The Air-Cooled VW Scene In The 1980s Was Peak SoCal Car Culture

Back before hordes of young car enthusiasts were armed with Instagram accounts and iPhones, a very different landscape existed in southern California car culture, particularly among the air- cooled Volkswagen crowd. In a run that began in the early 1980s and spanned nearly a decade, the VW car show scene experienced a surge in popularity the likes of which will probably never be seen again.

In the ‘80s, two publications helped fuel the inspiration for thousands of teenagers and twentysomethings to express their creativity on a canvas that was not only cheap and plentiful, but also managed to get them to and from school and work. Both Hot VW’s and VW Trends magazines would quickly become the go-to pulse for the VW scene. Bikini-clad models posing with the latest and greatest VW Beetle or Karmann Ghia were used to entice readers to the newsstands.

Long before the instant gratification of social media, I would anxiously await the newest issues each month to see what new air-cooled creations had just dropped from the West Coast.

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Driving the popularity of these publications were car shows like the Intershows VW Jamboree, SCS Showdown, and Johnny’s Speed and Chrome Show for the Gold. Unlike the casual come and go as you please gatherings of today, the VW shows of the ‘80s were grand productions featuring corporate sponsors (for example, Coors Light), bikini pageants, live bands, engine-blow contests, and attendance numbers in the tens of thousands at venues like the Orange County Fairgrounds and Irvine Meadows.

In the ultra-competitive landscape of the VW shows of the 1980s, an unlikely group from Bakersfield emerged. They dominated the show scene, which, up until the middle of the decade, had been ruled by Southern California clubs and builders, particularly those in Los Angeles and Orange County. One shop in particular, Volks Works, which was owned and run by builder Steve Knecht, created dozens of one-of-a-kind show cars which graced the covers of the aforementioned magazines and brought home Best of Show trophies with every outing. The local Bakersfield VW club, “V-Dubs, Ltd.,” would attend to VW events up and down the West Coast in full force.

Competition was fierce, and elaborate displays with carpeting and stanchions became the norm to showcase these special cars, which were painted in a variety of vibrant colors. Not a detail was left untouched – from the ragtops to the floor pans – and mirrors would be strategically placed under the cars so attendees could see everything. Knecht had a hand in building some of the most memorable cars of the era, and the formula was simple: he built cars strictly following the show judges’ rulebooks. This allowed his builds to achieve maximum points and win shows, which ultimately meant more business for his Bakersfield shop. Most of the cars that came out of his shop were brightly painted, which was en vogue for the era of New Wave that was so popular at the time. Pinks, purples, magentas, and teals were the clear favorites; most were also treated to neon-tube or geometric-grid-pattern graphics airbrushed on by Knecht himself.

Three show cars in particular became known in the VW show circles as “The 3 Kings.” The first was a pink Type 3 Notchback known as “Futureshock.” This was Steve Knecht’s personal car and would serve as a billboard for his shop in Bakersfield. With modifications like suicide doors and a reverse-opening hood and decklid setting it apart, the car made an impression and racked up trophies with every outing. It was featured on the cover of VW Trends in June of 1987, and miraculously survives to this day, owned by VW collector and podcaster Bill Tsagrinos of Las Vegas. You can hear more about this car and builder Steve Knecht in this episode of the Let’s Talk Dubs  podcast.

The second car of this show-winning trifecta was a radical Type 3 Squareback roadster owned by George Delfino known as “Shockwave.” With its light blue metallic paint and multicolor candy graphics, along with a host of handmade billet aluminum parts, this Knecht creation would dominate the 1988 and 1989 show circuits before being retired. It was unlike anything the VW world had seen up to that point, in part because it resembled a mini-truck more than a station wagon, and it remains one of the most memorable VW customs of the ‘80s. Delfino eventually opened his own car stereo shop, but the Squareback wouldn’t be his last custom build. The car was eventually sold, and my hope is to find and restore it back to peak 1980s show condition. It’s still out there, albeit a little different, as it now sports a silver paint job and different wheels – very different from its heyday in the ‘80s. George discusses the car here, in the Let’s Talk Dubs podcast.

