertible L41
1959 117 Deluxe L451
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ALLWAGONS
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 10, 2022 1:51 pm    Post subject: Re: Who Remembers The 80s CAL-STYLE Reply with quote

Awesome write VWKIDD. True stories right there. Thanks for bringing it up. I bet many Discos and crews have tons if pics, but many don't visit the samba.

Martin
allwagons
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vwkidd
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 13, 2022 2:36 pm    Post subject: Re: Who Remembers The 80s CAL-STYLE Reply with quote

Your welcome ALLWAGONS. I have been reaching out to some of my LA 80s DJ Disco and party crew friends to look for pictures they may have stashed away of our LA teen scene back then to document

ALLWAGONS wrote:
Awesome write VWKIDD. True stories right there. Thanks for bringing it up. I bet many Discos and crews have tons if pics, but many don't visit the samba.

Martin
allwagons

_________________
1955 151 Deluxe L219 Congo Green (Project)
1951 11A Standard L21 Pear Gray
1954 117 Deluxe L227 Strato Silver "Delilah"
1966 141 Cabrio. L554 Cherry Red (low mileage)
Owned: All in the 80's slammed & running BRM's,Fuchs,OG Empis w/ big motors & 48IDA's LA Style!
1959 Convertible 151 L41
1955 Convertible 151 L41
1958 Convertible 151 L349
1966 KG Convertible L456
1967 KG Convertible L41
1959 117 Deluxe L451
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vwkidd
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 13, 2022 2:53 pm    Post subject: Re: Who Remembers The 80s CAL-STYLE Reply with quote

In my recent post about the origins of the LA Cal Style Vintage VW I wrote about one of the Buggs Buddies member's named Bill Noguera, who I have been talking to via phone from San Quentin's death row.
His representative, with Bill's permission to post sent me this picture taken in 1982. It is Bill with his Pit Bull dog and his Black with white top 1962 LA Cal Style vert slammed on early Porsche Alloys. This Vert was the last VW he had and was built by Bill and myself in my Aunts South Gate garage back then before he was incarcerated.
Notice the Convertible down with the 1/4 windows half up, a style que the LA guys that owned Verts did back then.



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_________________
1955 151 Deluxe L219 Congo Green (Project)
1951 11A Standard L21 Pear Gray
1954 117 Deluxe L227 Strato Silver "Delilah"
1966 141 Cabrio. L554 Cherry Red (low mileage)
Owned: All in the 80's slammed & running BRM's,Fuchs,OG Empis w/ big motors & 48IDA's LA Style!
1959 Convertible 151 L41
1955 Convertible 151 L41
1958 Convertible 151 L349
1966 KG Convertible L456
1967 KG Convertible L41
1959 117 Deluxe L451
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vwkidd
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PostPosted: Thu Jun 16, 2022 5:42 pm    Post subject: Re: Who Remembers The 80s CAL-STYLE Reply with quote

A recent interview I did with Bill Tsagros of Bullrun fame with his Red VW bus, for his Podcast "Lets Talk Dubs"
I talk a little about the origins of the Los Angeles Cal Style Vintage VW. A more detailed part 2 of the origins Podcast will be forthcoming.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTV9Fl9bkUU

https://letstalkdubs.libsyn.com/ep-170-robert-vw-kidd
_________________
1955 151 Deluxe L219 Congo Green (Project)
1951 11A Standard L21 Pear Gray
1954 117 Deluxe L227 Strato Silver "Delilah"
1966 141 Cabrio. L554 Cherry Red (low mileage)
Owned: All in the 80's slammed & running BRM's,Fuchs,OG Empis w/ big motors & 48IDA's LA Style!
1959 Convertible 151 L41
1955 Convertible 151 L41
1958 Convertible 151 L349
1966 KG Convertible L456
1967 KG Convertible L41
1959 117 Deluxe L451
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vwkidd
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Joined: August 14, 2004
Posts: 641
Location: Glendale, Cali via SouthEast LA
vwkidd is offline 

PostPosted: Wed Dec 27, 2023 5:35 pm    Post subject: Re: Who Remembers The 80s CAL-STYLE Reply with quote

Hey Sambanista’s! It has been a bit since I drop some early LA VW scene history.

So, a question that people ask me frequently is when did the LA Style or Cal Style Vintage VW (Resto Cal) started. I will tell the history through my eyes as I was there from the beginning. It goes back to my childhood that was heavily influenced by Lowriding and the Lowrider culture. Those that know me knew that I grew up in the South East, South Central LA area specifically Huntington Park. That area had a heavy presence of Lowriding during the 1970s and 1980s. Clubs like Old Memories, The Dukes, The Majestics, Brown Breed, Suave and some Imperials either originated or flew their plaques in my South East/South Central neighborhood back then. I had older Sisters and their boyfriends were lowriders so at a young age I was exposed to cruising ELA Whitter Blvd, in fact I was 12 years old when I saw Boulevard Nights being filmed and also when the Car Club Wars was in full effect. Those that were there know what I’m talking about.

