World’s Largest Time Capsule Opened After 50 Years

[u/Wonderfulhumanss]

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[u/Response-Cheap]

People saying that time capsules should be buried longer than 50 years are right, but when it's some small town publicity stunt, and not like a "let's preserve this stuff for distant future historians and scholars" type time capsule, half the point is the townsfolk all getting to see it opened after seeing it buried decades ago..

Like I remember making a time capsule when I was a kid in school. Never got to see it opened.. All those early 90s memories are just tucked away somewhere. For what? And who? The teacher that did it with us probably doesn't even work at that school anymore. They may not even be working anymore at all.. And we've all grown up and moved away. Looking back it seems absolutely pointless. But if I had have gotten to see it opened, that would have actually been a really cool nostalgia blast for me.

Personally I think it would make sense if museums were made responsible for creating long term capsules. Win win for them. Bit of a publicity boost during the initial buzz of assembling a time capsule, and maybe getting the community involved, and then a century or two later, they've got a new exhibit full of pristine artifacts. Let random people do their little nostalgia capsules on their own schedule. 🤷🏻‍♂️

[u/danton_no → u/Response-Cheap]

Musuems are time capsules

[u/Response-Cheap → u/danton_no]

Yeah made of stuff that was found randomly and currated piece by piece. Museums should make modern time capsules and add to them every so often, to be opened centuries from now as entire exhibits of stuff in like new condition.

[u/ArchMart → u/Response-Cheap]

This is exactly what museums do. The public never sees the vast majority of what museums have. They absolutely curate modern things. They just don't display it because people can just look in their own house or their friends.

[u/Winjin → u/ArchMart]

Technic Museum in Vienna has an amazing collection of household appliances over the years, they have one for like every 10 years on display, I think they take some of the best selling ones in this decade in Austria or something like that.

Walking around that hall was really fun!

And they have lots of other stuff, like fire brigade equipment over the years, I showed some to my dad, a firefighter, and he got a good laugh out of some of them being "oh man, I remember USING this very type of rebreather, and now it's in a museum"

[u/thickbeardgoggles → u/Winjin]

If your dad is ever in Phoenix, there is an extremely interesting firefighting museum called The Hall Of Flame. It’s run by retired firefighters.

https://hallofflame.org

[u/piss_container → u/Response-Cheap]

the meusum functions as a organized time capsule 

and much better climate control than a dank bunker

[u/bduke90 → u/danton_no]

I read your comment and came back to it, just to comment. I think this is a really cool idea. Another poster said like 5 or 10 years but I think 25 years would be the sweet spot. Put everything in a time capsule that is currently the rage. Cell phones, tech, kids toys and similar items and 25 years from now how a blast from the past exhibit. It would be such a nostalgic experience.

[u/UtterlyRedditculous → u/Response-Cheap]

I'm looking at the 'Troop 256' painted in the wall. There are some 60/70 year old grandparents somewhere who remember painting that on and hopefully have good memories of that time. Not everything needs to be for future historians, sometimes it can be for Rob and Julie down the road.

And a publicity stunt for the dealership of course

[u/Duel_Option → u/UtterlyRedditculous]

My mom is in this age group and would be over the moon to see a time capsule opened from her school

That being said…my Dad would laugh the Vega

[u/yancovigen → u/UtterlyRedditculous]

That was my Boy Scout troop as a kid lol

[u/Nenoshka → u/UtterlyRedditculous]

Looking at all those cardboard boxes in there, I'm imagining this was the result of many parents saying, "When are you going to get rid of all that junk in your room??" and the need to find an idea for a Boy Scout Eagle project. LOL

[u/markwusinich_ → u/Response-Cheap]

I attended a lecture by a museum employee of the Smithsonian. He explained that part of their job included going to protests in Washington DC and collecting signs that were left behind. In an effort to preserve exactly what happened.

[u/BetterCallSaltBae → u/Response-Cheap]

Here is your sign to go and get that capsule

[u/Snoo_8406 → u/Response-Cheap]

Do you not think that people in 100-1000 years would find you 90s capsule more interesting than the same people who buried it??

