Unveiling Tulsa's Buried Belevedere

[PowerToolism]

Its not that bad, when you think about the circumstances. Its an American car from the 50's, and lets be honest, they are not the best cars at withstanding rust. Adding to the equation that it was sealed in a moist, underground concrete chamber with a tarp on it, there was a big chance it would turn out much worse.

I think its great that they did this, I think today's car designers have lost their ways. Say what you want about old American cars, above all they are beautiful to behold.

[hukatoker]

spoiled or perserved ?

[xGHOSTx05]

wat song is that please tell me

[MsSMOTOR]

эксгумация

[pattycat100567]

my ass hole brother bought this car in 57,dam roller went threw hell and back in'er now theyre diggin her up,did nothin ever come between her and my brother ,if they did''watch out

[andy72xbox]

@pattycat100567 lol christine

[Pervypriest]

Now that is indeed a sad sight :(

Man what a waste of an beautiful machine..

[yourtubeafried]

What exactly was the point of this?

[dooalittledippsy]

They should have just opened the lid, filled it with cement, and re bury that junk.

[davetherave7]

It would have faired better if they had left it above ground in a parking lot, instead of burrying the dammed thing in a trench. What a waste of time and energy this experiment was. If I want to see an old rusted car, covered in mud, with a filthy interior, I just look at my neighbours back yard amongs the long grass, and to be honest, some of them are in better shape than the "TIME CAPSULE".... Jesus, I hope it wasn't in that condition when they buried it...

[jent888]

where are the cleaning people? or it is just a thing for the junkyard.

[Rarrin9378]

Dave of davesfarm can start it.

[ksthomas]

CHRISTINE IS ALIVE!

[Genners111]

@ksthomas LOL this is the only time when you WOULD want the car to have Christine powers... and restore itself!

[JohnDeere30201]

@ksthomas christine was a plymouth fury but you were close though

[ThatVictoriaGirl1]

Such a waste of a car! Too bad they didn't take the time to think it through so the car would have come out in better shape. Imagine if they had waited until 2057 to open it.

[4crevis]

... Fuel actually turns in to a gum like state after a time so you wouldn't be able to use it anyway! This reminds me of a Jaguar XJ220 that was found behind the wall of a carpet shop back in th 90's in the UK... Apparently the shop had gone bust and was listed as one of the assets in the books... Builders found it hidden behind a wall whilst renovating the premises imagine that... It was in perfect condition, was unregistered...11 miles on the clock, and 280 made.. It had sat there for 7 years!

[TheGodParticle]

I think to much water got to it, shame

[cochranexyz]

Is this entire thing an analogy of the USA?

[fuzzypeach]

They should've kept the car in a bank type vault above ground. They would have been better off filling that concrete coffin up with grease, it might have preserved the car somewhat better. Instead they just wrecked a perfectly good 57.

[mccrackenphillip]

Were Is It Now?

[MsEscalade007]

What year would you guess the vault leaked?

[zpunout]

@MsEscalade007 '58

[LeCreativeGenius]

I've seen cars parked out in open fields since the 50's that were in much better shape. Hahaha.

[Shadowcretin]

No, man. Restore the car to its former glory. It's a crying shame that the car is gonna spend all of eternity with just mild restoration.

[MrThegodfather2010]

wash it man

[meattube4u33]

they wraped it in a plastic bag huh - FAIL

[DaMastaOfRoad]

what does boyd coddington have to do with it?

[bonpL13fr]

What's really amazing is that there are people standing around clapping!

[Photonzos]

bury a car in a mud hole and that is what you get... utterly predictable. utterly stupid.

[Protains]

well...that didnt work

[Foo3112]

What a waste of a car. Im actually surprised people werent booing once it was revieled that it looked like that.

[bwild61]

Rest in peace Miss Belvedere...Rest in peace Boyd..

[rfsent5]

@bwild61, don't you mean, Rust in peace MIss Belvedere...Rust in pieces.. ;-)

[anglicky69]

what a horrible idea. it would have been better off just sitting in a garage somewhere in nevada or arizona. horrible idea, horrible waste of a car and resources, back then and when it was dug up.

[The1FastGP]

straight to the junkyard.....

its probably 100% rust, and the dopes are clapping. Not even Chip Foose's A-team can resurrect it.

[logik316]

@The1FastGP

Not necessarily. The Belvedere was exposed to very little air while it was underground, so the rust could be fairly superficial (remember, you need oxygen as well as water to turn iron into rust). I wouldn't want to see the car restored, though. It looks much more interesting this way, and should be displayed in a museum as-is.

