Linkypoo

Buried Buick a punch line in waiting

After almost 4 decades underground, car buried as practical joke brought to surface

By Bonnie Miller Rubin, Tribune reporter

8:40 p.m. CDT, April 2, 2010

As practical jokes go, the buried Buick may not rank up there with whoopee cushions and rubber vomit, but there's no question that — in Kankakee, at least — it will go down in history as a classic.

The twisted tale started nearly 40 years ago, when three Kankakee pranksters decided to wall up a 1958 Buick Special under a house one of them owned — where it remained until late last month, unearthed by a demolition crew.

"I was surprised it was in such good shape, considering the car is 52 years old," said John Tamblyn, now owner of the house at 187 N. Chicago St. Tamblyn learned of the vehicle's presence three years ago, when he bought the property to rehab and discovered the car by peering through a hole in the basement wall.

The burial happened in 1971, reportedly when a New Mexico man driving through town developed engine trouble. When the estimate for repairs exceeded his budget, the traveler ditched his wheels. The dealer had little use for the vehicle and gave it to the practical jokers, who rolled the two-door hardtop from the lot and concealed it in a secret tomb, Tamblyn said.

Daniel Newman, 65, was in on the gag and is enjoying the modest notoriety surrounding the discovery — although he didn't think it would take this long to detect, he concedes.

"It was just something to do. ... We just pushed it down there ... but first, we took the tires off because they were good," said Newman, the only one of the perpetrators still living in the area.

The driveway had been filled in and space under the house had been covered with brick, according to Emery Phillips Jr., one of the crew members who helped pull the auto with 1971 New Mexico license plates into daylight. "It was kind of crazy ... there was less than a foot of space on all sides."

For his part, Tamblyn now has the car in above-ground storage, where he hopes to restore it to its former glory. He thinks the gag was well worth the almost four-decade wait.

"They did it for no other reason than they thought it would be funny," he said. "And in these economic times, it was great to have something lighthearted ... that brought a smile to everyone's face."

No pics, not that I looked very hard.

Sould be able to find pictures ........ it was on yahoo and msn's main page awhile back

People still visit Yahoo?

I love stuff like this.

People still visit Yahoo?

Yahoo currently has approximately one hundred and thirty million users world wide, thirty five million of which live in the United States alone. At present there is no indication as to the number of users online at anyone time, however I feel it's safe to say it is a considerable amount.

Apparently, GM's late 50's corrosion protection process was better than Chrysler's. Pictures, please, or this thread is worthless.

People still visit Yahoo?

I still have My Yahoo as my default page in Firefox.. have all my usual links bookmarked there. I used Yahoo email for years before switching to Gmail.

For people who have the energy to bitch, but lack the intelligence to use Google:

For people who have the energy to bitch, but lack the intelligence to use Google:

Looks intact...need to wash it..

Thanks for the pics Mister Attitude.

Considering the circumstances that Buick is CHERRY.