[All throttle n bottle]

I remember when the club would hang out and work on each others cars and drink soda/beer and pizza and just have fun.

If a members car went down or just needed work to upgrade, at least a couple members would be there to help out

Nowadays they all seem to play follow the leader and just drive from here to there and there to here. Which doesn't allow for getting to know each other better. Building friendships and becoming closer as a group!

Just my two cents

 

[Brian Watts]

I remember when the club would hang out and work on each others cars and drink soda/beer and pizza and just have fun.

If a members car went down or just needed work to upgrade, at least a couple members would be there to help out

Nowadays they all seem to play follow the leader and just drive from here to there and there to here. Which doesn't allow for getting to know each other better. Building friendships and becoming closer as a group!

Just my two cents

I feel the same

 

[Jason Lindquist]

Who can afford the gas to just "drive around" anymore?

 

[so67vw]

That's because car clubs use to be like gangs.... They stuck together, and they got greeeeeezzzy together.... Now days, any old man that buys a New Beatle convertable for his old lady becomes a VW enthusiest.... I have donated tons of parts and hours of work for my buddies back in Oregon.... It's all about keep'n each other on the road isn't it???

 

[Brian Watts]

I want the "gangs" back then ;D

 

[Greg Urrutia]

I remember when the club would hang out and work on each others cars and drink soda/beer and pizza and just have fun. If a members car went down or just needed work to upgrade, at least a couple members would be there to help out

They stuck together, and they got greeeeeezzzy together.... I have donated tons of parts and hours of work for my buddies back in Oregon.... It's all about keep'n each other on the road isn't it???

Surprisngly, there are still VW enthusiasts that do just that! Here is a recent pictorial of one of our Nor Cal VW Clubs getting together for a Wrench Day. It may look a little primitive, but they are making it happen. Helping each other out and making a day of it.
Having a BBQ, sharing some laughs together....it is definately a feel good get together.
So have car clubs changed? Sure! But if you're not there to be involved, pitch in, and help make it happen....maybe it's you that has changed.

http://norcalaircooledgroup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1687

 

[Brian Watts]

Thats it Greg!!

Thats what I am talking about

Don't see enough of that today in clubs. Helping each other out!

Good to see it somewhere

 

[Greg Urrutia]

Another example of a "Wrench Day" by a current and active club.
If anyone on this board announced they needed an extra hand tooling on their VW....I would be there!

http://norcalaircooledgroup.com/forums/showthread.php?p=26411#post26411

 

[Brian Watts]

Great , photos Greg!!

Love the angles etc!

Oh and seeing a group of guys working on Aircooled cars is great too!

 

[so67vw]

The SOVW club has garage days to work on someones heap....

I tried to get a guy here in Louisiana to let me tune his dual carbs for him cause his car sounded like a two cylinder tractor and I never heard from him again... It seems that some clubs are social and some are real hot rodders....

 

[Eddie Brizuela]

Our old club VW OBSESSION used to meet up every friday, not as a hangout, but just for club members to show up and discuss what we wanted to do like car shows (which we had a few of), cruises, BBQ's, Picnics, and such. And every weekend the president (Sam Hall) would have members over at his house working on another members car, or atleast letting members come watch so they can learn how to do it.
Man, that was a great club, too bad the president lost intrest in it, and didnt allow me to continue it.
I was there at the clubs first meeting, and joined at the second meeting when thee only members at the time were Sam's family members. I respected him, and when he told me he didnt want to continue it and didnt want me to either, i respected his choice.
Thee END of VW Obsession :'(

 

[Brian Watts]

I respected him, and when he told me he didnt want to continue it and didnt want me to either, i respected his choice.
Thee END of VW Obsession :'(

I don't know all the facts I know, but sounds selfish on his part

 

[my65rhd]

I totally miss the clubs I was apart of in the 80's and early 90's. We were always together doing something. I miss the days of just detailing your car with a few people the day before a show. Everyone was just so enthusiastic. I was never home back then. Always out having fun.. Kyle mr rhd

 

[Eddie Brizuela]

Facts are simple Brian, He started the club, got burned out after like 5 years, and when i asked if i could keep it going he said "no, make your own club" :
Anywho, heres a picture of my ride back when i was from the club. Its a 1966 Squareback, 1641cc,9.2:1Cr, w120cam,dual 40DCNFs Custom one piece door and quarter windows.
I dont know who the girl is, she just happend to be there so i told her to Pose LOL. Im sure shes some ones mom by now. VW JAMBOREE, dont remember the year.

