More pics of Tulsa's rusty 1957 Plymouth Belvedere unearthed

John Neff — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 15:36:00 EST

click above image for 26 new pics of the '57 Belvedere unveiling in Tulsa

Since we weren't able to get an Autoblogger on a plane pointed at Tulsa last weekend to catch the unearthing of a 1957 Plymouth Belvedere buried underground for 50 years, we called Chrysler because we thought, hey, they built the car way back when, maybe they'll have someone on hand with a point-and-shoot. And they did. Max Gates from the Safety and Regulatory Communications department of Chrysler escaped his cubicle to attend the festivities surrounding the reveal of Tulsa's time capsule and "Mrs. Belvedere".

Of course, by now we all know that Mrs. Belvedere spent much of the last half century under water, her underground sarcophagus having been breached by mother nature and flooded countless times in the past 50 years. In Gates' pics, we get our first close up look at the extent to which the '57 Belvedere is ruined with rust. What's interesting is that there are no rust holes or rust spots, there's just a veneer of rust completely covering the vehicle making it look as if the car were plucked from its tomb and deep fried right before the unveiling.

We haven't heard any news about who correctly guessed what the population of Tulsa would be in 2007 and therefore has won the '57 Belvedere, nor whether it's been confirmed that car customizer Boyd Coddington will restore the vehicle before it's awarded to the winner. For the winner's sake, we're hoping he or she isn't given the car in this condition.

[Source: Chrysler Group]

Gallery: Tulsarama unveiling buried 1957 Belvedere

More pics of Tulsa's rusty 1957 Plymouth Belvedere unearthed originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 20 Jun 2007 15:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tulsarama time capsule a 1957 Plymouth Belvedere

John Neff — Thu, 10 Aug 2006 19:52:00 EST

Filed under: Classics, Etc.

On June 15th, 1957 the residents of Tulsa, Oklahoma buried a 1957 Plymouth Belvedere beneath a downtown sidewalk in front of the Tulsa County Courthouse. At the time Tulsa has more cars per capita than any U.S. city besides Los Angeles and a fierce rivalry with Oklahoma city. The time capsule stunt was meant as a way to celebrate the city's love of the automobile and one-up Oklahoma City.

The car was filled with all sorts of 1957 mementos, including a case of Schlitz beer, 10 gallons of gasoline, 5 quarts of oil, the contents of a lady's purse, as well as photos and maps of the Tulsa area. No one knows what condition the Plymouth is in, but townsfolk from the era say city officials took every precaution to ensure the car would still be pristine when it was exhumed. That date will come next year during Tulsa's centennial on June 15th, 2007, fifty years to the day after the car was buried.

[Source: BuriedCar, ForwardLook.net]

Tulsarama time capsule a 1957 Plymouth Belvedere originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 10 Aug 2006 19:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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