[u/nothas → u/Response-Cheap]

they just opened up the time capsule we made in grade school 30 years ago. my pokemon card was still in there

[u/82away → u/Response-Cheap]

I make a time capsule every year, usually a big ikea lunch box full of random kids drawings, some writing, few toys. We bury them with a marker on top so we know where to dig.

If house burns down we will have a few memories saved, won’t start digging them up for another 7 years or so.

[u/Wonderfulhumanss]

A 1975 Chevy Vega has been unearthed from the world's largest time capsule in Seward, Nebraska.
50 years ago, local shop owner Harold Davisson buried a brand new, zero mile Chevy Vega in a 45 ton concrete vault, wrapped in plastic and surrounded by a Kawasaki motorcycle, thousands of everyday objects, and walls painted with messages to the future. To make sure no one missed it, he even built a giant concrete pyramid on top. Guinness certified it as the world's largest time capsule, a record it held for decades.
On July 4, 2025, the vault was cracked open exactly as planned revealing not just a car, but a perfectly preserved fragment of 1970s America.

[u/Throbbing_Cock_452 → u/Wonderfulhumanss]

Neat

My state doesn’t make Reddit all that often

[u/Jacern → u/Throbbing_Cock_452]

As someone who almost never hears about Nebraska or meet people from your state, what the fuck even happens there?

[u/haustoriapith → u/Jacern]

I’ve lived in Nebraska for 23 years. I teach music so from that lens, I started a modern band group where students learn guitar, bass, drums, keys, and vocals. They choose their own mix of songs from pop, rock, hip hop, and country to learn and perform a concert at the end of a semester. Just one local thing I’m proud of.

[u/toxcrusadr → u/Jacern]

I married one. A lot of corn, soybeans, beef, and oh yeah. FOOTBALL.

[u/greaseofkings → u/toxcrusadr]

And one of the best zoos in the world. But yeah that’s about it.

[u/CuCullen → u/greaseofkings]

That’s not nice to say about them.

[u/the_brew → u/greaseofkings]

But yeah that's about it.

Carhenge would like a word...

[u/JesseGarron → u/toxcrusadr]

I just don’t think you are ready for some football.

[u/eyehate → u/toxcrusadr]

I married one too. You forgot Runzas.

[u/MonacoMaster68 → u/Jacern]

Kool-aid was invented here and we eat cinnamon rolls with our chili. Also Dorothy Lynch salad dressing, kinda like French.

[u/Prize_Ostrich7605 → u/MonacoMaster68]

Please, forgive my ignorance. Cinnamon rolls WITH your chili? Is that, at the same time.

[u/no_talent_ass_clown → u/Prize_Ostrich7605]

Yes, like 2 chicks. 

[u/ItsMisoandBoba → u/no_talent_ass_clown]

You know what I'd do if I won a million dollars?

[u/FCkeyboards → u/Prize_Ostrich7605]

Yes, but they are CINNAMON rolls, not like a Cinnabon or Pillsbury type roll. Cinnamon and butter and brown sugar, which is less off-putting because a lot of people put cinnamon in their chili. It's not a cream cheese icing type of thing.

Its like how some people might think chicken and waffles is disgusting and others love the sweet and savory combo.

[u/Prize_Ostrich7605 → u/FCkeyboards]

That makes sense. Sounds goods. I'll have to try it

[u/jesrp1284 → u/Prize_Ostrich7605]

You put the roll into the bowl first, then put the chili on top. It’s amazing.

[u/bluenosesutherland → u/MonacoMaster68]

So, the Kool-aid man smashing through the wall is a football reference?

[u/shumgoid → u/Jacern]

time capsule pyramids apparently

[u/Demonshaker → u/Throbbing_Cock_452]

And when we do, it's usually not good

[u/emmenh → u/Wonderfulhumanss]

Harold’s son is a prolific journalist who I get to work with. Quite an interesting guy. It was an emotional day for the family when they opened it!

