| Bringing Betsy Back |
Hi. My name is Betsy. I am a stock 1965 Plymouth Barracuda. I earned my
factory stripes October 20, 1964 in Hamtramck, Michigan. I was shipped to
Hahn Chrysler-Plymouth in Vancouver, Washington and adopted when I was
barely a month old. After seven years of faithful service, my original owner
stupidly traded me away in 1971; the nerve! He immediately regretted letting
me go and spent the next 31 years searching for me. Little did he realize I
spent two years in Centralia, and the next 29 years in Rainier, Washington. I
had given up hope we would ever see each other again when in 2002 I was
listed on eBay, my original owner rescued me and, unbelievably, we were
reunited! I was in terrible shape and it took nine months of intensive work at
Buffalo Restorations in Puyallup before I again look as spiffy as I did from
1964-1971. My owner is turning his 250 page journal and 1,300+ photographs
detailing my restoration into a book (starring me!) entitled Bringing Betsy Back!
It’s great to be home again!
This 1969 photo was taken just before we joined the USAF and left for Texas:
I was under several inches of snow when reunited with my owner in 2002.
That's my brother Bart parked next to me; we left Rainier together.
Charley the Classic Car Carrier delivered us to the Buffalo Boys. Ten years
worth of grime, moss, and blackberry vines camouflaged much of my water and
body damage. Note my trailer hitch; oh, the shame of it all!
The fall marathon schedule starts soon, so most likely we're off the car show
circuit until next spring.
Total disassembly took awhile; I have a lot of parts!
Removal of my original paint left me stark nekkid! Once my heavy metal
fabrication repairs were completed, I underwent extensive finishing body work
and mechanical repairs:
Just like the original factory paint job, my center section was painted red, the
stripes were taped off, and the white was sprayed over the red:
It was very exciting when the tape was removed revealing my red racing
stripes. After all I have been thru, I definitely earned them!
I was soon beginning to look like my old self again:
Fast forward to June 24, 2006 and here we are at the Greenwood Classic Car
& Hot Rod Show in North Seattle. Life is good! (photo by Olin Darling)
I was both surprised and very pleased to win the "Best Muscle Car" trophy at
the Solid Rock Cruisers' 2007 Car Show in Seattle's Roosevelt District. My
racing stripes apparently fooled the judges into thinking I'm a fast woman...
In case you didn't recognize this T/A from the front/side angle, here's the
view that most who ever tried to race a Six Pak are quite familiar with:
My complete life story will be told once my owner wraps up several other major
projects and gets busy on Bringing Betsy Back. For now, my "auto-biography"
is on hold while he focuses on the Hutchinson Bottle Directory.
I've been out and about a bit lately in spite of the price of gasoline. My first
gasoline was $ .25 per gallon in 1964, and last weekend my owner paid $4.41
per gallon for my unleaded regular. My upcoming Seattle public appearances
include the Fly By Night Cruisers' Fairview Car Show July 6th, and the Solid
Rock Cruisers' Roosevelt Bull Moose Festival Car Show July 19th. I'll also be
at the Kirkland Car Show July 20th, and the Timber Ridge Car & Bike Show in
Lynnwood August 16th. Check back for photos.
© 2008, Seattle History Company
factory stripes October 20, 1964 in Hamtramck, Michigan. I was shipped to
Hahn Chrysler-Plymouth in Vancouver, Washington and adopted when I was
barely a month old. After seven years of faithful service, my original owner
stupidly traded me away in 1971; the nerve! He immediately regretted letting
me go and spent the next 31 years searching for me. Little did he realize I
spent two years in Centralia, and the next 29 years in Rainier, Washington. I
had given up hope we would ever see each other again when in 2002 I was
listed on eBay, my original owner rescued me and, unbelievably, we were
reunited! I was in terrible shape and it took nine months of intensive work at
Buffalo Restorations in Puyallup before I again look as spiffy as I did from
1964-1971. My owner is turning his 250 page journal and 1,300+ photographs
detailing my restoration into a book (starring me!) entitled Bringing Betsy Back!
It’s great to be home again!
This 1969 photo was taken just before we joined the USAF and left for Texas:
I was under several inches of snow when reunited with my owner in 2002.
That's my brother Bart parked next to me; we left Rainier together.
Charley the Classic Car Carrier delivered us to the Buffalo Boys. Ten years
worth of grime, moss, and blackberry vines camouflaged much of my water and
body damage. Note my trailer hitch; oh, the shame of it all!
The fall marathon schedule starts soon, so most likely we're off the car show
circuit until next spring.
Total disassembly took awhile; I have a lot of parts!
Removal of my original paint left me stark nekkid! Once my heavy metal
fabrication repairs were completed, I underwent extensive finishing body work
and mechanical repairs:
Just like the original factory paint job, my center section was painted red, the
stripes were taped off, and the white was sprayed over the red:
It was very exciting when the tape was removed revealing my red racing
stripes. After all I have been thru, I definitely earned them!
I was soon beginning to look like my old self again:
Fast forward to June 24, 2006 and here we are at the Greenwood Classic Car
& Hot Rod Show in North Seattle. Life is good! (photo by Olin Darling)
I was both surprised and very pleased to win the "Best Muscle Car" trophy at
the Solid Rock Cruisers' 2007 Car Show in Seattle's Roosevelt District. My
racing stripes apparently fooled the judges into thinking I'm a fast woman...
In case you didn't recognize this T/A from the front/side angle, here's the
view that most who ever tried to race a Six Pak are quite familiar with:
My complete life story will be told once my owner wraps up several other major
projects and gets busy on Bringing Betsy Back. For now, my "auto-biography"
is on hold while he focuses on the Hutchinson Bottle Directory.
I've been out and about a bit lately in spite of the price of gasoline. My first
gasoline was $ .25 per gallon in 1964, and last weekend my owner paid $4.41
per gallon for my unleaded regular. My upcoming Seattle public appearances
include the Fly By Night Cruisers' Fairview Car Show July 6th, and the Solid
Rock Cruisers' Roosevelt Bull Moose Festival Car Show July 19th. I'll also be
at the Kirkland Car Show July 20th, and the Timber Ridge Car & Bike Show in
Lynnwood August 16th. Check back for photos.
© 2008, Seattle History Company
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