Our Club has members from many beautiful places in the world; members live in Puerto Rico, in Ireland, and even as far away as Minnesota. Bettie Fulbright lives on the beach in San Juan; and she needed some wheels to use while visiting the South Florida area. Which lead to the purchase of Bettie's Baby, a 1974 Super Beetle.

In the past, Bettie had not learned to drive a car with a standard transmission; and she didn't want to learn now. So she looked for a VW with a semi-automatic tranny. [A word about the tranny: It uses reverse plus 2^nd, 3^rd, and 4^th of a regular VW transmission (you choose the gear); a torque converter lets the engine keep turning when stopped in gear at a traffic light. And a vacuum-operated clutch can release the engine pressure for shifting. Usually, you start the engine, and just shift to 4^th gear (officially called Drive 2), and drive all day.]

Bettie liked the old beetle because the seats were comfortable, and it was easy to drive here in South Florida. And it is cuter than her Mercedes back home.

A valve broke off the stem, and trashed the engine; this happened shortly before Patsy and Mary Hamilton, our Irish members, were scheduled here to arrive to enjoy the great South Florida weather. Instead of lying on the beach, Patsy, an experienced VW mechanic in the old country, completely rebuilt the engine; he also made a few repairs to the frame and body. Patsy then turned Steve's garage into a big spray booth, and repainted Bettie's Baby.

Bettie's Baby is not a show car, but a real daily driver. A previous owner added the black panels on the sides and the black rain protector on the engine cover. Bettie liked them, so they stayed. Even though it is not a show car, Bettie's Baby has been in various VW shows. After looking over the photos, you can't deny that Bettie's Baby is a cute little Volkswagen.