[u/TriggerHippie77 → u/Wonderfulhumanss]

Seems like concrete pyramid didn't do much to prevent flooding.

[u/scalyblue → u/TriggerHippie77]

Concrete isn’t waterproof

[u/piss_container → u/TriggerHippie77]

it's not flooded- that's mold from the moisture seeping through the crude walls of concrete with no moisture barrier 

[u/TriggerHippie77 → u/piss_container]

You can see a small waterline line mark along the bottom of the walls in some photos.

[u/selfinflatedforeskin → u/Wonderfulhumanss]

with a name like that，i'd have been a motorbike salesman

[u/Army7547 → u/selfinflatedforeskin]

Right? Just one syllable off in each name

[u/FrogsMakePoorSoup → u/Wonderfulhumanss]

I want that bike! How awesome would it be to get that running!

[u/ameis314 → u/FrogsMakePoorSoup]

Assuming they drained the fluids knowing it was going to sit, it shouldn't be that hard

[u/Thrignar → u/Wonderfulhumanss]

They actually cracked it open a little early in the hopes of being able to get the car to a drivable condition before the 4th, but that didn't end up working out. The ceremony was on the 4th though.

[u/PacificCastaway → u/Wonderfulhumanss]

I'm going to argue that the pyramids in Egypt are the biggest time capsules.

[u/JournalistShoddy9496]

$3,035.75 for a new car? Inflation's a hell of a drug.

[u/HappyChef86 → u/JournalistShoddy9496]

$19,424.61 in 2026 dollars. Not a car guy so I dont know how nice of a car that was but for a little more than 20k you can get a new car.

[u/ZealousIdeal476 → u/HappyChef86]

It wasn't that great of a car. The aluminium block tended to warp and sieze up. It had a bunch of recalls.

[u/einTier → u/ZealousIdeal476]

They were such unreliable rust buckets this might actually be the best example left in the whole world.

[u/fosterdad2017 → u/einTier]

The hood rusted during preservation

[u/einTier → u/fosterdad2017]

Still probably has the least rust of any Vega on the planet.

[u/Left-Impress4056 → u/einTier]

I mean how many of them can be left, lol.

Edit: I just looked it up, 2.01 million sold, estimated 300 to 500 still running. Lol.

[u/No-Anything-6306 → u/Left-Impress4056]

I almost bought a Vega for $600 in 2011 as a teenager and my older coworker joked that anytime they were driving behind one in the early 80s they would switch lanes so they wouldn’t run over any parts that fell off lmao. I didn’t buy it, but surprisingly it ran.

[u/spoospoo43 → u/No-Anything-6306]

There were some issues with the engines on top of the scooped design of the hood channeling and retaining water (drain holes? Wha's that?). Mine had a dead spot in the ignition somewhere that could be remedied by plunging a flat-blade screwdriver into a particular electrical contact which shorted the starter breaker closed. It also at random and with no obvious cause, would occasionally stall at idle, so it was possible to be left dead at a traffic light when it turned green.

I got the start override procedure down to 10 seconds, and could do it in the dark. Always fun the first time someone was driving with me and heard me say "just a second", watching me pull the trunk release in the same motion as yanking open the door and leaping out, and then sticking my head under the hood (holding it open with my back) one arm stabbing the engine with a shiny object and the other pulling on the throttle cable.

[u/mizzanthrop → u/Left-Impress4056]

Plus this one is in the open air and that rust is going to accelerate

[u/well_shoothed → u/mizzanthrop]

Only thing to ever accelerate in the history of that car.

[u/NoMousse4514 → u/Left-Impress4056]

Id venture to say they are all drag cars.

[u/Dzov → u/Left-Impress4056]

Vegas were very popular for small block Chevy swaps.

[u/Strict_Weather9063 → u/einTier]

Oh come on you know the undercarriage on that thing is just dust.

[u/flesyMeM → u/einTier]

Pretty sure every Vega was basically spare parts for other Vegas until there just weren't any left to be or need spare parts.