[Draknfyre]

@logik316

Oxygen is dissolved in the water. Otherwise things underwater wouldn't rust.

Even if you assumed the water had no oxygen, the crack that let water in sure would let oxygen in as well.

[logik316]

@Draknfyre

Yes, but the amount of dissolved oxygen would be limited, and would quickly have been used up when reacting with the car's metal. You need a *LOT* of O2 to fully reduce sheet steel to rust. The seepage that occurred in the underground vault was also likely very slow, so the influx of new oxygen was also very limited. For instance, hot water heating pipes are often made out of plain steel, but they easily last 50+ years because the water in them is very rarely changed.

[Draknfyre]

@logik316

I don't remember how much water was in there, but it could have been feet of it, and water was seeping all the time. So you were having continual water seeping for 50 years.

As I said, the vault this was buried in cracked, so there's the possibility that air was let in, too.

Another video shows what they are doing to the car. They are using steam and an antirust cleaner to clean it, but are not restoring it.

[logik316]

@Draknfyre

Seepage is always a problem when building a basement or an underground chamber in an area with a high water table. No matter what you try to seal it with, water will eventually come through the walls, even if the concrete itself doesn't crack. This is a very slow process, though, and once the water level reaches equilibrium the amount of water/air circulation coming in and out of the vault would be very tiny.

[Draknfyre]

@logik316

The vault actually cracked. It says in one of the videos that road work damaged it. Water came in from ground sources. It was in possibly feet of water. When I say seep, I mean coming in thru that crack. Otherwise it would have been in better condition.

[logik316]

@Draknfyre

I guess it's all speculation, until one of us has a chance to poke the metal with a screwdriver. But I think it's pretty safe to say that if the car was parked in a running river or lake with a constant supply of fresh water right under the open air, most of the sheet metal under the waterline would be gone and only the heavier frame, engine block, and suspension components would still be present.

[Draknfyre]

@logik316

According to what one of the people said, some of the metal is as thin as paper. But as you said, it's speculation. I do know when it was pulled out, they said it was in bad, bad shape. Never run again without full restoration shape. And I don't remember how much water was in the vault, but I keep saying could have been several feet. I believe it was at least 3 feet. That's alot of water reguardless of the oxygen content.

Yes, running water would have been worse, but it's still bad.

[logik316]

@Draknfyre

I would say, however, that if they are using a rust remover on the thing, then the rust must be fairly superficial. Otherwise, they would leave the car with a bunch of holes in its sheet metal, which I think would be even more unsightly than rust.

[KeithWasHere1]

@logik316 key word Linex! and make it thick!

[logik316]

@KeithWasHere1

On the car or the vault?

[KeithWasHere1]

@logik316 the vault seal whatever the building material is completely in linex.whatever thickness you like.if it can withstand explosives than it can surely keep out water...from what ive seen its pretty tough stuff.doesn't crack,doesn't come off whatever you spray it on,(unless you get ridiculous about its removal) ive seen truck beds turn into hot tubs using the stuff..and bricks and blocks made almost shatterproof with it.even saw one dude make a BP vest out if it* steel disks underneath LinX

[logik316]

@KeithWasHere1

Oh yeah, I remember seeing an episode on Mythbusters proving how bomb-resistant the bedliner stuff was. People generally don't use it as a building material and it wasn't available back in the '50s in any case, but I'm sure it would work nicely for a time capsule. If I was in charge of the project back then, I probably would've used welded aluminum sheet metal.

[KeithWasHere1]

@logik316 your right..but what says its strictly limited to truck beds?...heck if i had the equipment id shoot the tin on my roof with it..provided it comes in different colors...its versatile stuff...i read about a dude that made a home made bullet proof vest (mentioned in my previous comment) using it shot at like 1 inch thick with steel disks underneath in a layered pattern..stopped a .357 mag in its tracks with only like 3/16 of penetration...like basically a dimple in the linex.

[KeithWasHere1]

yeah id go with the aluminum too....and probably a few hundred pounds of painters desiccant or sillica gel (provided they had it back then)..to absorb moister...i always wanted to take a mini fridge and pack it with that stuff and place a computer inside there and see what kind of overclocking i would get if i chilled everything the motherboard,cpu,ram hardrive,video card..everything!..would be a pretty interesting experiment..just need a small hole for the keybaord,mouse and VGA cords.

[logik316]

@KeithWasHere1

Hmmm. Spinning up a hard drive when it's frozen doesn't sound like a good idea. All those tiny moving parts designed to strict tolerances and you're contracting the metal, will likely shorten it's lifespan.

