’58 Buick Special found sealed in porch foundation
Two-door hardtop had been sealed away for 38 years
A work crew preparing to demolish a home in Kankakee, Ill., recently discovered an unexpected treasure: a 1958 Buick Special. The two-door hardtop had been walled off in what appeared to be a porch foundation.
The Daily Journal reported the find in a March 19 issue, then continued to follow the story to the punch line: the car had been placed there in 1972 as a practical joke.
The Daily Journal interviewed the perpetrators in a follow-up: “I guess you could say we did it just for the heck of it,” said Theodore “Bud” Gilbert, who owned the apartment building at 187 N. Chicago St. in the 1970s. “We knew it would make some kind of story whenever it was found.
“And we knew it would be found sooner or later. I just hoped I’d still be around when they found it.”
The rusty, blue and white car, with a 330-cid 'nail-head' engine, was stored on blocks in a space with a foot or less of clearance on either side.
The current owners of the building were unaware of the car’s existence, but were curious enough about a walled partition to have it checked prior to demolition.
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