1957 Plymouth dig up

[RecycleMichael]

I am hoping my grandfather made a good guess. Then my parents, uncles and us grandkids can argue about the car for a while.

Maybe we can just split the car into pieces and I can get the steering wheel.

[sauerkraut]

I heard one guess was something like 389,000, that's darn close. It was intresting that the names were on pieces of paper NOT on microfilm, unless they did both or at the last minute decided to just leave the names on paper, and the micro-film rumor lingered on for 50 years. The little time capsule held tight, the 48 star flag came out brand new. I wonder if they have a plan should a tie turn up with two winners, or maybe back in 1957 the rules were that if you picked a population-guess figure someone else already picked you had to pick another number, to avoid that problem in 2007.

[Lister]

People around the world are laughing at Tulsa after this debacle. We put a car in the ground to survive a nuclear attack but don't really think about protecting it against 50 full years of water damage. Oh, wait, we put a bag over it - a bag that did more damage than good, and held water in without letting air circulate, thus ensuring the moisture stayed in the bag once it got in.

People that are saying they "love her like she is" are just in denial and trying to minimize/do damage control to save some face, which makes it even more pathetic. The thing would have been MUCH better off sitting in a salvage yard for the last 50 years. Never before has a time capsule actually been WORSE for the objects contained within but Tulsa somehow managed to pull that one off.

On another note, if they even tried to restore this car it wouldn't even be the same because they would literally have to replace the entire thing (down to the frame) with other parts. Nothing from the old car would remain.

And for those that are saying put it in a glass case for display; first off, why?" Why would you want to display such a failure in basic chemistry and physics? Second, the thing would continue to rust even further and fall apart before our very eyes.

Bad, bad publicity for Tulsa and the people giving the presentation sounded like they came straight out of teaching Sunday school with those backwoods accents and rambling over one another during the whole thing. Tasteless and poorly planned. I'll be ashamed to even bring the subject up from now on.

"Yeah, Tulsa tried that time capsule thing and we couldn't pull it off. Who would've thought that water would have gotten in to a non-airtight container underground over the course of 50 years?"

[Breadburner]

(Innapropriate comment removed)

[Ibanez]

The car could be saved in its current condition. It could be placed into a display case and then the case would be filled with argon, or something like that, and then seal the case. Much in the same way they protect the U.S. Constitution and Declaration of Independence.

[jiminy]

Ok, Lister, much of what you said is simply not true or unknown as yet.  And the rest is unreasonably negative.  Yes there are people on the coasts who put us down every chance they get, and people outside the US who are anxious to make fun of the ugly Americans,  but there's nothing we can do to please those people. And we don't care to try.  Are you even from Tulsa?  Maybe you should be from somewhere else.

[Johnboy976]

I keep thinking that there had to be something back in 1957 that could have preserved the car better. I suppose that there wasn't.

[Porky]

I went down to the convention center today to see this car and I'm glad I did. The car was something to see in its rusty state and the car show was one of the best I have ever seen. The lights were dark so my picks didn't come out too well but these cars could shine in the dark. []

1957 Plymouth Belvedere Uncovered
CLICK HERE------> http://tinyurl.com/3bkfwy

Belvedere Car Show_Indoors (Set1)
CLICK HERE------> http://tinyurl.com/38sspm

Belvedere Car Show_Indoors (Set2)
CLICK HERE------> http://tinyurl.com/2oktkj

Belvedere Car Show_Outdoors
CLICK HERE------> http://tinyurl.com/39wbcf
   

[jiminy]

quote:Originally posted by Johnboy976

I keep thinking that there had to be something back in 1957 that could have preserved the car better. I suppose that there wasn't.

The most obvious thing would be to install a drain.  The bag and cosmoline would probably have protected it from moisture in the air, they just didn't count on the vault filling with water apparently.

[AngieB]

I took a few shots this evening.
Here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tulsamini/sets/72157600377049057/detail/

[TurismoDreamin]

^^I think they could've put a dual barrier around the actual capsule itself to prevent water from getting to it. On top of that, I also think they could've cemented over the entire area. I mean, that area is a concrete jungle anyway so why no cement over the entire site.But i'm sure back then, they were confident in their work that the cement vault itself would be sufficient enough to seal it in.

I was in attendance at the car show today. I came across one picture that I found interesting. The caption below this picture read something like "torrential rains delayed something on June 1, 1957". Maybe this rain played a detrimental role in the cement's ability to cure correctly...but I don't know anything about cement so it's just a thought...

[Lister]

(Innapropriate comment removed)

[Lister]

(Innapropriate comment removed)

[tulsapoolplyr88]

Here's a few pictures from the car show:

[TheArtist]

Wow. Love old cars. Thanks for sharing those pics.