Thread: Tulsa Buried Car

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Here are pictures of the Tulsa Buried Car Belvedere. It Looks pretty well rusted out, as you can plainly see:
http://www.kotv.com/news/local/story/?id=129598

Looks like they did a poor job of protecting the car .What a mess and I'm not even a Mopar man. Glad I decided not to make the trip.

Don In Austin

",,,,,,maybe he was crying because the Schlitz beer was in tin cans, and no longer drinkable?......."

Who says?????


OK to be truthful.....that beer wasn't drinkable in 57 this is an improvement

Yeah, storage don't do it. Drive 'em!

"Looks like they did a poor job of protecting the car .What a mess and I'm not even a Mopar man. Glad I decided not to make the trip"

Actually considering the time frame, I think they did a pretty good job. Remember, that was 1957. The year Sputnik went up, we had no space program, let alone the technology that we have today. We didn't even have plastic bags at the grocery stores then, and no computers to analyze anything unless you were part of the DOD. They probably used the best methods and materials they had available at that time. Probably lucky they didn't rely on cardboard and freezer wrap.

Man, I was 11 years old in 57. Some interest in girls, very little in cars, mostly in shooting pool at the firehouse. I couldn't wrap a present, let alone think of wrapping a car to last another 50 years.

Just think of how well you'd be preserved 50 years in a underground vault. Pretty musty I'd guess.

Bob
_______________________________
Places to Go, People to Annoy!

Originally Posted by Mike P

",,,,,,maybe he was crying because the Schlitz beer was in tin cans, and no longer drinkable?......."

Who says?????


OK to be truthful.....that beer wasn't drinkable in 57 this is an improvement

I see you have tasted Schlitz too. :-)~ Hope you are having a great time!

Egyptian mummies more than 6,000 years old look better than that Mopar.

Did Boyd start it yet?

MOPAR YOU ARE RIGHT.WE HAVE A TENDENCY TO THINK OF THE PRESENT ENVIROMENT AND NOT THE PAST.I WAS 19 YEARS OLD WHEN THE CAR WAS BURIED AND DRIVING A 32 5 WINDOW/W CHEVY POWER.I STILL SEE THE CAR WHEN I GO BACK TO TN.

WHAT I MEANT WAS I PREFFER FORD OVER MOPAR.HEMI'S WERE AND STILL ARE A FORCE TO BE DEALT WITH.

YOU HAVE A NICE CAR

Don In Austin

OLDF100FORDMAN;
I couldn't remember the date on the demise of the Edsel. I do well to remember where I live.

No problem, John, I resemble that remark my self.

I went to see the car today. It's really not as bad as the photos would indicate. It's so covered with muck, and not being able to get in and poke around, it's kind of hard to assess. I was surprised that holes and blistering were minimal, considering. I've seen worse restored.

Odd thing is, some of the stuff that usually adds to the difficulty in a car from this era, like all the stainless and glass, is all pristine.

Really nice car show today. I think almost every '57 Plymouth in existence must have been there. Mike's little red '57 was stunning.

Hi guys, I did the car show thing today, (I'll add more in the next post).

Thanks for the comment about my car Guitarplayr nice words are always welcome.

"......It's really not as bad as the photos would indicate......."

My assessment is a little different......I also saw the car today. True anything can be restored, but in this case I'm afraid all that would be left would the stainless, set of glass (with the exception of the vent window Boyd's crew broke getting into the car) and the stainless steel VIN tag.

As I walked around the car, the driver door is rusted through, there is bubbling on every panel, and while the chrome looks shiny on the outer surface these often rust from the inside out (there is usually very little chrome on the back side).

One of the rear leaf springs fell off when the car was raised and from what I could tell from looking at the mirror they had under the car the U Bolts had simply rusted away. I get a feeling the frame is probably pretty thin.

Anything like heavy steel brackets look like they will be VERY heavily pitted if even usable at all. I don't know if anybody noticed last night at the unveiling but the inner trunk reinforcements (or what was left of them) literally fell off into the trunk.

I think on close inspection any exterior panel you will find are too thin to be usable.

Possibly the major engine castings could be reused, but after all this time I'd almost bet you end up with 8 sleeves.

A few days ago I would have been the first say restore it, but on closer inspection I believe there would be so little of the original car left that it would be a travesty to do so. At this point personally I would really like seeing the car preserved in it's as is condition (after steps are taken to preserve it form further decay). And who know that may be what happens. I'm hearing rumblings that both the W. P. Chrysler Museum and 57 Heaven are both interested in buying the car once it's determined who owns it.

All in all, I kind of like it. It's got a golden glow to it. Has a great persona, even though it could fall apart and any moment. Sorta looks like the pictures of the Titanic you see on tv.

The car show today was great. One guy said he counted 32 57 Plymouths (plus aobut 5 in the indoor show ( and probably 3 on the row outside the convention center. That should make about 40 but I think the count should have been 39 1/2.

I'd been talking to the owner of this all weekend and didn;t know it was his until the show today (we had also discussed the engines a few time on the Plymouth Forum).

It now has an 80" wheel base weights 3000 Lbs and is powered by an aluminum head 11:1 compression 392 Hemi, has a 4 speed and 3.91 Posi.

He built it in the early-mid 70's (and mentions he doesn't drive it as hard as he used to

Then there was the row (probably close to 20 56-58 Fury's from the Golden Fin Society.

The orange 57 Belvedere (4dr HT) was really neat, front clip and a Corvette LS1. I've been talking to the owner for a couple of years he completed it enough and in time to drive to Tulsa from LA with only about 250 test dive miles. I'm not usually one for cross breed swaps, but the workmanship was absoutly first rate.

We'll be heading out for Illinois to see family tomorrow moring and will keep you posted

that sure is a shame, makes you wonder if the cell filled with water within the 1st year, probably so. i bet with all the hype behind this now, it would fetch a million bucks on e-bay just as it sits. it is probably worth more in its present condition then if it were restored from its rusted form.