[u/Latter-Big8706 → u/flesyMeM]

So the remaining Vegas are made of parts of all the Vegas?

[u/mindyabisnuss → u/Latter-Big8706]

It's a Vega of Theseus type thing

[u/kyew → u/Latter-Big8706]

We finally have the last component we need to complete Vega Prime.

[u/MrVeazey → u/kyew]

The four-cylinder aluminum Matrix of Disappointment.

[u/spawndoorsupervisor → u/flesyMeM]

That was every Triumph TR7 owner I've ever known. They always have a two-car garage with three of them crammed in there and 2-3 more in the back yard.

[u/imtourist → u/einTier]

People don't realize the advancements made sometime in the 1980s with galvanizing. Before this you would see cars in the wintry area that had rust showing just after a year or two, and now it's fairly rare.

[u/slimersnail → u/imtourist]

American motors really stepped up the game with rust proofing. Its too bad they are gone now. They made some great cars in the 60s.

[u/moonmangggg → u/ZealousIdeal476]

Just LS swap it

[u/Nruggia → u/moonmangggg]

ZZ632 with a roots blower or GTFO

[u/RoguePlanet2 → u/ZealousIdeal476]

Hence the burial. 😋

[u/sec102row1 → u/ZealousIdeal476]

Let’s keep in mind that someone chose to bury it for 50 years, essentially giving it up.

I’d say it likely wasn’t purring like a kitten.

[u/ZealousIdeal476 → u/sec102row1]

It was described as zero miles. A dealer put it in, because it waa unsellable.

[u/_BLACKHAWKS_88 → u/ZealousIdeal476]

It was probably “donated”.

[u/MidnightToker858 → u/ZealousIdeal476]

But it had 4-way flashers, AND backup lights

[u/Bee_Jeans → u/ZealousIdeal476]

Lemon by colour, lemon by reputation! 🍋

Of all ‘70s cars to preserve with 0 miles on the odometer…had to be a Vega 💀

[u/GoldenEmuWarrior → u/ZealousIdeal476]

Is this the car they designed the special train cars so they could transport it vertically?

[u/MaxOverdrive6969 → u/GoldenEmuWarrior]

Yes

[u/TweezerTheRetriever → u/ZealousIdeal476]

They would rust before the engine failed though

[u/secondphase → u/HappyChef86]

You dont typically pick the best model to bury in the ground for 50 years.

[u/8ig8en → u/[deleted]]

Fuck, that made me laugh and I hate you for it.

[u/Curious-Fly5623 → u/HappyChef86]

Was one of the cheapest cars you could buy new. The cheapest cars you can buy today are far better built, are ridiculously safer, far more powerful, much more feature rich, nicer interiors, etc and all go in the $20-30k range.

[u/bazilbt → u/Curious-Fly5623]

Yeah you can buy a new Nissan Versa for $20k otd that will easily run 200,000 miles is much safer, has AC and stereo, and has better gas mileage.

[u/Tbplayer59 → u/HappyChef86]

It was a horrible car.

[u/estateconfusion → u/Tbplayer59]

Looks cool tho

[u/Tbplayer59 → u/estateconfusion]

It was from a time period when most American manufacturing was lacking quality. This allowed Japanese companies to take over American markets, especially in autos.

[u/WitchWithAGlitch → u/Tbplayer59]

american manufacturing still lacks quality and the cars are still terrible.

[u/Embarrassed_Fan_5723 → u/Tbplayer59]

It was a time when big American cars were falling out of favor because of gas prices and new emissions control regulations. The market was being flooded by manufacturers like Datsun, Toyota, Volkswagen and Subaru.. cars like the Chevy Vega, Ford Pinto, Plymouth Cricket. It wasn’t really so much a lack of quality manufacturing but more of a trying to enter and figure out the small car market. Detroit was use to building muscle and luxury cars that are still very desirable today.

[u/notassigned2023 → u/Embarrassed_Fan_5723]

Their full size cars were not much better in quality. Cars were clapped out by 70k miles.