So, I had a cousin that was a few years older than me that lived next door because my Gramps bought several houses for his daughters on my block. My Gramps was an Old School Mexicano from Michoacan Mexico. My Older cousin was a lowrider. He had a 1965 Impala at 15 Years old and his Girlfriend at the time’s older sister was married to the President of Brown Breed C.C.. The President of Brown Breed had a clean all original 1962 Impala Convertible, it was white with a red interior. I detail that because it will determine my VW choice when I first went looking for my first car at 14 years old. So, before I had a car I was building Lowrider Models and Lowrider Bicycles out of Schwinn Krates along with my older Cousin. That’s when I was exposed to the LA Super Shows and the Canning Shows at the LA Convention Center. I won a few trophies for my Models which I still have a few.

Around 1978 I meet my VW and Lowrider mentor Rene Ruelas the youngest Brother of the Ruelas Clan of the DUKES C.C.. For those that don’t know the DUKES are the oldest continues Lowrider Club in the World having originated in 1959 in South Central 38th Street neighborhood. They are known for their Pre 1949 Chevy Bombs.

I was always into cars growing up and I wanted a fast Muscle car as a kid until I took a ride in my older Cousin Eileen’s Boyfriend at the time VW. This was around 1980. His name was Ron and he was Sargent at Arms for a San Gabriel Cal Look based club called the “Proud Californians”. This is where I would see Ray Mejia’s “Lil Dreamer” Oval before it had Danny A logo’s and see Conrad’s Chopped top black primered bug. I was learning a lot about VW’s including how fast they could go.

Meanwhile I’m hanging around with Rene who was big in the LA Teen party scene during 1979 to 1985. He would take me everywhere in his VW cruising or parties. I met Jaime Lopez of Koch’s through Rene when we would hang out in El Sereno at one of Rene’s girlfriends houses.

So that is my Lowrider and VW background. Meanwhile there was a group of guys out of La Puente in 1978 that also had a lowrider background, (many would become Imperials later) started an Outlaw group called the “Buggs Buddies”. They had no window logo except for 2 at the tail end of the club. One was Adams and Bills Grey Oval Ragtop and Ruben N. of GFK’s white 1965 bug. The tell was a Playboy Bunny Air Freshener hanging from the rear-view mirror if you were affiliated or part of the Syndicate.
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Guys like Larry, Eddie Boy, Adam, Billy (who I will drop part 2 with him being one of the main Buggs Buddies) also frequented all the LA Teen party spots and the Disco scene. The Buggs Buddies had The Center in La Puente and Rene would take me they’re during the week for under 18 dances with all the big name Mobile DJ’s like Audio Climax, Pegasus and all the Production clubs. There at the Center and at an under 18 club in Hollywood called Gino’s near Circus Disco is where I first saw The Buggs Buddies and their extremely slammed all original VW’s.

What the Buggs Buddies were doing was lowriding with Vintage VW’s because they also had a heavy lowrider influence growing up La Puente. Now the 1970 VW’s were being built like the traditional lowrider with candies, flakes and pearls with fiberglass flared fenders and Supremes or Cragers on whitewalls. But the Buggs Buddies like me liked the look of the all original Chevy Impala lowriders that were only slammed with original Chevy hubcaps. There were two that heavily influenced me before I had a VW. There were two Impalas from the Imperials, one was gold and the other was a blue one. They had Venetian blinds, tissue boxes and chrome original accessories on them.

The first slammed Vintage VW I laid eyes on was around 1979 when I saw Adam’s 1963 all original White ragtop running smoothies with Wolfsburg nipple hubcaps. It made an impression on me at 13 years old because of the beautiful LA Cha Cha girls hanging out of the ragtop bumping Disco Music.
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The Buggs Buddies were an Outlaw club. Without going into details for a later post, constantly had new VW’s all Ragtops or Convertibles. They would build them then sell or trade them. One of them ended up in my HP neighborhood. It was a clean turquoise Ragtop that another of my friends bought. This one slammed on small whitewalls.

1979 is a pivotal year for me. That is when Rene bought a Red 1967 Ghia Vert from the Buggs Buddies.
Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

It was extremely slammed on smoothies until Rene took the 901 deep 6” alloys his older brother had on a 911S and had them polished, mascara’d and installed on that Ghia. Prior to that the Orange County guys were taking late 911 Alloys and keeping them original anodized and putting them on their dechromed Cal Look cars. That was the first time I saw polished alloys. The LA Style or “Chicano Style” as Rene Called it was spreading at the LA Cruise and teen party spots and by 1985 everyone in LA either aspired to have or had Porsche Alloys on their VW’s.

