[Ram]

ID:260 is a 1957 Plymouth Belvedere Sport Coupe.
It has a 318 cubic inch [5,211 cc] V8 driving a Pushbutton TorqueFlite 3 speed automatic transmission.

The 1957 Plymouth Belvedere came in five body styles.
Belvedere Sport Coupe, Belvedere Club Sedan, Belvedere Sport Sedan,
Belvedere (4-door post) 4-door sedan and Belvedere Convertible.(V8 only) The entire production run made 2,80,584 fullsize Plymouths.

V8 or 6-cylinder engines were available. Exterior trim package had Sportone side trim, chrome bumper wing guards and stainless steel wheel covers.

The buried Plymouth
1957 was the year, the US state of Oklahoma completed 50 years.
That year, the residents of the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma buried a time capsule in downtown Tulsa, at the SE corner of the lawn of the Tulsa County Courthouse.

It was Saturday, 15th June 1957.
A brand new gold and white 1957 Plymouth Belvedere Sport Coupe was buried along with other historical artifacts in that time capsule.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/webextra/c...rthed/car2.mov

Now we're in 2007. Oklahoma State celebrates their Centennial.
On Fri. 15th June 2007, at 12 noon CDT [22:30 IST] after a half-century of burial, the historic 1957 Plymouth Belvedere will be unearthed and displayed to the public at the Tulsa Convention Center as a part of the celebration.

Where is it?
Under the sidewalk in front of the Tulsa County Courthouse, approximately 100 ft N of the intersection of 6th Street and Denver Ave.
GPS coordinates: [36.149473N, 95.993636W]

Wrapped in Cosmoline (Styrolene) wax to resist rust and gently placed inside a giant concrete sarcophagus, the brand-new Gold and White 1957 Plymouth Belvedere Sport Coupe was buried on Sat. 15th June 1957 as the centerpiece of a time capsule created for the 21st century citizens of Tulsa 2007.

Why was the Plymouth buried?
To acquaint citizens in 2007 with a suitable representation of civilization in 1957. The Plymouth was chosen because in 1957, it was "an advanced product of American industrial ingenuity with the kind of lasting appeal that will still be in style 50 years from now."

Lottery
In 1957, citizens of Tulsa were asked to guess what the population of Tulsa would be in the year 2007. The entries were recorded on microfilm, sealed in a steel urn and buried inside the vault with the Belvedere.





On Friday 15th June 2007, when the car is exhumed, sponsors, VIPs and relatives of the 1957 event functionaries will witness the event.
The process will start today, Tuesday, 12th June. The street around the area will be closed to accomodate a giant crane.

After digging out, the 1957 Plymouth will be loaded onto a trailer and transported into the Tulsa Convention Center arena.
It be exhibited at the Tulsa Civic Centre. KOTV channel 6 will cover it.

The Belvedere will become the property of the person whose 1957 guess about the 2007 population was closest to correct. If that person is no longer alive in 2007, their closest identifiable heir will get the car.

Doubts
Will the Plymouth be still intact? Would the burial vault have leaked moisture and let the car rust in 50 years? Will the winner receive a functioning car when they unearth it?
We will only know on Friday, 15th June, 2007.

Christine
This writeup would be incomplete without mention of Christine.
Christine is a paperback novel (horror theme) written by Stephen King. It's about a Plymouth possessed by ghost forces.

A movie was also made in 1983 on the novel.
The book mentions a 1958 Plymouth Fury.
But there were no 4-door Furys. One of the cars (doubles) used in shooting the movie is a 1957 Plymouth Belvedere 4-door Sport Sedan.