Tip Tuesday: Hurricane Vehicle Preparation

We are in the midst of hurricane season and it is very important that you take certain precautions when a storm is on the way. You know batten down the hatches, secure lawn and patio furniture, secure your garbage and recycle bins, and don’t forget about your vehicle! A hurricane is upon us this coming week so this Tip Tuesday will go into a few things you can do to prepare your vehicle to be safe during the storm. 

First and foremost, it is important to have a full tank of gas; just in case you need to evacuate.

• Make sure your wiper blades are in good condition, if they are streaking, it might be time for a new pair.
• Be sure to check your vehicle battery level. If your battery is dead, your car will not start and you don’t want this happening to you in an emergency situation. 
• Take some photos of your car before the storm comes. Just in case your vehicle gets damaged from any debris, having these photos will come in handy when trying to file an insurance claim. 
• If you have a garage, park your vehicle inside. If you don’t have one, or you can’t fit all your vehicles inside, park your vehicle against your house. This will protect it from being battered from the winds. Also do not park your vehicle under or near any trees, power lines, or anything you know that could damage it. 

After the storm passes, you should make sure your vehicle has no damage. This would be a great time to use those photos you took before the storm came! If you are going to travel on the road, it might be difficult due to down trees and power lines so just be aware and careful. There also might be flooding on the road, be sure not to drive through any water as you don’t know what could be in it. 

Hurricane Laura is coming and hopefully with these tips and tricks you can properly protect your vehicle. We here at Jerry Noonan’s Auto Center hope that you stay safe out there! 

Weird Wednesday : Buried Car

It is time for a new segment, introducing... Weird Wednesday! Ever so often I will be finding a weird but cool story to write about. I thought it would be fun. So for our first Weird Wednesday, have you heard of the Plymouth Belvedere that was buried? 

Miss Belvedere was buried in 1957 in a time capsule in Tulsa Oklahoma to celebrate 50 years of becoming a state. This vehicle was buried with a bunch of other items that were popular with the people of Tulsa and the times. The car was even buried with gasoline because the people were unsure what would be used in the future. The Belvedere was to be unearthed 50 years later, in 2007. The car was shrink wrapped to protect it from water and rusting and buried in a vault. Since it was buried during the Cold War, the people of Tulsa made sure it was submerged into a vault that could withstand a nuclear explosion. 

Miss Belvedere was not only a part of the time capsule but she would be a prize to someone when unearthed in 2007. To enter the contest, the people of Tulsa had to just guess what the city’s population would be in 2007! The guesses were buried with the car. 

Fast forward to 2007, June 15 to be exact, Miss Belvedere and the other relics were to be unearthed! As the capsule was opened, onlookers saw Miss Belvedere sitting in stagnant water. The vault built was supposed to withstand a nuclear explosion but was not designed to be waterproof. Examiners actually found out that the Plymouth Belvedere was completely submerged in water a few several times over the 50 years. 

Unfortunately Miss Belvedere was completely rusted from the inside to the outside. The interior disintegrated, the engine was rusted so bad that there was no hope it would run again. The people of Tulsa were heartbroken. The winners of this vehicle had died by the time they unearthed it. So Miss Belvedere went to the winners' sisters! They had a goal to restore it, but unfortunately was put on the wayside for years. Miss Belvedere eventually had some of the rust removed over the years and in 2017, was put in her final resting place, a museum in Illinois. 

The picture above was Miss Belvedere in 2017. You can see that she looks significantly better than she did that day in 2007. I hope you enjoy this new segment! This was a really interesting story and we here at Jerry Noonan’s Auto Center, hope you loved reading along! 

* credit of information and photos from here