Suddenly, it's 2007

[greatbear]

Some of you may have known about the Oklahoma centennial celebration coming up tomorrow, specifically, the digging up of the time capsule which was buried 50 years ago in honor of the 50th year of statehood. Among the more mundane items placed inside was a brand-spanking new, 1957 Plymouth Belvedere. Starting a couple years ago as the date was approaching, people had wondered what condition the car would be in once unearthed. Precautions were taken to make the 'vault' in which the car was encased practically impenetrable. In fact, it was said the concrete box could withstand a nuclear blast. The car was also sealed in a special plastic bag to prevent rust. Plymouths of that vintage were very prone to rust damage in normal use, much less being buried underground for fifty years.

The cynical, practical side of me had long ago decided that water would have made it into the vault over time and rendered the shiny new Plymouth into a pile of iron ore. Since the vault was beside a very busy street for all those years, the vibrations, concentrated rain and pressure were bound to take their toll on the concrete. The past couple days in Tulsa have been spent digging up the 12 by 20 foot vault in preparation for the unveiling of the buried car. Today, the lid was lifted as hazmat crews ventured inside to check on the condition of the 10 gallons of gasoline and cans of motor oil included with the car (just in case internal combustion engines were to be obsolete in fifty years - how forward-looking!). Sadly, what was found inside was not a pretty picture:



Sadly, what I feared had happened. There was several feet of water inside the vault, and signs showed that water had completely filed the vault at one time.

I really wanted the car to be like new when it was pulled out. Seeing this makes any hope of this being the case impossible. The car is still wrapped inside the huge plastic bag, which was supposed to protect anything inside from rust "for 1.200 years". The car is going to be unveiled to the public tomorrow. It will be interesting, at least, to see what is left.

Comments

[sparkygearhead.livejournal.com]

*hugs*

I'm sorry for your distress. I know how it is, being an old car nut myself.

Some things were never meant to be. Cars were never meant to be kept pristine and shiny - they were meant to be driven! You and I know that there is nothing sadder than a car in beautiful condition that never gets its engine revved. Well, I take that back - a car that's locked away in a vault where nobody can appreciate it is even worse. The soul of that poor Plymouth must have been beating at the inside of that concrete box for 50 years. What a waste.

Still, it would be very neat if it's driveable. I'd hate for the method of its preservation to have become its crypt.

[theoctothorpe.livejournal.com]

Considering they didn't suck all the air out of the bag, I'd think the ambient moisture in the bag would have condensed and rusted all that beautiful chrome.

::sigh::

I miss my Mk II.

[greatbearmd.livejournal.com]

The chrome might be the only thing left, the underlying steel is probably dissolved away.

[greatbearmd.livejournal.com]

I am fully of the belief that cars should be driven. They can be coddled, yes, but they need to do what they were meant to do. Musclecars atrophy in storage. Yeah, there are those few museum pieces that are too precious to see the street or are far too valuable, but at least those cars can been seen and appreciated by others. There were good intentions with this project, imagine unearthing a perfectly preserved specimen from 50 years ago. The technology and methods just were not up to the task at the time. Imagine now, sealing it in a stainless steel, airtight chamber with an inert atmosphere under a bit of pressure would have done.

[sparkygearhead.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it was a very cool idea. I'd love to see them unearth a mint Kawasaki ZX-11 in 50 years time, or a Turbo Supra. The only problem I see is with the rubber parts. Would storage in nitrogen prevent degradation, or would they need to replace all the rubber seals with Buna-N, or something? I think the brake fluid would be okay, but it might eventually soften the rubber lines from within.

[greatbearmd.livejournal.com]

I will. The embedded links I posted have ongoing news and live coverage beginning tomorrow.

I was kinda upset reading this news, even though I expected it. My usual 'hope for the best, expect the worst' philosophy.

[ciddyguy.livejournal.com]

Wow, this is very interesting being an old car nut myself and having grown up w/ Mopars, specifically 64 and later models, I'd love to see how this particular one fairs once unvailed.

If I'm not mistaken, Stephen King's novel, Christine featured a 57 Plymouth Belevedere that was possessed.

[greatbearmd.livejournal.com]

Actually it was a Fury. Similar car, but a more apt name for the movie.

[droo3556.livejournal.com]

I'm really looking forward to finding out!
ta for the great entry!

[greatbearmd.livejournal.com]

My pleasure. This event has me more anxiously waiting than anything else car related in a long time. I guess it's because nothing like this has been done before that I know of.

[britbear.livejournal.com]

doesnt give me much faith in our ability to store nuclear waste in secure conditions under a mountain in nevada.

[greatbearmd.livejournal.com]

Nope, not at all. The car probably would not have fared too well in one of those underground storage bunkers either.

[wrascalism.livejournal.com]

A friend of mine has a '58 Plymouth Belvedere 4-door sedan with under 1000 miles on it. It was part of a collection of cars that were never sold by a dealership and stored away only to be found decades later.

If it weren't for the water I would wager that the '57 would have emerged fairly well.

(Greetings from Vancouver, Canada)

[greatbearmd.livejournal.com]

I saw a '58 Buick Roadmaster for sale at the Carlisle auto show/swap meet several years ago. The car had only 76 miles on it. It was kept in a dealerhip for all those years on display, and was only used every couple years in a parade in town. Other than that, it led a museum life. That car was itself a time capsule. It still felt and smelled brand new. For a mere 30 grand it could have been mine. lol

Greetings back atcha from Maryland!

[sfmini.livejournal.com]

I've been following this for some time. I forget how I heard about it. Supposedly it is going to be live on webcast tomorrow, I am very interested in seeing what has become of it. I'll watch if the office isn't too busy.

[greatbearmd.livejournal.com]

I'll be checking in on this from time to time tomorrow at work, I'll post when I get home anything new.

I am fascinated by this for some reason.

[theevilnub.livejournal.com]

Funny how that internal combustion engines have not become obsolete, but the Plymouth name has.

This vaguely reminds me of the 1956 Chrysler Norseman concept car story.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrysler_Norseman
http://www.imperialclub.com/Articles/GhiaStory/Page04.htm

But for the fate of the Andrea Doria, who knows how, or if, the Norseman would have influenced Mopar design in the years that followed. This was one sweet-looking concept, though obviously designed before car roof safety standards took affect.

its now news....

[disccub.livejournal.com]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070615/ap_on_re_us/buried_belvedere

There's a link to the Yahoo news story. I got a kick out of the things in a "typical" woman's purse that was put in the glove box.