Miss Belvedere - One Year Later

[Intrepidation]

Came across this set of photos today.

About one year after Miss Belvedere was pulled from the ground in Tulsa, OK, I went to visit her in Hackettstown, NJ, where she is being 'stabilized' by the Ultra-One company. While some of the metal and parts have survived nicely, the quarters, trunk lid, panel below the trunk and others are wafer thin and brittle. You could easily put a hole in the trunk lid or quarter panel simply by pressing on it.

Here is Miss Belvedere at Ultra-One in Hackettstown, NJ on June 6, 2008. Note partial exterior cleanup of fender, part of the door, and half of the upper and lower grille sections.

Side view of the car.

A closeup of the cleaned up passenger fender and tire. The fender seems to have survived fairly well.

The chrome on the vent window frame looks great, with only one or two pits in the metal.

The gas tank on the left looks like it survived and could probably be reused if the car was restored. The leaf springs, as seen on the right, have brittled and snapped. This is true for both sides.

The southern parts car that was acquired by Ultra One and will be used to 'stabilize' Miss Belvedere. Plans are to use this car's frame and some of its sheet metal.

You can see the rest of the gallery here: http://picasaweb.google.com/ronbo97/MissBe...reOneYearLater#

[toesuf94]

RUST is FREE!!!

I doubt this old girl will ever be down the road under her own power any time soon...if ever!

How much do you think the car will cost to resurrect versus what it is worth? And with the notoriety that car has in the collector community (i.e. RUST BUCKET FROM HELL) do you think it will ever be marketable?

Edited April 3, 2009 by toesuf94

[Teh Ricer Civic!]

needs more rustolium

[Intrepidation]

RUST is FREE!!!

I doubt this old girl will ever be down the road under her own power any time soon...if ever!

How much do you think the car will cost to resurrect versus what it is worth? And with the notoriety that car has in the collector community (i.e. RUST BUCKET FROM HELL) do you think it will ever be marketable?

You're missing the point entirely.

It will never go down the road because that's not the point. The car is being stabilized to keep it from deteriorating further, not being restored.

The car is priceless because it is the only one of it's kind in the world that was buried ceremonially and dug up ceremonially.

[Brougham-Holiday]

Maybe its me but I dont get it, the car is in such bad shape that it is beyond repair, there are plenty of 58 Plymouths so this isn't the last one. Whats the big deal, they dug it up, the case leaked, the car is a loss, move on.

[Intrepidation]

First of all, it's `57 Plymouth Belvedere. Secondly, when was the last time you saw one?

It's not just about the car, but the history and the people involved. Thousands of people gathered from literally around the world to see it unearthed. No one expected it to come out looking like it did when it was sealed away. It's a relic of a time long past. It should and hopefully will be preserved.

[Brougham-Holiday]

I still don't get it. Maybe its me.

[balthazar]

The car is certainly not 'priceless', but it is an icon in the auto pop culture world.

Preserving it is the best course of action in that regard.

[Sixty8panther]

The car is certainly not 'priceless', but it is an icon in the auto pop culture world.

Preserving it is the best course of action in that regard.

Right!

Clean it up and put it on display in Tulsa, OK.

Anything else is a sin.

[Satty]

I'm going to bury the Prius and dig it up in 50 years.

[Sixty8panther]

I'm with you on placing 6 feet of dirt on top of the Prius.

...but why on earth would you ever dig it up?

[CMG]

I think some of you guys completely miss the point... the car will NEVER, EVER run and drive again. It's beyond saving. The engine will NEVER turn over. It is solid as a rock.

It's a piece of history like Dodgefan says, because of what it was, and what it went through.

There is a Plymouth Prowler that was entombed around the change of the century, I think it will fare MUCH better than Miss Belvedere did.

It could have been a fairy tale story, but Mother Nature had other ideas.

[Intrepidation]

They didn't seal it properly as I recall, something about the method they used allowed it to crack and water to seep in. A shame, but I love it anyway. The car gave me plenty of fond memories, not just about the even, but the journey to get there and the people I met.

It's what makes being a car enthusiast so great.

Nice to here from you CMG!

[Sixty8panther]

Well I for one would love to "park" that rotted mess in a glass case in

the wing of my dream house. Just like a big conversation piece...

They should not mess with that car at ALL beyond cleanup. The fact

that a "parts car" is being used is dumb. No matter how rotted a part

on Miss Belvedere detracts from her appearance it's still ORIGINAL &

as such should stay on.

The ONLY possible exception being the rear springs so the car once

again has a proper stance.

[Intrepidation]

Well I for one would love to "park" that rotted mess in a glass case in

the wing of my dream house. Just like a big conversation piece...