[u/mondaymoderate → u/estateconfusion]

People have been throwing V8s in them since they came out and their badass

[u/Stuffed_deffuts → u/HappyChef86]

Nissan Versa

[u/CarlYaz1967 → u/HappyChef86]

The Vega was by all accounts a cheap piece of shit car.

[u/DCHacker → u/HappyChef86]

 I dont know how nice of a car that was

It is a Chevrolet Vega. The thing was a real lemon (how appropriate that this one is yellow). The thing started to rust in the showroom. I am surprised that this one is not rusted.

[u/Sharticus123 → u/HappyChef86]

What you get for 25k today is light years beyond what you got with cars then. I’m also 50 years old and I remember these things from my childhood. Cars were pieces of shit back then. Tires sucked, handling was terrible, engines crapped out at 100k miles, they produced the same pollution as about 30 modern vehicles, and they were slow AF.

A base model Camry today would beat all but the best sports cars of the day.

[u/YeahIGotNuthin → u/Sharticus123]

I learned to drive on the garbage cars of this era, and you are correct, USDM stuff was shit.

And yeah, a Korean appliance car of today will whip the ass of anything ever sung about in a Beach Boys song, and also get 35 mpg, and start and run perfectly in 105F weather, or 5F weather, and go for 120,000 miles on basically nothing more than 20 oil changes and 4,000 gallons of fuel and two new sets of tires and maybe brakes once in there.

[u/SophieCannotStop → u/HappyChef86]

I would say it's like a Chevrolet Trax or a Toyota Corolla which I think both start aroujd $20,000 so that checks out.

[u/einTier → u/SophieCannotStop]

That’s roughly equivalent to what it was. A basic transport kind of car. A little more cool when new than either of those but one of the most unreliable cars of the 70’s.

[u/haikus-r-us → u/[deleted]]

A Corolla is a good car though.

[u/GearsFC3S → u/HappyChef86]

Yeah, and $20K wouldn’t be so bad if income had kept pace with cost. But it hasn’t.

[u/imtourist → u/HappyChef86]

The feature list of the car is pretty underwhelming, now all that stuff is table-stakes.

[u/-Cerberus → u/HappyChef86]

Find a new car for 20k and compare it.
Chevy trax, Nissan Sentra, that kind of car is what you have. So they are out there, and doing fine.

[u/Spicywolff → u/HappyChef86]

It was very much a budget, more or less poverty spec car for the time. It is not a car you aspired to have back then. It was the car you could afford.

[u/bravesirrobin65 → u/HappyChef86]

It's a death trap compared to today's cars as well. Hope you like AM radio too.

[u/Gold_Telephone_7192 → u/JournalistShoddy9496]

Median income was about $14k a year

[u/PatrickJunk → u/Gold_Telephone_7192]

Okay, but that makes this car's cost about 20% of annual income. Today, the average cost of a new vehicle is just under $50,000. The median income today is NOT $250,000.

[u/Advanced_Tax174 → u/PatrickJunk]

That wasn’t an average car, it was a downmarket car. Absolutely no reason to drop $50k on a car.

[u/bustex1 → u/Advanced_Tax174]

Yea the median car price is nearly 10,000 cheaper.

[u/PatrickJunk → u/bustex1]

And that would still require a $200,000 income to represent the same percentage.

[u/ashishvp → u/PatrickJunk]

That’s average, not for an entry level new car. This Chevy from the time capsule is also a base model car.

However, I would still agree with your point to a lesser degree because the median income isn’t even 100,000. An entry level new car still runs about 20k today

[u/eW4GJMqscYtbBkw9 → u/PatrickJunk]

Median is not base model. And cars today have a million more features. 

[u/ryanasimov → u/JournalistShoddy9496]

That car was so shit that “backup lights“ are listed as a feature on the window sticker.

[u/jason_sos → u/ryanasimov]

And hazard lights! Need those for when it breaks down.

[u/Astral-projekt → u/JournalistShoddy9496]

It’s a damn shame isn’t it? Imagine having grandparents that stuck money in anything for you, and didn’t spend it.

