Locals in Seward, Nebraska, sealed a time capsule on July 4, 1975. It was the world’s largest back then, and it still is according to the Guinness Book of World Records. Inside it were more than 5,000 items, from personal letters and Pet Rocks to larger objects like a Kawasaki motorcycle and even a buried-when-new Chevrolet Vega. Nearly 50 years to the date, on June 26, the city of Seward cracked that sucker open and found the Vega in amazingly solid condition.
While the Bowtie was stored out of the elements for those 50 years, it wasn’t in some hermetically sealed environment. A photo posted by the Seward County Independent shows the Vega with a simple plastic tarp lying over top of it. Through the sheet, you can spot a few rust spots on the hood, as well as a license plate that says “2025.” Pretty neat stuff, really.
It’s fair to say that the Vega held up better than the Toyota Corolla that was stored atop the time capsule in a somewhat weatherproof pyramid from 1983 until 2024. Seward citizens opened that up during last year’s Fourth of July celebration. “All the good stuff is in the time capsule down below,” explained Trish Johnson to KETV Omaha. Her father, Harold Davisson, originally buried the 45-ton vault during Gerald Ford’s presidency. “By putting a pyramid on top, it preserved what was below it.”
The problem was, they couldn’t figure out how to open the time capsule without removing the pyramid. That’s why they cut it prematurely, labeling it their “dress rehearsal” for the full unveiling in 2025. It apparently took six hours to get the job done.
From here, the plan is to give the Vega a solid tune-up and drive it in the town’s Fourth of July parade, which might be the best news I’ve heard all year. Just about every example of the Ford Pinto rival that’s still around today could use some love, though I’m afraid those that spent the last 50 years above ground haven’t fared nearly as well.
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