Thousands of people in the US state of Oklahoma have gathered to see a time capsule pulled from the earth in the celebration of 50 years of statheood.

The 1957 Plymouth Belvedere car had been encased in a concrete vault to protect it but the vintage vehicle was covered in rust.

Read here.

Boy I bet they can't wait to win that!  ;D

Dopes.  They should have consulted a geologist and a metallurgist before burying the damn car. 
::)

Ironically, there are hundreds of restored '57 Plymouths out there kept lovingly pristine by enthusiasts.  There are pop culture collectors who live for old Schlitz cans, purses, pill bottles, postcards, flags, items of persnonal enhancement, you name it, somebody's collecting it.  There was no need to encrypt a car in a giant block of cement.

However, people in 1957 could not predict the hobbyists of decades in the future.  For all they knew, we would have been annhilated in an atomic war by now.  Who could know that curating ephemera would become a national past time?  You can find sites on the Internet for people who like to collect old candy wrappers mounted like biological specimens, eg:
"in 1967 and 1968, Tootsie Roll Industies made the orange stripe on the wrapper 1.5 mm wider, as you can see here, but then returned to the original width in 1969."
:D ^ I'm making this up of course, but I have seen similar demonstrations  of pop culture scholarship!

".....the typical woman's handbag of the times, containing lipstick and tranquillisers...."

"Lipstick and Tranquilisers"?  Wasn't that The Strawberry Alarm Clock?
:P

I wonder what a typical woman's handbag of today would hold............

I wonder what a typical woman's handbag of today would hold............
...wall plugs and balaclavas?

I heard about this on the news last night. I have family who lives in Tulsa. My niece works at one of the local t.v. stations and if I am not mistaken, she is the producer of one of their news programs. I will see her next week and I will ask her if she was there at the "unveiling".



Cat

Amazing that anyone could think they could put anyting that long underground without having any water seeping into the vault, and cars from the 50's were not well known for good rust protection...they're going to have Boyd Covington try and bring it back to life, they're better off starting from scratch with a donor from a junkyard, it'll be in better shape! Still their are crazy collectors that have already offered thousands of $$ for this car, AS IS!

What I'm surprised here is that no one has noticed or mentioned how closely the Plymouth Belvedere model resembles the more famous Plymouth Fury model, i.e."Christine". :o

I thought it would be great to have the car come out as Stephen Kings killer car and have it start screeching, careening and terrorizing the onlookers as it was raised from its grave  :D !

...wall plugs and balaclavas?


Only in the winter.

just goes to show you that in 1957, everyone was stupid.

just goes to show you that in 1957, everyone was stupid.


Who you calling stupid?

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c270/jackas000/rodent.gif

just goes to show you that in 1957, everyone was stupid.


No need to add the 1957.. we're dealing with Oklahoma. A car is still a big deal there.

"Internal Combine Injun?"

I've read from several sources that late 50's Chrysler products (Dodge, Plymouth, Chrysler, DeSoto) had lots of problems with premature rusting, to the point that it hurt Chrysler's reputation well into the 60's before they corrected it. And it's funny, now that I think about it, I can remember that when I was a little kid back in the early-to-mid 70's I saw a decent number of late 50's cars still on the road but not very many late 50's Mopars.

Who knows? Maybe if they would've stuffed a '57 Chevy down in the hole back then it might've held up better.

What about the tranqs in the handbag would they still knock you out??  ;D

No need to add the 1957.. we're dealing with Oklahoma. A car is still a big deal there.

"Internal Combine Injun?"


Yes..we are dealing with Oklahoma, and speaking from the real life experiences of living there for 3 years, just outside Oklahoma City, I can tell you that it doesn't surprise me in the least that they'd screw something like this up, 50 years ago or if they did this again today. 

>>One guy hoped that the car being underwater for an undetermined amount of time in the 50 years "hoped the paint would be OK"...

>>One organizer said" water must have leaked in there somehow"  Gee, I didn't think they filled it with water after they put the car in....

They couldn't find the ignition key, theorizing it must have "disentigrated"...and they also stated it was no big deal, in light of the fact that the ignition switch was completely gone..

One guy who helped pour the concrete for the vault said that "maybe there was a leak between the walls and floor when we poured"  Again, Gee, doesn't it seem like somebody would have checked??  They obviously would have had the exterior of the walls excavated to place the forms for the pour, maybe after the concrete cured they would have tried filing it with water and checking for leaks?

Somebody in the audience got mad at the people on stage handling that car that night with their trying to open the hood after they unlatched it, guess they weren't smart enough to comprehend that maybe, just maybe, that after being underwater for 50 years, the metal to metal parts might be seized up??

I looked at the pictures that they've provided on the news site, and it appears that there was no sealing agent between the vault walls and the concrete slabs they covered it with.....since there are reported indications in the vault that the water has been to the top of the vault in years past, I'd say that a pretty good indication that water just may have infiltrated there......

Who you calling stupid?

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c270/jackas000/rodent.gif
could it be...

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c270/jackas000/rodent.gif

SATAN?

could it be...

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c270/jackas000/rodent.gif

SATAN?


My mother used to look at me that way.

could it be...

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c270/jackas000/rodent.gif

SATAN?
LOL

Yes..we are dealing with Oklahoma, and speaking from the real life experiences of living there for 3 years, just outside Oklahoma City, I can tell you that it doesn't surprise me in the least that they'd screw something like this up, 50 years ago or if they did this again today. 

>>One guy hoped that the car being underwater for an undetermined amount of time in the 50 years "hoped the paint would be OK"...