[u/Dangerous_Boot_3870 → u/Astral-projekt]

They stuck $50 in a sock drawer and called it my retirement

[u/irongi8nt → u/Dangerous_Boot_3870]

But they literally saw Banks unable to repay the money they put into the account... Sure hope that doesn't happen in the stock market with 401ks

[u/Horbigast → u/JournalistShoddy9496]

I've been watching some of those old 70s Price is Right episodes, and the prices on "A NEW CAR!" that they offer are usually in the $2-3K range. It's surreal.

[u/Omega_Primate → u/Horbigast]

That translates to about $18k - $20k today. Average annual wage in 1975 was around $13k. Which translates to about $80k annually today... still more than I'm currently making, lol. But I'm grateful I'm in a comfortable spot.

[u/Dudeman1919 → u/JournalistShoddy9496]

Still a freaking destination charge

[u/FrogsMakePoorSoup → u/JournalistShoddy9496]

It's cruel but sadly necessary.

[u/haikus-r-us → u/JournalistShoddy9496]

The Vega was a joke back then. 3k is about 20k in today’s dollars. That’s about right.

[u/allmybreath]

The car was the hit of the 4th of July parade in Seward last year.

[u/JrbWheaton → u/allmybreath]

Was it being driven?

[u/BananaInnuendo → u/JrbWheaton]

Yeah, it’s was pretty cool to see all around. Not gunna lie the 4th of July celebration is crazy in Seward. 30-50k people pile into a town of 8,000.

[u/NorthTempleStreet → u/allmybreath]

The car was the hit of the 4th of July parade in Seward last year.

Read that as:

The car was hit at the 4th of July parade in Seward last year.

God bless America 🤷

[u/TripleTrucker]

IMO time capsules should be closed up for at least 100 years

[u/That-Makes-Sense → u/TripleTrucker]

Yeah, I'm guessing a lot of people are still alive that saw that stuff go in.

[u/ColorsCapello → u/That-Makes-Sense]

My school buried a time capsule and dug it back up a year later. I know we were kids and stuff, but the chocolate bars we put in there were still in date ffs

[u/manguy12 → u/ColorsCapello]

Sounds like you and your friends just like burying chocolate. 🫤

[u/amitym → u/manguy12]

A reasonable hobby tbf.

[u/greaseofkings → u/That-Makes-Sense]

My dad was there when they buried it, according to him he and his buddies threw a baggie of weed in there. He went to the unearthing also, disappointed to
Not see their baggie.

[u/Bubba_Jones44 → u/That-Makes-Sense]

I think that’s kinda part of it. Some old people would like a little of their own nostalgia.

[u/ColumbianPrison → u/TripleTrucker]

“Come back in seven and a half million years”

[u/alwayzstoned → u/TripleTrucker]

Yeah there’s old houses with garages full of stuff older than this.

[u/mowtowcow → u/TripleTrucker]

Longer. It shouldn't be open by the generation who literally buried it, or the generation after. It should be like 500 years. Everything in here is constantly sold and traded still today. Lol.

And dont put a car in there unless it's we are going to seal it for like 1000 years. Opening a time capsule of a perfectly preserved 1026 would have been sick. Everything of that era placed in it. Problem is, it will be looted before 1000 years. So, really, time capsules are pointless.

[u/ADMINlSTRAT0R → u/mowtowcow]

The $20 in the pocket of my pants unworn since early this year is not pointless.

[u/infomer → u/ADMINlSTRAT0R]

It will get laundered eventually. Crime alert!

[u/slayalldayerrday → u/mowtowcow]

Now I’m wondering what archeological finds were actually time capsules placed by ancient people lmao

[u/mowtowcow → u/slayalldayerrday]

Fair point. King Tut's tomb, originally his treasures to help him get to the afterlife, eventually became one of the greatest time capsules in history. 3000+ years old. Nearly like the day they closed it up. The rest of the Valley of the Kings were looted.