They should not mess with that car at ALL beyond cleanup. The fact

that a "parts car" is being used is dumb. No matter how rotted a part

on Miss Belvedere detracts from her appearance it's still ORIGINAL &

as such should stay on.

The ONLY possible exception being the rear springs so the car once

again has a proper stance.

Well I mean, if you look at the photos of the back of the car, it's literally falling apart. I don't mind the idea of stabilizing the car so it won't crumble to pieces.

[Oracle of Delphi]

I still don't get it. Maybe its me.

+1, put it out of it's misery ...

[vonVeezelsnider]

Well I for one would love to "park" that rotted mess in a glass case in

the wing of my dream house. Just like a big conversation piece...

They should not mess with that car at ALL beyond cleanup. The fact

that a "parts car" is being used is dumb. No matter how rotted a part

on Miss Belvedere detracts from her appearance it's still ORIGINAL &

as such should stay on.

The ONLY possible exception being the rear springs so the car once

again has a proper stance.

Agreed 100%

[Intrepidation]

It should be stabilized just enough to keep it from crumbling to pieces. They have chemical treatments that can preserve what's left of it. They use it for war planes that they don't restore, but leave in a museum as they were found. I think this is being done with a Lancaster. It's a very long process as I recall.

[CMG]

I say park the body on a less fragile, running chassis and hit the car cruises.

It's not that it WON'T be done, it's that it CAN'T.

The body is wafer thin, a finger could be pushed through the body in places.

To ME that car is a piece of art. It's an American car that has gone through the absolute WORST of elements over 50 years, and even though it's a useless deteriorated mess, it's got a profile that is unmatched, remnants of some of the most beautiful and personality packed features and parts, and the hope it "could" be a car again. The jewel in the rough, times 100.

Problem being of course that it's a piece of art now, as the car CANNOT be brought back to life.

To some it's a piece of junk, but to me it's everything automotive encased on a 3d canvas. A piece of true art.

[Intrepidation]

The car is being stabilized so it can bee displayed without falling apart. Not so it can go to the drag strip.

I'll all for restoring things and seeing them in use again. But some things should be preserved ant not restored...

Like if we ever get the wreckage of the Lady Be Good back. It should never be restored.

[CMG]

It was posted above that they want to use the chassis and body panels of the parts car to help stabilize it, so I assume they wouldn't put the dud engine in the new chassis. Cars were meant to be driven, not parked in glass cases. Even if it was five miles an hour around a race track to show off to a crowd, it would still be better than parking a rotted corpse in a museum.

The chassis and body are BEYOND USE.

It's not a "car" anymore. What is left would collapse under regular use.

It's a piece of history, it's automotive related, but it can't be driven, "dud" engine, "dud" chassis, nor "dud" body.

It's akin to bringing up the Titanic, tossing a paint job on it, refitting the interior and setting out into the Altlantic. Great idea, but it ain't gonna happen.

[Intrepidation]

Just moving the car did this to it:

It's not going to be driven.

[knightfan26917]

I know it's weird ... and perhaps a bit over the top ... but this is kinda intriguing to me. Can't explain why. I just wish I would've been able to been there when it was pulled out.

The parts that have been treated look better than I EVER thought it would again. I am interested in seeing this finished ... and seeing it wherever it lands ... even if that is at Sixty8's place . Course ... since Tulsa is a part of Route 66 ... it might make a good roadside attraction of sorts....

Cort | 35swm | "Mr Monte Carlo"."Mr Road Trip" | pig valve.pacemaker ...RT 66 = Sept 5-16, '09

WRMNshowcase.legos.HO.models.MCs.RTs.CHD = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort

"Nowadays you can't be too sentimental" ... Billy Joel ... 'It's Still Rock And Roll To Me'

[Chicagoland]

It is a Museum relic, not a collector or cruise night car. The folks in the pst didnt know what to expect and learned the hard way about entombing. It will be put on display as an artifact.

[FUTURE_OF_GM]

RUST is FREE!!!

I doubt this old girl will ever be down the road under her own power any time soon...if ever!

How much do you think the car will cost to resurrect versus what it is worth? And with the notoriety that car has in the collector community (i.e. RUST BUCKET FROM HELL) do you think it will ever be marketable?

If I had the means, I'd buy it in a heartbeat!

Part of the great thing about a collector car is the stories and history that the car contains or has been a part of.

[FUTURE_OF_GM]

I'm going to bury the Prius and dig it up in 50 years.

It'll be long gone by then...

(Haven't you seen the new

)

And that only took 30 SECONDS to disappear!!!

Edited April 22, 2009 by FUTURE_OF_GM