With all due respect to Roger, et al, and I'm no plymouth apologist, but I truly believe that the condition of Virgil will depend primarily upon the level of the water table, the earth/ground composition/stratification, the depth of the lid, below root-level, and, finally, the extent of any condensation, that might have percolated thru the concrete. Presumably, the good Tulsa City-Engineers would have taken the above criteria into consideration, and not just, merely, have dug a hole in the ground, and to have hoped for the best. They had to have realized that, altho they might not ever live to see it unearthed ( similar to the burying , recently, in Tulsa, of a Plymouth PROWLER, which we, TOO, will never see unearthed, 50 years from now) , that car is their professional LEGACY, to the far-distant populace, of 2007 Tulsa. So, I gotta believe that the issue of capsular structural integrity was a high priority, to them, on this project. I don't know the relative humidity of the air, that was encapsulated, along with the car, in June, or the volume of the air, in the crypt. Assuming that the crypt has remained intact (& there is NO evidence of gound subsidence, in regards to its lid's integrity) , the question becomes: how well was the crypt SEALED? Given that concrete becomes stronger, over time, and that earthquakes haven't struck Tulsa, and that the nearby thoroughfare wasn't created until 'well' after the car was buried, my "ONLY" concern (also given, that I have NO HOPE of ever winning/owning him [LOLOL] ) is whether he was interred standing on his tires or whether his chassis is independently supported. My belief is that there may only be a fine patina of oxidation, on exposed/un-finished metal, like frame/suspension componetry (and, maybe: flat tires). The tires, themselves, may be, otherwize, in AMAZING condition, existing in still air, in the dark, in the absence of UV light deterioration. But y'know what? We'll all find "out" , in less than 1.5 years!!!! I just Map-quested, from Bishop, CA, & am looking at about 24 driving-hours, to Tulsa! Neil Vedder ************************************************************* To unsubscribe or set your subscription options, please go to http://lists.psu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=l-forwardlook&A=1 |