OT, but rare, car buried in a wet creek bed?

20 years ago I found an OT, but rare, car buried in a creek bed. Not on the bank, IN the creek. Only the top 8" was above the water - at that time. I forgot about it until recently.

Now I'm losing sleep over it. Wondering if it would be worth digging out. It's been under water and buried in wet mud for decades. Anyone have any thoughts on what it's condition might be?

I'm guessing it's too far gone but it would be free for the taking if I wanted to dig it out.

Thanks. Jim


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GO FOR IT

 

Jim,
What is under the mud should be solid but once the air hits it you will be in bad shape. Do some research and see what the ship salvage guys do to neutralize the effects of time under water before they let the air hit it. I think that there is a chemical and drying process that they use to keep artifacts intact once removed from the water.

 

Is it still there??????
How rare????? less then a 1,000 made???

PN- it is called electrolysis, you need a pool for a car

 

It better be REALLY rare................The second ZL1 Vette..........4 cam 275 Ferrari.......

 

So is it still there?
Or did someone else "find" it?
20 years p*** and what brings it to mind now?

Next question would be how did a rare car get into a creek bed and why didnt anyone get it out? Surely if it got there by accident the driver would have said "oops my car is in the creek". If it was stolen and hidden the owners or insurance company own it.

 

This thread is a bummer without pictures

 

Research the '57 Plymouth that was put in a "time capsule" in Oklahoma and dug up a few years ago. It will give you a better idea of what is, or isn't, beneath the surface.

Ray

 

LOL I think 20 years is past the statute of limitations for grand theft auto.

You do raise some good points here. In Missouri you used to be able to claim salvage rights on a vehicle after 7 years I think it was. I knew a guy who had his scoot stolen back in the early '70s. It showed up at the bottom of a holler mostly intact in the early '80s. The fella that found it got a bonded ***le from the state and after the ***le was out of bind my buddy recognized the bike, produced the original ***le and after litigation it ended up that the fella had legal right to the bike and was able to ask a court appointed value for the bike to the original owner.

I do suppose that is a rare thing to happen. A blue law thing for damned sure.

 

An old joke:
The lady asked the old wise man, what makes things valuable?
He says rarity my dear.
She says, would diamonds be valuable if they looked like rabbit turds?

 

I didn't mention the car cause it's OT, but I should have known better. Its a split window ('49-'52) VW.

It was dumped in the creek to help stop erosion of the creek bank in the '60's or '70's. There are others there (Ovals) too but the split is in the creek.

Jim


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You might want to check with the EPA on disturbing a creek bed should you decide to dig it up. In some states they are raising hell with the gold miners that dredge the creek bottoms.

 

first get a hippo paddle boat and then read this thread. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/low-tide-muddy-find-what-is-it.442552/

 

Hippos and hot rods
That's an all time cl***ic thread.
Someone should make a movie out of that one.

 

Not so sure thats really the same. I would say theres at least a possibility the mud insulate it from oxygen? One of three key ingredients in the rust recipe?

 

Kinda like the "Johnny Knoxville" of car guys!! a true cl***ic...

 

HIPPOS AND HOT RODS =country song in there somewhere!!

 

Wait....It's old enough, and if it's lowered, has red rims and moon discs wouldn't it be "traditional" ?

 

You won't know until you go back and check it out again.

 

Well, I am from Knoxville..... my "hippo" would be in the form of a buddy's wrecker though.

I'm not sure which I would rather disturb less, the EPA or the damn water moccasins and copperheads in the creek. It's on private property and I wouldn't be worried about raising any su****ions with the EPA. The snakes are another story though. This may have to be a cold weather recovery...

Sounds like I need to go check on it sometime soon.

Thanks, Jim

 

if nothing else, cut the split window portion out of the roof. V.W. guys would buy it, and would make a sweet rear window for a Custom.

 

It wouldn't be the EPA... it'd be the Corp or Engineers... it's against the law to disturb creek beds, river beds, waterways... any of that... even on private property!

 

I think this might be overstating it a little. If you are just digging up one car it shouldn't be a big deal. At the worst just throw a truckload of rip-rap back in the hole. Or put a Honda in there to take the VW's place.

But, I would bet good money that you will not find anything below the dirt line. Nothing worth saving anyways.

 

Fro some reason I feel like we need Joe Dirt on the job. tim

 

Split and oval window bugs are very cool. Pics???

 

Damn... I went back to re-look at the hippo thread and all the good pics are gone.

 

oh yeah- go get that split roof even if you can't get the rest

 

It all depends on the amount of water running through the creek bed.
I met a collector in Nevada that was out looking for tin and came across a roof of a Ford sedan, a 32 so he thought "I could use the roof for something. So he and his buddy started digging, found the door post were on the roof, keep digging,, door sills, digging (with shovels) and got down to the floor. They pulled out a complete 1932 ford two door sedan that was rust free and still had factory paint. The doors were gone but so what.. I know no pictures it didn't happen. But I did see it, touch it and did see the pictures of the dig. So here is the short story, it was a Nevada creek bed where water was not common, flash floods only, so body was mostly dry. Your creek may vary.
For HAMB member in Northern Nevada,, it was 35 years ago next to the Drive In in Fallon.

 

Don't sweat it Jim the water moccasins are the only ones that can bite you while you are in the water.

As for the EPA you're in Tennessee not California. Stream bank stabilization on private property is not something that is governed by state or federal law. I actually think that unless one of the newer overzealous mods got ahold of it a split window beetle would not be too big a problem, Ryan said once that the occasional V-Dub was OK just not to make a habit out of it.

 

Screw the EPA


Dustin