thanks for the update hopefully the artifacts are still intact
Suddenly It’s 2007!“This is the sort of thing that could happen only in Tulsa,” spoke Lewis Roberts Jr. during dedication ceremonies marking the observance of Tulsa’s Golden Jubilee Week. “TuIsarama!” chairman Roberts’ made his remarks as citizens prepared to entomb a new 1957 Plymouth Belvedere Sport Coupe as part of a time capsule buried on the southeast corner of the Tulsa County Courthouse lawn.
Why would anyone want to bury a new car? Roberts was asked. “The ‘Tulsarama!’ committee,” he replied, “decided on the event after looking for a method of acquainting the citizens of the twenty first century with a suitable representation of 1957 civilization.”
“In our judgment,” commented W.A. Anderson, Jubilee chairman, "Plymouth is a true representative of automobiles of this century - with the kind of lasting appeal that should still be in style fifty years from now… Tulsans think big. And we feel we can over come any technical difficulties we encounter [burying the Plymouth] including the possibility of striking oil in our excavation!’
Supplied through the cooperation of the Plymouth Division of Chrysler and Tulsa Plymouth dealers Wilkerson Motor Company, Cox Motor Company. Vance Motor Company, Forster Riggs and Parrish-Clark, the Belvedere has remained buried since June 15, 1957.
As part of the “Tulsarama!” festivities, citizens of Tulsa were asked to guess what the population of Tulsa would be in the year 2007. The guesses were then recorded on microfilm and sealed in a steel container buried with the car. When the car and artifacts are excavated, the person whose guess is closest to Tulsa’s 2007 population is to be awarded the Belvedere. If that person is dead, the car is to be awarded to his or her heirs.
wpe3.jpg (4285 bytes)And what, exactly, will the lucky winner get when the car is unearthed in 2007? No one is really sure. Sitting on a steel skid, the white and gold car was wrapped in a cosmoline-like substance to help preserve it and then buried within a concrete bunker (The car was lowered into the vault several times prior to June 15 for photo shoots, one such photo ad appearing on page twenty-five of Life magazine’s July 7 issue.) Twenty years after the cars burial, questions were raised as officials began to wonder if the vault would maintain its integrity for fifty years. Its location (marked by a bronze plaque on the courthouse lawn places it close to modern traffic. Buck Rudd, deputy chief of building operations for the county court house, mused in 1987, “There’s a lot of traffic going by only 15 or 20ft from that thing. We’ve been curious to know it vibrations from the heavy traffic might have caused it to crack. If moisture starts getting in there, it’s going to cause things to deteriorate over fifty years time,” Rudd continued. Unknown to the committee - or anyone else then - 1957 Plymouths were terribly prone to rust. Asked what type of maintenance was done on the time capsule, Rudd replied, We just cut the grass on top of it."
While some lucky person may (or may not) win a brand new 1957 Plymouth in the year 2007, the winner has several other prizes to look forward to, among them a $100 trust fund accruing interest until the year 2007. Included with the Plymouth is a 5 gallon can of gasoline, a jar of Oklahoma crude oil, and in the glovebox, fourteen bobby pins, a ladies compact plastic rain cap, several combs, a tube of lipstick, pack of gum, facial tissues $2.73 in bills and coins and a pack of cigarettes with matches - all items that might have been found in a woman’s purse circa 1957,
The car’s glove compartment contains two other interesting items: a parking ticket (unpaid!) and a boftle of tranquilizers. Depending an the Belvedere’s condition, the tranquilizers may be the most important part of the package.
The lucky person who in 1957 correctly guessed what Tulsa, Oklahoma’s population would be in 2007 is destined to win the brand-new 1957 Belvedere Sport Coupe sealed in a time capsule beneath Tulsa’s courthouse.
TULSA — The rain-soaked unearthing of a 1957 Plymouth Belvedere brought tears and gasps from witnesses Wednesday morning.
The protective bag holding the car looks "pretty pitiful,” said Tulsarama coordinator Paula Hale, whose view into the vault brought tears to her eyes.
"I just lived and breathed it for so long,” she said about a minute after arriving at the Tulsa County Courthouse lawn where the car was buried 50 years.
The gold and white classic was buried in 1957 as part of Tulsa’s state semicentennial celebration, to be opened during 2007.
The vault was opened to give hazardous materials experts a chance to inspect the contents of the vault, including gas and oil stowed in case those fuels and lubricants were not still in use in 2007.
Though it was sealed, fire officials said the water was as high as four feet deep inside the vault. They estimated the height as high as the car’s windows.
Once officials drained water from the tomb, the bag became mud-caked. The bag looked as though it once was white.
Tears came from those like Hale because they fear the car inside may look as bad as the bag.
"I don’t know why you’d get so upset about a car,” Hale said, laughing about 30 minutes after seeing the opened vault. "But my first thought was sorrow because I wanted her to be a beauty queen. It’s gotten to be such an attachment for me.”
Tulsa fire Capt. Randy Springs of the HAZMAT unit said nothing hazardous was found in the vault, just some hydrocarbons from the oil and gas.
Excavators found evidence that water could have been to the top of the vault at one point, said Art Couch, who is heading up the unearthing project.
