1957 Pontiac unearthed in Oklahoma

[jphelzer]

TULSA, Okla. - Hundreds watched Friday as a crane lifted a muddy package from a hole in the courthouse lawn: a 1957 Plymouth Belvedere buried to celebrate Oklahoma's 50 years of statehood.
The wrapped car — a gold and white two-door hardtop — appeared brown and red as it came out of the hole, but it was unclear whether the color represented dirt or rust. A bit of shiny chrome was visible on the bumper.
The car spent the last half-century covered in three layers of protective material and encased in a 12-by-20-foot concrete vault, supposedly tough enough to withstand a nuclear attack.
But event officials already had to pump out several feet of water from its crypt.
The car was placed on a flatbed truck so it could be unwrapped, spruced up and officially unveiled Friday evening at the Tulsa Convention Center. Spectators packed the streets to glimpse its journey.



Story

[bigcountrysg]

what a waste of a perfectly good automobile. By the way your title is wrong. It says Pontiac and the the thread is actaully about a plymouth.

I bet rodslinger could tell us some stories about calls of that era.

[cj41foley]

pretty neat, but it was a waste of a car

[Blue01F250]

It was a time capsule that was put in place on the 50th anniversary of Oklahoma's statehood to be opened on the 100th anniversary (this year). Its funny - they buried the car w/10 gallons of gas and 5 quarts of oil in case there was none in the 21st centuary!! lol

was pretty neat accept apparently the designers of the vault apparently never owned a basement - water leaked in the vault and even had filled it at one time (can see the water lines on the vault walls.

it is a 1957 Plymouth Belvedere and is going to be on display at the car show after they remove the tarp and coating from the car tonight and try to get it running (Boyd C. and his crew are working on it right now)

[igoslow]

Originally Posted by bigcountrysg

By the way your title is wrong. It says Pontiac and the the thread is actaully about a plymouth.

Would you have not read the article if it had said Plymouth?

[bigcountrysg]

Originally Posted by igoslow

Would you have not read the article if it had said Plymouth?

Yes I would have. It caught my interest either way. I just wonder how much did it cost the tax payers to bury the car.

[Strõkër~X]

prob not to much, they charged people tickets to be @ the event, so it prob panned out more than the cost to bury it.

[bigcountrysg]

Originally Posted by Strõkër~X

prob not to much, they charged people tickets to be @ the event, so it prob panned out more than the cost to bury it.

plus if the car is in mint condition the city could auction it off. I don't know what a mint all orginal plymouth goes for. Maybe they should have buried a 57 ford pick up, or t-bird.

[Strõkër~X]

and here is the local link for it...

KOTV.com - The News On 6

[Strõkër~X]

no auction for it, read the first link that was posted. the car will be given away to the person who closest guessed the local population in 2007.

more from the previous link;
buried with the car were 10 gallons of gasoline — in case internal combustion engines became obsolete by 2007 — a case of beer, and the contents of a typical woman's handbag placed in the glove compartment: 14 bobby pins, a bottle of tranquilizers, a lipstick, a pack of gum, tissues, a pack of cigarettes, matches and $2.43.

There was also a spool of microfilm that recorded the entries of a contest to determine who would win the car: the person who guessed the closest of what Tulsa's population would be in 2007 — 382,457 — would win.

That person, or his or her heirs, will get the car by June 22, along with a $100 savings account, worth about $1,200 today with interest.

Legendary hot rod builder Boyd Coddington, host of the TV series American Hot Rod on The Learning Channel, will try to start the car Friday afternoon. Thousands of tickets were sold for a Friday evening unveiling.