[KeithWasHere1]

@logik316 no no..i dont want it frozen..i just want it chilled real good..yeah freezing anything will pretty much destroy it (expansion and contraction problems like you said)...i just want to chill the computer slowly to perhaps 20 to 60 or more degrees below its normal operating temperature. probably the equivalent of using a high end water cooling setup today. but i dont know..on and old K6II 500 or first gen athlon 1.ghz what are you going to loose?

[GonzoRecovery]

It could only be the good ole' US of A....whats to applaud in a rusty piece of automotive crap being hauled out of the ground ? I swear, you morons would clap at a weather report....

[bwild61]

@GonzoRecovery Our Car ..Our Country...You are welcome for our help in saving yours...Good Night.

[logik316]

@GonzoRecovery

Oh? What exactly was the nicest car Europe produced back in 1957 that the average working man could afford? A Volkswagen or a Trabant? They were fairly reliable, perhaps, but not exactly works of art.

[GonzoRecovery]

@logik316 Ignore me. It was a year ago,and I was obviously having a bad day. I'm usually much more enthusiastic about reclamation/uncovering of old cars and bikes, whatever their origin, and American emotional hyperbole doesn't usually trouble me.. Shame indeed that this one obviously copped for some serious water and air during its entombment. Not sure it'd get my vote for the best out of Detroit circa '57 though, even if it was pristine. Point taken re: affordability for Average Joe.

[JAG312]

I'm glad it was only a POS Belvedere and not a good car.

[Mdonkin961]

aww poor car shes beautiful

[171apples171]

i bet that tarp is made out of asbestose:D

[outdoorsman535]

y the fuck would u burie a car

[MrFukinfantastic]

@outdoorsman535 why do you say "y" ans "u" when it takes a split second to simply type out why and you. 

[maxis986]

piece of junk

[AwwC00L]

they need to bury a modern car in a valt airtight and unbury it in 100 years

[52appaZ]

stupid okies

[irarawkstarr]

They must not be all that smart in Oklahoma. I mean, I heard they buried it with gas in the tank, like they expected it to be drivable. You'd think they could have done a slightly better job preserving it.

[crablogic]

@irarawkstarr The fuel was in glass jugs. They tried to preserve the car as best they could 50 years ago with a weeks notice. I'm sure if they had more than a week to prepare the car and build a proper vault the car would have been in better shape.

[logik316]

@crablogic

I doubt it, unless maybe if the vault was made of solid aluminum or stainless steel where any seams were thoroughly welded shut. You simply can't build an underground concrete room in an area with a high water table, and expect it to remain dry for long. No matter what kind of waterproofing compound you use to seal the walls (paint, asphalt, tar, whatever), you *will* eventually get a tiny crack somewhere and it's only a matter of time before the vault fills with water.

[JavaLuCpp]

@crablogic too bad it is all water damage. Probably better if they just covered it in mud.

[publicatdamagnificen]

@irarawkstarr Dude, I lived in Tulsa for 3 years. Oklahomans aren't the sharpest tools in the shed!!

[EdwardPack1988]

@irarawkstarr if water never gotten to it, it probably would of been recoverable.

[mastersduhgree]

@irarawkstarr Yes and never ever do you tarp a vehicle for long periods of time as it holds moisture in and it rots the interiour and accelerates the rust factor.

[FordsRule351]

does it run?

[malandrazi]

What a Fuckin waste! I bet it was county workers that dug the hole, well at least one digging and four others standing around with shovels- good old American ingenuity!

[4431prw]

ZOMG! CHRISTINE!!!

[Borin81]

they could use it as a toilet.

[creaturebotman]

Its like they went out to any ole dump and picked out a good for nothing rusty old heap. This had to be the biggest hick town bloopers of all time!

I mean really!

Its like they dug up a dead rotten corpse from the city graveyard, dressed it up and pranced it around as if it were in a beauty pageant.

OOOH the humanity!

And then they tried to play it off like "Look! SEE... its alright...its fine..yeah..heh..fine"

Bull SHIT!

[survivorman1265]

its very funny but i dont think its a belvedere it looks like a plymouth fury the same car from christine the movie

[kc88kc]

i dont get it

[SoilentGr33n]

Great deal, low mileage car. Not a single fucking mile on it actually, absolutely brand new.

[bwild61]

@SoilentGr33n, That's right! The car came directly from the assembly plant to that hole they put her in....

[SoilentGr33n]

@bwild61 I think they could've at least hosed the car down a bit...Most of the chrome was still good underneat the gunk...it's a sad thing...

