Daddy's lil girl

Mon, 7 Jan 2008
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My name is Kelly, I am 17 and I am a Volkswagen Beetle enthusiast. Let me introduce Lily, my beautiful 1969 Bug.
Ever since I can remember, I have dreamt of having a classic Beetle to call my own and thanks to my extremely determined dad, Gary, I am fortunate enough to have Lily as my first car!
Two years ago, when I was a mere 15 years old, I was surfing eBay and came across a very lonely-looking car, which of course
I fell in love with. I showed my dad immediately. He had possibly had a few too many beers that night and stayed up until early hours of the morning bidding frantically, in his rather 'emotional' frame of mind!
It wasn't until the next morning that he realised that the car was kept over 300 miles away in Cornwall. So there were a number of concerns:
Problem 1: How do we get it home?
Solution: Let's fly to Newquay and drive her back!
Problem 2: Ten miles into the journey home, the Beetle dies.
Solution: Ring the RAC.
Problem 3: RAC takes seven hours to find him and then won't bring him home.
Solution: Courtesy car used and Beetle transported home several days later.
Problem 4: The Beetle arrives, but
on close inspection, we discover that
she is a complete wreck. Needless
to say, my dad is not very happy.
Solution: Hard work!
It is no exaggeration to say that Dad spent every single spare moment in the garage, whether it was boiling hot or freezing cold weather. First the floor and heater channels were repaired, then all panels, except for the roof, were replaced and a complete rewiring was done throughout! Next the 1200cc engine was rebuilt. Weeks of rubbing down commenced to prepare her for the respray. I chose her new colour Mermaid Blue and, after a few weeks of anticipation, Lily was reborn.
From then on, it seemed as if the postman was bringing us a parcel every day that contained a shiny new piece of chrome to add to her bare body!
The original seats were recovered to match the paintwork and a new interior carpet was fitted, after much swearing from my parents (at each other)! A new steering wheel, surfboard-style interior mirror and CD player completed the transformation. The icing on the cake was a birthday present from my brother Tom: a bud vase with a lily flower.
I wrote in because I wanted to show my dad how much I appreciate the work, time and effort he has put into building my perfect car. I just need to pass my driving test now!
Kelly Semper, Lincolnshire