Celeste & My Baby
Model:
1970 Beetle Autostick
Name:
I just call it my baby.
Color:
I think it was originally blue, then it had a bad paint job, and now satin silver. I tried to keep it as original as possible, except for the color.
Mileage:
93,000
Motors:
The motor is original but rebuilt.
Owned since:
2012
Owners:
I am the third owner. I bought it from two sisters who had bought the car for college. One of the sisters wanted to sell it. All she said was “Oh, please just take care of it.”
Location:
California
Favorite driving song:
“Voyage to Atlantis” by the Isley Brothers.
I bought my car in 2012. It was supposed to be a project for me and my son, but he decided he wasn’t interested. So I took it to a friend of a friend to have it painted. He had it for four years. He took it all apart, and that was it. It was a battle trying to get my car back, and I had paid him more than half the money. So many people, like my boss, told me to just cut my losses and get another one. I’m like, “No, I want this one. It’s the one I shopped around for and bought, and that’s the one I want.”
Finally I got my car back, in pieces. It was such an ordeal getting her together, but it was all worth it. I did this all myself—I didn’t have a partner who helped me. I had to find a paint place, an upholstery place, an engine place. I didn’t put it together myself, but I got it all done myself. My son did help me put the trim and some other stuff on.
My mother told me, “Don’t give up. You love that car. Just keep doing it. Keep putting it together, you’re doing a nice job.” The day I got my car back, she passed away. That pushed me even harder to get it done. Because of her support, this car means so much more to me.
My mother raised six children—I’m the youngest. My father was in the Navy, so he was always shipped off to war. She pretty much had to raise all six of us by herself. I wanted a Volkswagen when I was in high school, but my mother worked for Ford Aerospace and she received a discount on a Ford, so I got a Pinto. But a Bug is what I’ve always wanted. Finally I said, “Yeah, that’s what I’m going to do. I gotta do it.”
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I found my baby on Craigslist. I am the third owner. The previous owners were two sisters who bought the car for college, then one of the sisters wanted to sell it because she got married and they were moving out of state or something. She’s like, “Oh, please just take care of it.” I said, “I will.”
The furthest I’ve gone is about sixty miles to San Juan Bautista. A friend has a ’69 Bus, and we met there at a VW car show. We had lunch and dinner. In 2023, I took my baby to the Kelley Park car show, our first show, and she took first place in her category.
Although my son doesn’t drive, he will inherit the car when I move on to my next life. I look at my baby and I see flaws, and I just have to let that go and enjoy her.
