Belve-dear

Surprisingly enough, the 1957 Belvedere was hoisted from it's crypt in one piece. I caught the very end of the live unveiling to the public, the car seemed in much better condition that I expected it to be. The hood was open, people were cleaning the car up. Legendary hotrodder (and ceaseless drama queen) Boyd Coddington is on hand to see if there is any hope for the soggy car. I'll find more as stories hit the web.

Even if there is not much hope for the car, I still think this was a pretty damn cool event. Time capsules fascinate me. I love old Mopars. And here is probably the only wedding of the two I will ever see.

More to come!

That'll buff right out

Finally some pictures are surfacing of the unearthed '57 Belvedere. While no car would look good after being immersed in water for 50 years, it has survived better than I had expected. Since the site is being hammered, I snatched these pictures from KOTV to give everyone a chance to see the car:


Still has those classic lines


The interior fared much worse


The engine will never run again

The tires were flat. They were inflated, and held air. The whitewall tires still showed the signatures of people who were there when the car was placed in the vault. Even in a seemingly sad condition, the car has a presence. There appear to be no plans to restore the car in any way. To me, that's the way to go. This is what time and history returned to Tulsa, and the world.

KOTV.com has a video of the unveiling. It's unwatchable at this point as the site is overwhelmed with viewers. Give it a day or so and you'll be able to watch it. From what I saw of it, though, there was no shortage of enthusiasm and love for Tulsa's "Miss Belvedere".