Back in the day or whenever

[maui]

I remember in the mid 70s I was going to a bugin in California and a friend of mine cousin who worked at GBE had a dark blue 67 and had old bollohead street radials that he recapped with some soft slicks compound rubber and he wen pop a wheelie all the way across a intersection in front of one pile of us at the place called Bobs big boy someplace buy Van Nuys blvd maybe. Bobs parking lot at the time was big and full of bugs waiting for anything to go on. I thought it was the most coolest thing and Bobs had the best Bearclaw and hot cocoa. What about your memories.

[garyj]

I've a few....But my very first Bug-In in '78. I knew nothing or anybody. When I parked my primered '72 outside in the parking lot and got out, my VW life changed. The sound of 100's of open stingers sent chills up my spine! Then I went in. I used up the film in my Kodak 110 camera so fast. When I got home to my "wife to be" the only way I could describe the sound of those stingers was like " a swarm of mad bumble bees". I was hooked!

[David Ward]

I remember attending Bug-In's (21 thru 31) at OCIR and having to wait what seemed like days, weeks or months to trickle into the parking lot area of the track (entering off I-5 and Santiago (sp?) Canyon Rd.  The lines of VW's crawled down the 2-lane road.  Most of us shut our engines off and simply pushed the cars into the lot or pit area.  And when you were still in line and could begin to hear the open stingers rev, it practically killed us.  

[Darth Weber]

That was Sand Canyon off the 5. Turn in thru that strange little wood pile place, under the bridge and into the parking lot. Boy I miss the chips and sauce they had at the food shack, Strips I think they called them? It was cool to see the fighter jets take off and land at El Toro MCAS too. Sometimes they flew right over the track. Two of my favorite race cars were the Kawells turbo Bus and Bob McClure's BAE turbo Bug 'Little LeRoy'. Two things that are missing from the Bug-In at Fontana are the bikini contest and the engine pull contest, would be perfect to take up the time between all those oil downs and lengthy track cleanups.

[Sleeper 64]

I remember that and the Wednesday night grudge races at OCIR.

[gkeeton@zbzoom.net]

I was just talking about one of those "member when" moments the other day. There weren't too many large VW specific car shows in my neck of the woods, but there were lots of Classic Car "cruises" that would take place on the blocked off mainstreets of some of the small local towns. One such event was called the "Back to the 50's" show, and cruise held in New Castle Pennsylvania around the 4th of July weekend. It just so happened that the largest local VW Show, the Buckeye German Jubilee at Jim's Custom VW's in Columbiana Ohio was going on that same weekend. So after a fun Saturday at Jim's in the late 90's, a good friend of mine named Vernon road with me in my Superbeetle to go to the Back to the 50's evening cruise to see what kind of mischief we could get into. So we drove into downtown New Castle to find about 8 kids, and about 30 gallons of Clorox Bleach sitting on the curb close to one of the intersections. They were having fun trying to get cruisers to do a burnout. So we get to their make shift "waterbox", and I decide I'm going to have some fun. I tach up the engine, and slowly start to let out the clutch to the point where it's just starting to catch, and preload the tranny. I'm about 5 seconds away from lightin em up, when one of New Castles Finest pulls right up beside me door to door in the oncomming lane, and rolls his window down giving me this look like, DON'T YOU EVEN THINK ABOUT IT. So I casually let the clutch out, and slowly roll away from the scene, to which Vernon yells to the kids on the curb, "smarter than the average bear"! Then the kids all cry out with this simultaneous "AWE MAN" of dissapointment. There are way too many stories from way too many "member when" moments in time for me to post all of them, but that was one that was thought about most recently.

[garyj]

This could really be a good thread. Keep 'em coming!

[Dave Conklin (Cornpanzers)]

I remember attending Bug-In's (21 thru 31) at OCIR and having to wait what seemed like days, weeks or months to trickle into the parking lot area of the track (entering off I-5 and Santiago (sp?) Canyon Rd.  The lines of VW's crawled down the 2-lane road.  Most of us shut our engines off and simply pushed the cars into the lot or pit area.  And when you were still in line and could begin to hear the open stingers rev, it practically killed us.   

Man you're old!

[David Ward]

Man you're old!

Hey now, be nice!  

