My wife had always wanted a classic Beetle. It wasn’t something we ever thought we could really afford to do. I ended up selling a small fishing boat that I had to be able to buy this for her as a college graduation present.

My wife decided to go back to college in her mid 40s as something she felt she had to do. If you yourself has done something like that, you know how hard it can be. She sacrificed a lot to be able to accomplish this goal and I felt that getting her something that she has always wanted, but would never need, had to be the gift for her reaching her goals.

I found this sweet little Bug a few hours away from home. My father and I drove to go pick it up with a friend‘s pick up truck and trailer that they were generous enough to loan to me.

The Beetle, that my wife has named Diana, had been in the sellers family for generations. His father had bought it and then he owned it and now his daughter had been driving it. Lucky for me his daughter being a late teenager really wanted some air-conditioning and they did not want to put it in the beetle. He decided to sell the car to be able to get her something different. We made a deal in the rest is where our history of being first time Beetle owners begins.

The car wasn’t pretty decent shape on the interior. There was lots of electrical issues to be worked through. We had a decent amount of work to get the body looking in great shape. There are still some imperfections were working through there. The engine and transmission were functional, but needed some general maintenance and a few repairs. This process has introduced my wife to a world. She never thought she would be part of. She is now actively involved in mechanics work and it’s fun to watch her researching what needs to be done to fix something.

After we got the car looking sharp, she started competing in local car shows here in North Texas. she is placed second twice and just recently one first in her class. She has found that this is a community of people that she loves being part of. For the first time in 10 years, she is now begging me to go to car shows. She enjoys the artistry that is represented in the restoration of vehicles.