Will it run? Tulsa to dig up car buried for 50 years

[ZeoBandit]

Will it run? Tulsa to dig up car buried for 50 years
POSTED: 8:20 a.m. EST, January 23, 2007
Story Highlights
• Car was buried under lawn at Tulsa County Courthouse in 1957
• Promoters looking for people who helped lower it into its crypt
• Speculation: Car is either pile of rust or in pristine condition
• Contest awards car, cash to best guesser of Tulsa's population

TULSA, Oklahoma (AP) -- Organizers of a coming-out party for a buried 1957 Plymouth Belvedere could use some help.

The car, which was buried in brand-new condition under the lawn of the Tulsa County Courthouse in 1957, is scheduled to be unearthed June 15 as part of the Oklahoma Centennial.

Promoters are looking for people who helped lower the car into its crypt in 1957 to perhaps shed some light on what to expect when the car is unearthed.

There's speculation the car may have turned into a pile of rust. Or that it's in pristine condition and worth thousands of dollars.

Sharon King Davis, who has chaired Tulsa's centennial efforts, looked at photos of the people responsible for burying the car in 1957 and found her grandfather.

"I wish grandpa had left me some instructions," she told the Tulsa World.

The car had been largely forgotten until Davis and her group started work on the centennial. Files on the car have vanished, so it's not clear what to expect when the lid is lifted.

What's known is that the car is on a steel pallet with jacks under the axles. Efforts were made to preserve it, but it's unclear if moisture has gotten to the metal and caused rust.

"There's a kind of Rip Van Winkle reaction," Davis says. "Most people had long ago forgotten the buried car, but as the time to dig it up nears, they are waking up and wondering about life in 1957."

Another unknown is who will be able to claim the car.

When the car was buried, a contest was announced to award the car and a $100 savings account to the person who came closest to guessing Tulsa's population in 2007.

Organizers concede that finding that person or his or her heirs may not be easy.

At the time, the guesses were recorded on microfilm and sealed in a steel container buried with the car.

[vh_chick]

How interesting. I love quirkly little things like this. Now you just have to remember to check up on this in June!

[Viking]

I live 100 miles from Tulsa, and I find out about this here.

Here is a picture of a 1957 Plymouth Belvedere:




In one word: Sweet!

[Wickett]

How will this thing NOT be rusted out after 50 years? I hope I'm wrong, as pulling a pristine vehicle out of the ground would be very cool, however unless they sealed the vehicle air tight (unlikely for 1957?), I don't think it will end well.

[Bugs Meanie]

http://www.kansas.com/multimedia/kan...ject/index.htm

Similar story here. 1938 Chevrolet Business Coupe being restored after it was found sitting in a Kansas barn for sixty years. Tons of cool pictures of the restoration and what kind of shape it was in.

[fast98dodge]

If it's in pristine condition, I can only imagine the type of money it would fetch at Barrett-Jackson or something like that...

[Blount5150]

http://www.kansas.com/multimedia/kan...ject/index.htm

Similar story here. 1938 Chevrolet Business Coupe being restored after it was found sitting in a Kansas barn for sixty years. Tons of cool pictures of the restoration and what kind of shape it was in.

thanks for that link, i enjoyed that...is the guy still working on the car? I'd like to see some final pics..

[dirtymovies]

Cool story! There's a black '57 on ebay currently...mean-looking rig...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Plymo...spagenameZWDVW

[ZeoBandit]

My friend's dad currently has a 57 Chrysler Saratoga and a 57 Desoto Adventurer (With a Hemi) that are basically clones of the 57 Plymouth. They are sweet cars.

[billy007]

I always think old cars ('59 and earlier) are cool, pretty much no matter what they are and I wonder if younger people feel the same way when they see a Vega or a Pacer or a Cordoba...

[Axxman300]

I can't be the only one here who read the title of the thread and thought "50years? Fuck, that's old!". Then looked at the calender and noticed their own 40-something birthday coming up.

I'm suprised it hasn't driven itself out of that hole and banged the first Honda Civic it saw doggy style.

[Bugs Meanie]

thanks for that link, i enjoyed that...is the guy still working on the car? I'd like to see some final pics..

I'm not sure. I got the link off of Fark.com and don't know much more than the little blurb I posted earlier. It looks like he's really getting close to being done. Hopefully he'll update it.

[AT]

Now will they bury a new car in its place to be retrieved in 2057?

[ZeoBandit]

If they do, no way it lasts 50 years! They don't make them like they used to.

[Nostalgia Act]

http://www.fox23.com/mediacenter/def...?videoId=20729

The unveiling is tonite.

Boyd Cottington(sp) is in town for it.