A couple of more memories while attending some of the Bug-In's:
-   An old vert filled with BRM's, all chained together, "for sale."
-   My brother buying a set of IDA's for $300 in the swap meet (seemed like a fortune back then).  Those same carbs are sitting on my Ghia's current engine.
-   Seeing the famous Gary and Gene race.
-   Seeing the Kawell bus, the Kawell buggy, and the BAE oval window make pases.
-   Seeing the "Imagination", Schuh and Kawell dragsters make passes.
-   Seeing and hearing the awesome Duncan Nuss A/MC racer sing to 9,000+ rpms

[Dave Conklin (Cornpanzers)]

Yeah, but what was it like to see the Wright Bros on their first flight papaw?   

[gbaker770]

Unfortunately I never made it to one of the Bug-Ins but we used to go every Wednesday night for quite a few years. My Dad worked at Cormier Chevrolet and they ran a ProGas Vette. That place was freakin nuts! I remember my Brother learning how to drive in the parking lot in my Dads company van, he was about 12 years old. My Dad and Len Cormeir Jr. Getting drunk watching my Brother and I cruise around the pits and the old oil track. Good times.
I did get to go down the track with my Uncle Stan in his stock 61' Bug, don't remember what it ran but it was cool as he'll for a 10 year old kid. So I got that going for me, which is nice.

[fiatdude]

What I really miss from the early Bug-ins was the slomon racing in the parking lot -- they did this until there were so many people coming to the events they didn't have room for it any more -- wish they would bring them back now that there is a little room to throw some cones out. I'd put a Ghia or Buggy together for that.

When I had my Blown/injected Drag Bike and was at a test and tune at OCIR right before the  march meet and the Winternationals. and who pits right next to me Bob Glidden -- it was the year he switched to Mopar -- what a great day racing and hanging with him. He found 8 tenths in the car that day without pulling the hood, all in chassis adjustments

[kingsburgphil]

Although by no means a stranger to OCIR, my first Bug-In wasn't until #6. There were still a lot of cars modified with a hacksaw and a spray can, and state of the art was primitive. I'd have to say there was still a certain degree of innocence regarding the hot VW.

I was just a punk kid fresh out of the Navy, leaning on the fence watching the Gassers. Feeling totally depressed I left early with my 36 & crashbox vowing someday I'd race with those guys.

A couple years later I was racing with my fellow club members Kris Klingaman and Roger Crawford. Two more and I was racing the national record holder in A/MC (BEAR).
The people I had the privilege to meet, have known or worked for....priceless.
 
And after a twenty year hiatus I've come to meet a lot more fine people working hard on their passion...and I like what I see.


Regarding the "OLD" comments    We were just the young guys there.... before you young guys showed up.  




end of boring lecture.

[The Inspector]

I cant remember much from " Back in the Day"........

[Dominick Luppino]

Unfortunately I never made it to one of the Bug-Ins but we used to go every Wednesday night for quite a few years. My Dad worked at Cormier Chevrolet and they ran a ProGas Vette. That place was freakin nuts! I remember my Brother learning how to drive in the parking lot in my Dads company van, he was about 12 years old. My Dad and Len Cormeir Jr. Getting drunk watching my Brother and I cruise around the pits and the old oil track. Good times.
I did get to go down the track with my Uncle Stan in his stock 61' Bug, don't remember what it ran but it was cool as he'll for a 10 year old kid. So I got that going for me, which is nice.

I remember that Vette, it was red.

[David Ward]

Anyone remember the old "Inter Shows" VW swap meets that used to be held at the Orange County Fair Grounds?  I'm not talking about the Jamboree shows, but just the swap meets.  They were held on Saturday nights and typically filled 3 or 4 of the buildings.  A small car corral area to sell cars too.  Pretty successful as I recall.  Lots of deals to be made.

It was after these shows that they went big by expanding it to the Jamboree event.

I even remember one of the Intershows swap meets occuring out in San Bernardino.  Only had one of those, as I recall.  Man that was a long drive for us Anaheim kids....
 

[flatfour2ltr]

I remember the day we left for OCIR from Sacramento, two friends and I in my 65 bug. We always stopped by GBE for the tour, then to the raceway for the long wait to get inside. Watching people walk out with new finds from the swap meet, ok this was the life.