[mihnea134]

RIP BOYD CODDINGTON

[freelancemakeup]

wats the song called as the cars cover is taken off? i like it i like 1950's stuff

[bwild61]

@freelancemakeup the song is teen angle from '57

[maia6307]

I dont no the forner history but i int hope someone vill restore this monument.mvh sweden

[ViolatorKush]

what a fucking pos waste of money, haul that load of shit to the dump.

[skateer25]

hahaha

[Theriomalstrom]

The irony is that it would be in much better shape if it had been a daily driver for the last 53 years.

[MrStreck]

that would be funny if a monster truck came out of know where and ran it over.

[poofythebassplayer21]

did they restore it?

[tripovermyego]

@poofythebassplayer21 They didnt restore it. They cleaned the rust off of it and put it in a museum.

[19seth91]

...ooooooooookaaaaaaaaaaaaay..­... :?

[QuadCore120]

it made me cry when it is covered in rust.

why bury it in the ground. why don't you just keep it above the water level so rust cant build up and flood. :(

[axlslashduff1]

wow i think they have some body problems on the car

[lukeradziminski]

I wonder why was it buried 0.o

[OldtimerMercedesBenz]

The car died 52 years ago, they buried it and in 2007, they discovered it was murdered and this is the abduction =D

[OkotOkot]

it was a time capsule for a city, they buried to try and preserve it, the flooding and rusting was a real bummer when they dug it back up.

They have a Plymouth prowler and a harley davidson in a time capsule now, and in 50 years they will get them back out too.

[patrick1wtf]

i hope they sealed it good... so it doesn't come out as f*cked up as this one.

..

it's still an awsome classic car .. doh

[paulerbear119]

omg the car is like ruined...

[humvee600]

poor car

[chorstma44]

I dont mean this in a negative way but why was the car buried?

[crablogic]

It was a publicity stunt in 1957.

[chorstma44]

Oh ok. I was just curious. Thanks!

[19seth91]

a publicity stunt for what?

[crablogic]

The 50th anniversary of Oklahoma statehood. To be dug up on the 100th anniversary. Road construction years later compromised the vault.

[InmyJag]

@crablogic It looks like it does now because there was a flood in Tulsa and the vault didnt hold up.

[Pintac87]

@chorstma44 Because it was a Chrysler product. Have you driven a new Sebring? You'd want to bury it too.

[chorstma44]

@Pintac87 HAHA! Perhaps the new ones, but Chrysler was quality back in the day

[55chevyguy12]

you could probly get the motor running. you'd need to take it apart completely though. clean everything, sandblast, grind the rust off, new wires all through the car, basicly do an engine rebuild.

[sweetbilly]

Oh shit if you thought it was bad before Christine is gonna be really pissed off now! :P

[Kagaines]

@sweetbilly Thats prolly why she was so mad in the first place. That was prolly her sister or something.

[liveforspeedDARTZ]

this is nice, imagin what this car ha thinki with that music and all the people that where watching and yelling, this was awesome, i am om holland and i watched this on tv from the beginning to the end and the unveiling on youtube... nice video.... christine is back :P

[tripovermyego]

That car is amazing. All that rust is just on the surface and most of it on the car is color. The Belvedere/Fury is so sexy!!!! Amazing how the original tires still hold air but the interior didnt make it.

[creaturebotman]

ooooooHHHH so embarrassing!

[frautodid]

Very special, my ass!

[regal340]

As if chevolet would donate a car, tight arses at least chrysler had the balls to donate it good advertising back then

[AlStiff]

i love plymouth's of the 50-th...she is beautiful.

[sttjam]

Its Christine...

[mrdeedz1]

thats a damn shame. now....who wants to buy it???

[KokaneeGuy1]

rusted up old piece of shit..lol..go fucking take it to the car crusher

[deegirlshopping]

junk

[12344bam]

they should of put some thing that would been worth something in that hole instead of a pos beleveldere they should of putt a superbird or road runner any of them would be worth millions if the vault would not have flooded and the car came out as a rust bucket

[inkey2]

to 12344bam: well....the problem is...they did not have road runners or superbirds in 1958

[12344bam]

no but they had other cars like the corvette or 57 belair

[chinesekid05]

Lol, so much for pristene condition...

[sexyboi142]

technacally she was except for the interior an engine. everything else made it. when they de-ruster her she just needed a good waking an she would have looked like she had just rolled off the line

[Reverseflush]

Oh that would be fun to powerwash!

[sexyboi142]

i meant waxing

[DonKael]

Boyd would have chopped this lovely piece apart, threw some stupid Hot Wheels rims on it, and generally disgraced it.

I hated his crew, and I hated his cars. Especially what he did with that mint Model T...