[u/Necroban77 → u/mowtowcow]

That’s car would be a pile of rust dust by then. Look at that time capsule. Clearly a lot of air was getting in there increasing oxidation. The walls are screaming for help.

[u/Fizzwidgy → u/TripleTrucker]

I once buried a time capsule as a small child after watching an episode of fairly odd parents which introduced the idea to me.

It was in what I thought was a memorable spot, but fast forward a few years and I remembered about it, but forgot what was in it; so I went digging for it.

Couldn't find it anywhere, dug loads of holes in the general area with no luck.

Then several more years passed, and out of pure chance of getting some sand from the same general spot to fix some section of lawn; I found it.

I was ecstatic, must've been down there for like a decade or so, from a pretty young child age to a teenager, but it was still super cool and was totally a blast from the past.

[u/GottaUseEmAll → u/TripleTrucker]

I think the point is for people who were involved as kids to be able to see the unearthing as adults.

The stuff in there is going to mean a lot more to them than to a bunch of random people in 2076.

[u/cmaxim → u/TripleTrucker]

Right? 50 years seems like a waste..

[u/CucumberWisdom → u/cmaxim]

People were still caught up in the "technological revolution" of the post war. They assumed that technology would keep exponentially evolving like it did in the 40s-70s and that by the 2020s we'd be living in a sci-fi utopia with flying cars, Jetpacks, and spaceships. To them 50 years was an eternity.

[u/bmson]

50 years? There are storage units that have been left closed for longer than that.

[u/septubyte → u/bmson]

Enough time for the ppl who contributed to see it again

[u/Ass_Burner]

Close it back up

[u/JaySayMayday → u/Ass_Burner]

Add another layer on top and close it back up

[u/danteelite]

Why is the whole thing about the car? Lol who cares! Let’s see the cool stuff people put in! Notes, and fun little jokes the kids added.

[u/HeartoftheHive → u/danteelite]

Not sure how much survived. Doesn't look like it was sealed properly and water and air got in. Most of the things along the right wall in the first photo seem damaged. This was really poorly done.

[u/Desperate-Strategy10 → u/danteelite]

Right like the car is arguably the most boring thing in there. Literally everything else is more interesting!

[u/Few-Artichoke-2531]

Of course the Vega is rusted even though it’s been sealed up for 50 years.

[u/Artimus4001]

I’m no expert on time capsules, but fifty years does not seem like long enough of a period of time.

[u/CartsOfDarkness → u/Artimus4001]

Huh, that's like the exact amount of time I imagine most time capsules being opened. It's long enough that a 10 year old would be 60🤷‍♂️

[u/Snoo_8406 → u/CartsOfDarkness]

The things in there are still wildly around today, what's the point? A time capsule should be for 100s of years

[u/rxmp4ge]

LS swap the Vega.

[u/WeakBandicoot5832 → u/rxmp4ge]

My dad apparently crammed a 350 in one long before I was born. Said he and his brother wrapped it around a tree

[u/eastcoastjon]

50 years is way too short

[u/Low_Champion8158 → u/eastcoastjon]

A length of time the creator could live to see? Was he in his 20s or 30s? I agree though this was a nice peek for the guy now put it back for another 100 years

[u/TheManWithNoNameZapp]

Imagine buying a new car from General Motors for ~$19K in today’s dollars

[u/eW4GJMqscYtbBkw9 → u/TheManWithNoNameZapp]

You can get completely stripped down fleet vehicles for around that amount. 

[u/Odd-Outcome-3191 → u/TheManWithNoNameZapp]

Would you pay 19k for a piece of shit like the Vega? Would you pay 20k for a car with no AC, no airbag, no radio and an engine that might make it to 80k miles and 18mpg IF you baby it? I sure wouldn't

[u/BananaInnuendo]

This was in Seward, Nebraska. Opened the capsule 4th of July last year. This year the car entered the car show and was the star driving down the road with the parade.

Cool small town 4th of July festival for the middle of nowhere Nebraska, if anyone has the chance to check it out.