[garyj]

Intershows!!! You betcha. That was (IMO) the best swap ever! I never had a space, but I would always bring some "trinkets" with me in case I saw something I might be able to trade for. One event (I think it was the last) some guy had a good sized box of these vinyl beetle key fobs in a variety of colors. There were a couple hundred (at least) in the box. He wanted 50 cents each for the things or $10 for the whole box. I bought a couple and went on my way. When I was leaving I decided to go back and see if he had any left. Yup, the whole box. He said "gimme five bucks". I did, and brought them with me to the next Pomona and sold 'em for a buck a piece! Every last one of them over the next few Pomonas.

[Donny B.]

Yep Intershows were great swap meets.  Rick Mortensen and I went a few times and we always found stuff there like nowhere else.  I remember the first time we went it was the same weekend as Pomona and I found my first Empi Camber Compensator.  Great find at that time...

[maui]

I got a pair of F/F welded ported VW DP heads and manifolds at a swap meet at Baylands raceway way back wen and I think it was the last race before it closed down. I remember the SCS white and red choptop and the yellow Wicked bugs and the turbo ACVW dragster with maybe a scirroco body and a turbo ghia.

[1836vw]

Do you think Bob's invented the speed bumps in their parking lot? 

[garyj]

How 'bout the SCS Showdowns? I only missed one (#1).

[Donny B.]

How 'bout the SCS Showdowns? I only missed one (#1).

I only made one #7, but it was great!

[Ohio Tom (DdK)]

Hey Maui, I was out there one summer real close that time too.
I got to spend summers out in the Bay area with my Brother's. Bum around and half heartedly look for a summer job. Mostly stayed baked.

 I remember those cars as well. It was an inspirational time for me. I bought my first set of heads the week after.
It was cool to see so many fast VW's and I was suprised at that time how many were turbo.
I remember hearing some of those motors revving past 9,000rpm.
Made me wonder; how in the hell could it stay together?
They had the "Right Stuff" Ghia on a rotissary.
It was enough to turn me off that kind of showcar. I lost interest in them after seeing it up close. I realized it was a trailer queen. Not for me....
 I wanted to dragrace....

[David Ward]

Ah yes, the SCS Showdowns....   I attended my first one at the original SCS store near Beach Blvd, and then went to all of the shows held at their Ball Road store.  Fun show!

[Iowa Mark]

I got out of my schooling for the Navy and was stationed in San Diego back in '72. Coming from a small town in Iowa where there were only two VW's that even had a set of headers, let alone anything else, the idea of a gathering of Volkswagen nuts was very hard to imagine. I realized the Bug-In was the very next day. I wondered if it was worth a trip way up north? Maybe I'll head up and see some of the cars and then keep going on up to Burbank and visit a friend in the afternoon. I followed a line of Volkswagens off the I-5 around to a gravel parking lot already full of even more VW's. I spent at least a couple of hours in that parking lot looking at all the great cars that were miles better than mine! The whole time the sounds of angry insects screamed from the area behind the stands. Inside were all the cars I'd seen in Volkswagen Greats and that other magazine! There were engines that had these huge carbs on them. There were people thrashing on cars that were still being pushed back to the pits. There was a steady stream of cars lined up around the back of the strip waiting their turn. Full-on customs, buggies that were too pretty to see any dirt, people willing to answer any stupid question some out-of-town kid could ask, and out at the far end were these guys roaring around a track with anything from Formula V's to buses. One wheel off the pavement at all times. I remembered Burbank on the drive back south as the sun was going down. I couldn't believe I'd have to wait another six months to do this again! That day, was the push that set me off on the ride I'm still on to this day. Yes, I was young and impressionable, but those Bug-Ins were like nothing else.

[garyj]

Ah yes, the SCS Showdowns....   I attended my first one at the original SCS store near Beach Blvd, and then went to all of the shows held at their Ball Road store.  Fun show!

That was the one I missed. And I even lived near Magnolia and Orangethorpe at the time! Still have the dash plaques, some programs and tons of pictures!

[slholman]

ya, 1979, was it bug in 27 or 28? I was a junior in high school, 17 years old. Sittin in the stands with my friends with a keg of budwieser and a bong. Nobody even looked twice at us. The Bergs, Klingamen? and Kawell put on a show.... those were the dayzz...