Tulsa to unearth '57 Plymouth this week

Tulsa World ^

[Sensei Ern]

The predecessor to the Road Runner Superbird.

[battlegearboat]

Yeah, T-Town is a cool placed to live.

[my right]

now if it was a 57 Chevy!!!!

[Red Badger]

For rust thou art, and unto rust thou shall return..........

[Prophet in the wilderness]

Doesn't matter if there is no mileage on it, or if it was buried for 50 years.
all the rubber seals, gaskets, weatherstripping need to be replaced, and the engines cylinders have rust in it.
Even if people leave cars in a garage of a few years, the car won't be the same ,,,, you have to keep maintenance on it.
Any gas that was in the tank ( that is ? if they left the gas in it ) would have gone bad and turned into varnish.
That car would need a total overhaul to get it back in running condition.
Unless the car was sealed in some kind of weather proof seal or container, pests like rats and bug would have gotten to the electric wires, and seats, door panels, headliner.

[battlegearboat]

placed=place

[reagan_fanatic]

I was reading through the articles on the website for the car and came across this little gem:

"Maybe we ought to put a can of gasoline in with the car,'' said capsule chairman Lewis Roberts. "Who knows - maybe cars of that time will run on solar power or uranium or something."

Funny how things turned out, isn't it?

[battlegearboat]

Well sir, they did about all they could.

Some of the articles about the event go into detail about the extraordinary measures that were taken by the experts to insure a "showroom" delivery.

However, you being a prophet in all gives me a sinking feeling now.

[Fresh Wind]

Well, if you want to look at old cars only as design statements, I have to agree with you. Some of them are truly spectacular. I think the only thing that distinguished the ‘57 Plymouth were the huge fins.

Maybe they chose the Plymouth simply because it was average, rather than the best they could find.

If you prefer to look at cars in terms of their function, as I do, the ‘57 Plymouth was a barge with handling and braking that can only be described in nautical terms. Yes, with the right engine, they could be respectably fast, always the American forte. In other ways, however, the American manufacturers were a good 10 years behind the Europeans when this car was built.

By the way, I am not a yuppie, I hate kraut, I have never eaten lutefisk (probably never will), and have never owned a rice burner.

[LIConFem]

My grandfather had a ‘55 Packard Clipper that he sold in the mid ‘80s to some kid in a gas station for $500.00. At the time, the body was in near-mint condition (the car had been garaged and covered since it was new), as was the interior, and the odometer read ~35,000 miles (yes, that was the correct milage). My older brother nearly cried when it was sold.

[NavyCanDo]

Wonder how many of these babies are in Cuba - just begging for a Free-World car restorer after the fall of the Castro regime and the return of democracy. Cuba is a Gold Mine of old 1950’s cars.

[Robert A Cook PE]

Ironic if they unearth it and find the tires, old rubber hoses, windshield wipers, windshield glass seals, and oil seals bad.

Hope it doesn’t get damaged trying to start it too soon: it will need an oil and fluid change/flush/rebuild too.

Hope no underground critters/underground humidity (mold/mildew) have damaged it either.

[Robert A Cook PE]

Well, I didn’t copy your answer, but it sounds like both of us (see above reply!) are concerned about the same preservation problems.

[papasmurf]

The memories are flooding in. LOL

I had a 57 Fury, 6 cyl, 3 on the tree. It was a flood car in SoCal from the spring of 68. Dad and I bought it for $12.00.

It became my high school auto shop project, and by Christmas, it had a 426 Hemi, and a 4 on the floor. Everything bought, traded or, worked for, from junk yards.

The next summer, I wrapped it around a telephone pole in a gravel lot. Dang near killed my little sister.

That sucker ran 12-oh my gawd's, at Irwindale and Lyons. Not bad for a junk yard stocker, huh?

:O)

P

[Thermalseeker]

My favorite “Tail Fin Car” was the majestic Imperial.

'59 Caddy Convertible......

[Prophet in the wilderness]

Not if they sealed it in some kind of concrete container with heavy seals so that no bugs, rats, moisture and air can get in it, the car might have had a change, but, still, have you seen what the elements do to cars ? the rubber seals on cars ? seats ? headliners ?

[PeterPrinciple]

The car bodies changed every year, and they didn’t have computers to design with.

I remember my first car repair book. I identified the year by looking at the grills.

[Prophet in the wilderness]

Just like the safe they opened from the Titanic.... all is dust in the wind.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

It was a kinder, gentler time.

[PeterPrinciple]

For rust thou art, and unto rust thou shall return..........

Buried in a damp humid environment, it is nothing but rust.