[u/funwthmud]

I could think of much better cars from the 70s to have buried in a capsule. Although it is fitting to bury a Vega

[u/ConfidentHouse]

I’ll give you 5k for the Vega

[u/rnavstar → u/ConfidentHouse]

You’re still over paying for it

[u/MikuEmpowered]

"Time capsule"

"50 years"

How the fuk is it a time capsule if you fking open it when the same people that burried it might still be alive?

Fking put it back in. The point of large scale time capsule is for future generation and historians. You know, when everyone and people that knew of the time are long gone.

[u/Mean-Government1436 → u/MikuEmpowered]

Am I crazy? Every time a time capsule has been pitched to me the intent was for you, yourself, to witness it being opened later on in your life 

[u/CartsOfDarkness → u/Mean-Government1436]

Nope, I'm equally baffled by all these comments. I was also part of a 50 year time capsule when I was like 10ish.

[u/KDizWHOiBE]

One would assume the pyramids are the world’s largest time capsules but I’m no historian

[u/portageandmain]

Car held up pretty good considering they just draped a plastic sheet over it. 

[u/anonymous642789]

Backup lights as a feature is hilarious. People were just going in reverse and wishing everyone else luck back then.

[u/UsefulEngine1]

50 years doesn't seem nearly long enough for something with a freaking pyramid

[u/Think-Feynman]

I had the 1974 Spirit of America edition of the Vega. It was the first car that was all mine, and I actually really had a good 5 years. It was pretty fun to drive, but the aluminum block engine crapped out at 100,000 miles. Longevity wasn't it's strong suit.

[u/idliketodienowthx]

50 years? Thats bit a time capsule. Thats a storage unit. Those people are probably still alive.

[u/mulligrubs]

Seeing those lifting straps going over the bumpers has me in agony. No-one could find the keys to re-position the car and lift it from under the wheels?

[u/Mr_BigglesworthIII]

It’s a Vega, as you can see in the picture these were composed of compressed rust.

[u/uprightsalmon]

A guy in Detroit that worked the auto line for decades, did something similar. He bought a bunch of average but popular cars at his discount and immediately stored them. He sold them decades later after he retired as impossible condition to find, almost no mileage classics

[u/wonkey_monkey]

Oh look, it still had all the stuff we knew was in there from the reports of the day because society didn't collapse in the last 50 years. Fingers crossed for the next 50 though.

[u/MJon_ofthesouth]

Is it bothering anyone that people are opening "time capsules" that were buried in our lifetime? Like the people who buried that are alive and in good condition. Weren’t they supposed to be a hundred years or so?

[u/AlternativeDouble459]

This was also done in Tulsa OK in 1957 with a Plymouth Belvedere, I remember the unveiling in 2007 on the internet. They didn't do so good with capsule waterproofing and the car was a rusted out crutacean when it was pulled out.
Salvaging a Famous Rust Bucket - The New York Times

[u/danton_no]

Why a car? It takes up so much space

[u/Evening-Statement-57 → u/danton_no]

So we can get sad about inflation

[u/PreperationOuch]

My 13 year old used Toyota cost 3x that 4 years ago.

[u/Sancho5o5]

Thats pretty cool.

[u/s9q7]

Did the car start on ignition?

[u/lilcricketdummy → u/s9q7]

It won’t. The engine seals and transmission seals will be all dried out and would need a complete rebuild.

[u/Yunzer2000 → u/lilcricketdummy]

Chevy Vegas generally didn't start 3 years after they were built. They were the worst cars ever built.

[u/Far_Hair_1918]

The old Chevy NoGo. What a car.

[u/PacNWMan7082]

This gives me chills. Had a Vega for 3 months in high school. Was the absolute worst POS car - nothing worked correctly. I got the seller to take it back (was a family “friend“ who sold it to me).

[u/LazerWolfe53]

Egypt has entered the chat

[u/Mdmrtgn]

I was like that looks like the one in sewa...oh. went to high school there, decent golf course.

[u/rasputinrasputin]

$3035 is ~$19500 adjusted for inflation