By then at 14 I was looking for my first VW because I needed a car since I was going to a High School in Bellflower and lived in Huntington Park and my mom wanted me to drive myself. At 15 I found my first VW. It was a 1966 ‘Pigalle” sunroof. I didn’t know at the time it was a one-year option with the red interior. The reason why I bought it for 1300 hundred dollars because of that 1962 Impala convertible lowrider I saw growing up from Brown Breed. The first thing I did was slam my VW by pulling out all the small torsions and one large torsion and reindex the rear 2 clicks.
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That was the Buggs Buddies blueprint. We had a saying “Buggs Buddies Down!” for the lowered stance.
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As soon as I could buy a set of 901 Fuchs I did a year later and installed them in 1982.
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There were Slammed LA Style VW’s before mine by a few years but mine was the first purpose built LA Cal Style VW that was completely taken apart, painted, and upholstered by some of the big names in the Lowrider game. I sought out OG accessories and parts with the help of Jaime Lopez when he was working with Bob Scott of Vintage VW Parts, Inc. (the first VW parts house in the USA) near Dodger Stadium. Meanwhile I was reading up on everything and anything about VW’s. I learned how to build my first engine at 15 ½ an 1835cc with SCS heads to install in my 1966 Pigalli.
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Later I would build 2.0 liters with IDA’s and Tims, Fumio heads.

It was a great time growing up in LA during the early 1980s. Unfortunately, during the later 1980s the party scene became dangerous with peeps shooting each other, car jackings and the crack epidemic in my Southeast neighborhood also the Mini Trucks were starting to outnumber the VW’s. Only the hard-core VW heads like myself stayed in it.

This is only a snapshot of the early history of the LA Style, Cal Style VW. Stay tuned for more history. Also, I wanted to make it clear that our LA Style was never an offshoot of the Orange County Cal Look. We were always different car cultures so when I hear the term Resto Cal it doesn’t sit well with me because our cars were not being restored in fact, they were low mileage original cars that we slammed on Porsche alloys.

Peace out! Robert VW KIDD. Buggs Buddies.
_________________
1955 151 Deluxe L219 Congo Green (Project)
1951 11A Standard L21 Pear Gray
1954 117 Deluxe L227 Strato Silver "Delilah"
1966 141 Cabrio. L554 Cherry Red (low mileage)
Owned: All in the 80's slammed & running BRM's,Fuchs,OG Empis w/ big motors & 48IDA's LA Style!
1959 Convertible 151 L41
1955 Convertible 151 L41
1958 Convertible 151 L349
1966 KG Convertible L456
1967 KG Convertible L41
1959 117 Deluxe L451
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vwkidd
Samba Member


Joined: August 14, 2004
Posts: 641
Location: Glendale, Cali via SouthEast LA
vwkidd is offline 

PostPosted: Fri Jan 19, 2024 7:05 pm    Post subject: Re: Who Remembers The 80s CAL-STYLE Reply with quote

Want to know the real origins of the LA Cal Style Vintage VW (resto-cal) then listen to the latest "Let’s talk Dubs" podcast with Bill Noguera (on Death Row) and myself. #vwkidd

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLGleb4e0vI

https://letstalkdubs.libsyn.com/ep-252-boyz-in-tha-hood-william-noguera-amp-robert-vw-kidd

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

_________________
1955 151 Deluxe L219 Congo Green (Project)
1951 11A Standard L21 Pear Gray
1954 117 Deluxe L227 Strato Silver "Delilah"
1966 141 Cabrio. L554 Cherry Red (low mileage)
Owned: All in the 80's slammed & running BRM's,Fuchs,OG Empis w/ big motors & 48IDA's LA Style!
1959 Convertible 151 L41
1955 Convertible 151 L41
1958 Convertible 151 L349
1966 KG Convertible L456
1967 KG Convertible L41
1959 117 Deluxe L451
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website Yahoo Messenger Facebook Twitter Instagram Gallery Classifieds Feedback
Kustombug
Samba Member


Joined: January 14, 2024
Posts: 8
Location: Inland Empire
Kustombug is offline 

PostPosted: Sun Jan 21, 2024 1:26 pm    Post subject: Re: Who Remembers The 80s CAL-STYLE Reply with quote

I was just listening to the podcast. I feel like the name could have been something great, but was instead tarnished by a bunch of thugs. Really a shame because those guys had a good eye for style. Makes sense why my mother was telling me lots of bugs got stolen in the 80s.
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