>>One organizer said" water must have leaked in there somehow"  Gee, I didn't think they filled it with water after they put the car in....

They couldn't find the ignition key, theorizing it must have "disentigrated"...and they also stated it was no big deal, in light of the fact that the ignition switch was completely gone..

One guy who helped pour the concrete for the vault said that "maybe there was a leak between the walls and floor when we poured"  Again, Gee, doesn't it seem like somebody would have checked??  They obviously would have had the exterior of the walls excavated to place the forms for the pour, maybe after the concrete cured they would have tried filing it with water and checking for leaks?

Somebody in the audience got mad at the people on stage handling that car that night with their trying to open the hood after they unlatched it, guess they weren't smart enough to comprehend that maybe, just maybe, that after being underwater for 50 years, the metal to metal parts might be seized up??

I looked at the pictures that they've provided on the news site, and it appears that there was no sealing agent between the vault walls and the concrete slabs they covered it with.....since there are reported indications in the vault that the water has been to the top of the vault in years past, I'd say that a pretty good indication that water just may have infiltrated there......



I can't remember the year but Tulsa had a big flood. My sister's car got hit really bad-and her car was above ground. I'm sure that vault was probably like the Chinese Water Torture Chamber during that time. Who knows how long it took for the water to go down and all that time the car was submerged.



Cat

No need to add the 1957.. we're dealing with Oklahoma. A car is still a big deal there.
That's why they buried the Plymouth.  They couldn't use it yet.  They were gonna dig it up when OK caught up to 1957.  Sort of a Tulsa-style "Back to the Future"!

"Internal Combine Injun?"

Hey, we're not s'poseda call 'em Injuns no more.  It's "Native American," or sumpin'!
:D

That's why they buried the Plymouth.  They couldn't use it yet.  They were gonna dig it up when OK caught up to 1957.  Sort of a Tulsa-style "Back to the Future"!
Hey, we're not s'poseda call 'em Injuns no more.  It's "Native American," or sumpin'!
:D


;D ;D

That made my day!

When I was a kid, my parents had a '57 Belvedere.  :)

And by 1967 it looked pretty much like this one does in 2007.  ;D ;D

That's why they buried the Plymouth.  They couldn't use it yet.  They were gonna dig it up when OK caught up to 1957.  Sort of a Tulsa-style "Back to the Future"!
Hey, we're not s'poseda call 'em Injuns no more.  It's "Native American," or sumpin'!
:D


I'm glad none of us here are elitists.  ::)

I'm not from Oklahoma or anywhere near there, but I find such statements to be no better than the "country bumpkin" attitudes that more enlightened types are supposedly against in the first place. Ignorance knows no bounds.

...and just in case you're wondering, I do have a sense of humor. This just isn't my cup of tea.

I'm glad none of us here are elitists.  ::)

I'm not from Oklahoma or anywhere near there, but I find such statements to be no better than the "country bumpkin" attitudes that more enlightened types are supposedly against in the first place. Ignorance knows no bounds.

...and just in case you're wondering, I do have a sense of humor. This just isn't my cup of tea.


Can't say I'm an elitist, but I make fun of folk from OK all the time, they're my common beating post. It's a joke, s**t, my whole damn family are inbred, redneck, bible thumpin cave dwellers, I make fun of them. I'm a hooligan and don't make anywhere near the best of the brains I was given, folk make fun of me too. It's a joke.

I'm glad none of us here are elitists.  ::)

I'm not from Oklahoma or anywhere near there, but I find such statements to be no better than the "country bumpkin" attitudes that more enlightened types are supposedly against in the first place. Ignorance knows no bounds.

...and just in case you're wondering, I do have a sense of humor. This just isn't my cup of tea.





Oh, I'm just being facetious.  I don't really think the car is still a big deal in Oklahoma.
It won't be until those guys figure out the opposible thumb!
:D

Oh, I'm just being facetious.  I don't really think the car is still a big deal in Oklahoma.
It won't be until those guys figure out the opposible thumb!
:D


Electri..what?

Electri..what?

Well, the rural electrification guys back in the '30s forgot to leave an instruction manual for how to flip the light switch...or anybody to read the manual to them!
:P

Well, the rural electrification guys back in the '30s forgot to leave an instruction manual for how to flip the light switch...or anybody to read the manual to them!
:P


Actually, I thought they left a chimp... but he ended up moving to Connecticut and becoming President.  ???

I'm gonna break my rusty cage...and run.  :P :P :P

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/43055000/jpg/_43055735_belap.jpg

I'm gonna break my rusty cage...and run.  :P :P :P

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/43055000/jpg/_43055735_belap.jpg


You might be able to roll.

I'm glad none of us here are elitists.  ::)

I'm not from Oklahoma or anywhere near there, but I find such statements to be no better than the "country bumpkin" attitudes that more enlightened types are supposedly against in the first place. Ignorance knows no bounds.

...and just in case you're wondering, I do have a sense of humor. This just isn't my cup of tea.






I thought it was funny. 

Oh, please let us know when you find something amusing so that we can come an say that you're ignorant.

I'm gonna break my rusty cage...and run.  :P :P :P

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/43055000/jpg/_43055735_belap.jpg


Great driving song!

You ever want a good laugh..do a Google search of something like "Oklahoma sucks", and see how many hits you get....a lot of them are because of the OU football team, but many are not......

You might be able to roll.
I don't think anyone's rolling anywhere in that thing.

I don't think anyone's rolling anywhere in that thing.


Down the side of a hill.. I never specified how.