[Malibunightrider]

glad im not the only one pissed about that model T and i kno he would have totally ruined this car

[trmoparx]

Dwains a Jack off. His comments about the car going in junk in 1957 and comming out junk was an insult to all mopar fans. Get lost Dwain Looser.

[Railer505]

My uncle was in Tulsa on June 15, 1982. They had a "half-way ceremony" with a concert in the park outside the courthouse it really wasn't that special people left flowers wishing Mrs. Belvedere well.

[mocus1]

man, if they'd only put a couple French drains in the floor of that vault, she'd be good as new......

[MMiiKKee95]

boyd i dont think you could get it running either looks like this is a job for foose! poor belvedere =[

[m22rockbox]

Let me quess Boyd thinks he can rebuild this piece of crap in two weeks.

[riviera1992]

No crap the 1st one who ever wastes a 57' 58' plymouth is a bitch and boyd is dead R.I.P boyd coddington :(

[Al3xandrew]

duane .. just a gnom :))

[CreativeCritisizm]

Did you hear that woman scream in horror when they started to peal that tarp back ?

[tavco]

LOL !!!!

[supper15fiets]

....blablabla...let me introduce my srcew...dawaayne..my biggest fag..its a good dog....

[sufkiller]

fuck you buzzyfredrick! She a p.o.s but she still nice looking!

[FendtFarm]

Wasn't better store the car in a less atomic proof but drier normal garage for 50 years???

Just a group of idiots can organize a so sad event...

[poriruadude]

yeah, just the stupid romantic idea of barrying something for the future, man if only they knew what a heap of shit it would look out to be! they could have done a better jon, tighter airspace

[BuzzyFredrick]

just tow it to the dump.

[DerMFFSheriff]

Be honest: There´s just a piece of rusty crab left.

What a sick idea to burry a car.

[whipthegoat]

PLEASE DONT LET BOYD CODDINGTON (or any of his slaves) TURN A WRENCH ON THIS CAR! he ruins good vehicles

[poriruadude]

i really agree with you on that... that guy is an idiot, give it to jay leno's team. they are high profilers in american restoration, right? made me crumble when i heard hotrod thats like a swear word!

[whipthegoat]

ha, he said they build "hot rods" in 8 weeks. that might be due to the fact that the entire body is fiberglass and everything is pretty much aftermaket parts.

fiberglass belongs in the mufflers, boyd.

[DEF90JAM]

boyd coddington is the man, but i fucking HATE dwayne

[fabiomr1]

Uma pena o que fizeram com o carro. Melhor se tivesse ficado rodando. Depois de cinquenta anos, por mais desgastada nem de longe teria se transformado num carro fantasma. As cenas são macabras.

[supper15fiets]

suckers...cars has to be above the ground and running , if this baby was running for 50 years and kept it nice it would be still running....

[thomasuras]

I agree you can see better cars on ebay , what a POS that car is

[moparmonster1965]

Fuck you, Boyd Coddington.

[triffid98]

it would be a crime to restore that car, you'd have to replace more than half of the components from a donor vehicle (or custom fabbed), at that point why do it?

it's really too bad they didn't bury this thing in oil, if they had it would probably be near perfect today.

[crablogic]

After seeing the car up close, it would be easier to get another car and only use the stainless trim that is still in perfect condition. All the body panels are so badly rusted, they are almost paper thin with many holes rusted completely through. It should be left alone, it has more historical value than if it were restored.

[thomasuras]

Just go back to the old neighborhood and that fucking guy that had perfect grass and bitched if you cut through his yard is just about dead now and buy his 1950's car in the garage for 1200 bucks

[honkeytonker]

good show but Richard Petty or Wally Parks would have a more suitable MC for the unveiling than Boyd Coddington

[crablogic]

That would have been cool!

[DerAdventurer]

I bet my ass they'll make this shine as new as it was in 1957. lol I know americans, they're crazy enough to do anything.. =D

Go Plymouth. Old soldier will overcome!

[rionemarcos]

Porque essas bestas estão aplaudindo??? o erro de projeto? tinha que bater no engenheiro que projetou aquela cova, fez o carro derreter embaixo de 50 anos de agua , depois os americanos dizem q são inteligentes, que frustração

[Tcamp95818]

Sad, they should have cleaned it up. I know the inside would be trashed but the metal looks to be surface rust. It was under water that cuts off air flow. to have deep rust you need air and water. YOu would prob have to replace the electronice,engine and the inside but it would still be the same car. I feel they should part way restore it. Make it runing and clean but leave the paint the way it is just stop it from rusting more.

[shawnjacob]

The first car totally rusted that has zero miles - Oh, good catch on the signatures.

[glock882]

1st