 

[Brian Watts]

Facts are simple Brian, He started the club, got burned out after like 5 years, and when i asked if i could keep it going he said "no, make your own club" :

I guess I don't understand because lots of clubs have had a president get burnt out and they step down and move on.

Hell I am sure clubs like DKP etc don't have the same president they always did, so they had to hand it over to someone at some point.

I mean if your burnt out fine, but you have members that are their because they are into the club, so you just take your ball and go home and leave them standing their with nothing?

Just sounds selfish to me.

But just my opinion, did you start your own club?


Oh and the girl, nice body on her!

 

[Eddie Brizuela]

He just felt since he started it, it was his, and no one else could have it. Yea, it was selfish, but what can you do?
No i didnt start my own club, i liked that club,its name, the way it was ran, and all that we did, so when he killed it, it kind of bursted my "club" bubble. I haven't joined a club since.

 

[Aircooled Addict]

after hanging out with a few clubs i have stayed solo because they just seem to be full of selfish people i would join the right club but still looking

 

[ryan68bug]

Clubs always vary by the type of mission they carry, I think. I was a member of a club in Eugene, Oregon for years, and by no means was it a hard-core group of just VW hot rodders, it was a primarily social club that had several folks on board that also enjoyed working on their own cars. I got plenty of help with mine over the years, but we had everything in the club ranging from rabbits to bugs to buses and New Beetles.

I always disliked elitism based on what others perceived as whether or not someone was a "real" enthusiast. Every club has a different mission, and I also recognize that what some perceive as "elitism" is simply the mission of a club (i.e., the DKP and their tradition of performance and quality cars, etc.). I'm in the position that I'm not necessarily a one hundred percent performance/Cal Look guy; I like a little bit of everything, and enjoy meeting different sorts of people, unless they're jerks. And there's plenty of those in all realms of the VW circles lol. Fortunately the good folks outweight the turds.

 

[Georg / DFL]

I think there are still those "gang" clubs, especially in the Cal Look scene. Our club for example is a Cal Look club and you have to be voted in by 100 % of the members. That may sound elite, but it isn't. We just want to make sure, that the prospective really "fits" the club, the other members. We take our time, usually you have to hang around with us for over a year before you get voted in (or not). Our club has 18 members and I call all of them my friends. We not only speak cars, we also come together with the families and kids, we party together and wrench together. I just love it!

I have been to other clubs where you can get a member by just signing a paper and paying your fee. Those clubs are full of people with different characters. Some just want to be entertaint, some are organizing everything... you know what I am talking about.

The Cal Look scene seems to be different, because all the Cal Look clubs I know are more "friends clubs" than regular clubs with a president, treasurer and so on.

My advice: Start your own club with like-minded people and don't let everyone in.
Cheers,

Georg

 

[Gary Justus]

Our old club VW OBSESSION used to meet up every friday, not as a hangout, but just for club members to show up and discuss what we wanted to do like car shows (which we had a few of), cruises, BBQ's, Picnics, and such. And every weekend the president (Sam Hall) would have members over at his house working on another members car, or atleast letting members come watch so they can learn how to do it.
Man, that was a great club, too bad the president lost intrest in it, and didnt allow me to continue it.
I was there at the clubs first meeting, and joined at the second meeting when thee only members at the time were Sam's family members. I respected him, and when he told me he didnt want to continue it and didnt want me to either, i respected his choice.
Thee END of VW Obsession :'(

Eddie, I remember the club AND Sam well. I used to talk with Sam a lot, but his email stopped working for me a few years ago (hallnbuns). I remember a time at Pomona he was right in front of me in the staging lane. He got the "green" and WHAM! Broke an axle. Somewhere I have video of that day (and others). That was around '97. I was in DKR at the time. The shot you posted at VW JAMBOREE looks like it was around the same time. Is that the one where a big fight broke out at the restroom between some German Folks guys and somebody? There was police, sheriffs, and chp called to "escort" them out of the show. I've got pics of that, too! Yep, the club days.