"I don’t know how bad it is, but it’s not good,” Couch said. "We were hoping it would be dry in there. The concrete must not have been as good as we hoped it was. It had some failures over the years; the concrete didn’t hold.”
About 70 spectators watched proceedings through the fence on the Tulsa County Courthouse lawn. The vault was opened about 8:30 a.m.
One man yelled, "Jimmy’s in there! Jimmy’s in there!” referring to the mysterious disappearance of labor leader Jimmy Hoffa.
Steve Walter of Tulsa was 8 when his family took the bus from their home at 14th and Owasso to watch the Belvedere’s planting. He and his brother signed their names and put their phone number on one of the car’s tires.
He said his 8-year-old mind thought once 2007 rolled around, officials would see his name and number, call him and give him the Belvedere. He admitted to at first being sad when he saw the flooded vault.
"Fifty years ago I was younger and a little healthier, too,” he said, laughing. "Now, I’m a rust bucket also.
"It’s unfortunate. But we’re still going to have a fun party.”
And the party is why people from across the state, nation and world are descending on Tulsa.
Clive Reeve, 40, and his friend, Charlie Turner, 42, flew in from England for the event. Once in the United States, they drove from St. Louis to Tulsa on Route 66.
The two said they love everything from the Belvedere’s era and have known about the unearthing for 3½ years. They weren’t put off by the dreary weather or the submerged vault.
"We still would have come even if we knew about the condition,” Reeve said. "We were praying for mint.”
Shalonda Hunter, 35 of Tulsa stood on her tiptoes as she peered through the fence surrounding the car’s exposed vault. She put her right hand on the fence, trying to leverage herself up.
She worked from 9:30 p.m. Tuesday to 8 a.m. Wednesday for her job in the medical field. She said she couldn’t miss the chance to witness history.
"Oh, man, and I don’t have my camera,” she said. "I haven’t been to bed yet. I’ve been up all night long.”
Preliminary excavation began Tuesday morning to reach the vault, which was buried three feet below the ground. Today crews will test lift the car by raising it one or two feet in the air, Tulsarama spokesman Seth Spillman said.
On Friday, the car will be removed and the public will be able to see it that night during a sold-out event at the Tulsa Convention Center.
At least 7,000 tickets were sold for the unveiling at $5, $10 and $25, Hale said. The car will be shown as it is found in its vault: no waxing, buffing or shining.
Hale said the time capsule buried with the car appeared Wednesday to still be welded shut and in good condition. The name "Valerie,” could be seen written in the vault’s concrete, and Hale said that was written by Valerie Randolph, who was crowned Miss Tulsarama during the city’s weeklong semicentennial celebration in 1957.
On the Internet, OklaTravelNet.com will Webcast live the car’s unearthing about noon Friday, and KOTV.com will have live streaming video of the public unveiling about 7 p.m. Friday. It will also air on KOTV Channel 6 in Tulsa.
The unearthing also will be simulcast in Exhibit Hall A at the Convention Center. It is free and open to the public.
Media requests to cover the unveiling have come from such places as New Zealand, Germany, Norway, Australia, California and New York.
Sharon King Davis, a centennial events co-chair, said there is hope that even if the car has been exposed to water, rust inhibitors placed on it protected the paint. It will be unclear whether the car will run until probably Friday, she said.
video of the burial
a case of schlitz beer!! hahah
im pretty sure that car is going to be a huge pile of rust. The article above, if you didn’t read, said that there was evidence that the chamber was completely filled with water at one point.
Jimmy
I’m not sure how good that bag was, at this point, it looks like it could go either way…great or terrible.
I wonder what people would do if it fired up on it’s own and starting mowing people down.
It’s not going to be in good condition at all. If there was even any water in there, it would rust. So having up to the windows means it will look like iit was in a lake with it’s roof exposed for 50 years.
From some sources in Tulsa, The car is solid. It was brought up today, but not uncovered. A few people knocked on the sides of the car and said it seemed ok. The car was lowered back down for the night and will be brought back up and uncovered at Noon tomorrow.
Boyd Coddington and his gang will be there to install Amsoil lubricants and try to get the car running. lol
Edit: Christine was a 1958 Fury.
From “Libertyville,” a made-up town supposedly not far from Monroeville.
Boyd and his crew, what a joke. They should have the boys from the local jiffy lube do it. That thing will probably leak like a siv with amsoil.
Originally a local Dodge dealer in Tulsa was supposed to service the car. But they’d probably take one look at the engine and not know what the hell they’re looking at, So that’s why I think Boyd and his clan are doing it now.
Chrysler also offered whoever wins the car their choice of any new Chrysler product as a trade for the Belvedere. Chrysler wants the car for their museum.
Oh man, that would be tough…keep that car hoping it would be worth a ton…OR…try to decide between the Brand new Challenger, Jeep SRT8 and a Viper…man, I’d lose sleep over that one.
Thanks for the updates. I forgot all about this.
I would trade that car in a second for a Viper or drag package Challenger.
So, weren’t they supposed to have it out and ready today? What’s up?
Not being opened or unveiled until 6:30PM today…
It’s been uncovered. It’s muddy, top to bottom and the engine is all rusted obviously. They’re slowly opening evrything up and going through the car as I type.
i was just about to post the same thing. I’m watching the live broadcast on KOTV.com
Car’s pretty rough. Still really cool though.
link