The third and final of the three famous VW showstoppers to come out of Bakersfield was a 1969 Karmann Ghia called “Rodbuster,” owned by Chris Addington. A veteran show car since the early ‘80s, Rodbuster had seen several different iterations and paint jobs over the years, ranging from brown to metallic blue, culminating in a wild candy apple red with futuristic graphics from top to bottom.

Like Knecht, Addington built the car to maximize show-car points in categories like body modifications and level of difficulty. The number of custom-made parts on this build can’t be overstated; the entire chassis and suspension were designed using CAD, and milled from billet aluminum. Very little remained of the original ‘69 Ghia that Chris started with. Once again, Let’s Talk Dubs has some great conversation about the car.

That effort would pay dividends when in 1988 “Rodbuster” was recognized with the coveted Al Slonaker Memorial Award – no easy feat for an ”import” car, hence the name “Rodbuster.” Since the inception of this memorial trophy in 1974, only two other VWs have ever won this award. Ed Papac won in 1980 with a 1964 Beetle named “Spellbound,” and Bernt Karlsson would take top prize in 1990 with his 1955 Beetle, known as the “Pink Lady.”

By the early ‘90s, a few factors would have a devastating impact on the VW scene, which up until then had been flourishing. Many of the teens and twentysomethings who had driven the success of the custom VW scene were settling down, getting married, and starting families, so their show cars were sold. Stories of Japanese buyers frequenting VW shows with briefcases of cash became the norm, thanks in part to the favorable exchange rates of the yen to dollar. Many of the memorable show cars of that era were purchased and shipped to Japan, never to return. And finally, the mini-truck and import scene were in full swing in Southern California. Many custom VW owners jumped ship to purchase and modify lowered Nissan and Datsun mini-trucks, often taking their detailed Porsche alloys with them (as seen below.)

Almost a year ago to the day, I found and purchased a 1960 VW convertible from Chris Addington, owner of the famous “Rodbuster” Ghia. It was originally destined to be another Bakersfield show car in the ‘80s, but never got completed. In a full circle moment, I teamed up with Steve Knecht for one last build – our goal was to finish a car he had started four decades earlier.

We chose design elements from “The Three Kings” show cars, incorporating everything into a one-of-a-kind custom VW that I could’ve only dreamed of owning as a 10-year-old kid in the ‘80s. Steve said he had one more car in him, so with his help, we made “Aftershock” a reality, bookending an amazing car-building career that spanned nearly five decades. In 11 months, we transformed this forgotten car from a Facebook Marketplace project to an all-out showstopper, and debuted it with an ‘80s display complete with mirrors, color-matched carpet, and custom billet aluminum wheel stands. At our inaugural outing with the car last weekend, we were honored with two awards at the One Crazy Weekend VW show in Las Vegas. I now have an entirely new appreciation for the work that goes into displaying a car to the level these guys did back in the ‘80s. There’s a reason nobody does this anymore – it’s a TON of work.

Ultimately, it’s a David-and-Goliath story about a ragtag group of kids from Bakersfield that, for a time in the ‘80s, upended the VW showcar world, proving you didn’t have to be from LA to build show-winning VWs. Is this truly the end of the VW show car adventures for Steve? I’ll let you know when I find Shockwave, buy it back, and roll it into his shop to restore…

If you’d like a fun trip down memory lane, be sure to check out the ‘80s/’90s Custom VW page on Facebook, courtesy of my good friend  Bob Daniels. With the recent popularity of retro-themed events like Radwood, it’s no surprise the group is closing in on almost 34,000 members from around the world.

[Editor’s Note: I’m very excited to have Tory contribute something for us; he’s one of the most knowledgeable and important people in the air-cooled VW community, and there’s not many who have such insight and respect for the old-school VW scene as he does. With that in mind, enjoy these extra images of magazine covers, flyers, and photos from that vividly-colored era, and marvel at the time, creativity, and workmanship put into these incredible cars that all started life as workhorse economy cars. Amazing stuff! – JT]