On 4 July 2025, residents of Seward, Nebraska gathered to witness the unveiling of what’s now being called the world’s largest time capsule. Buried in 1975 by local furniture store owner Harold Davisson, the sealed chamber contained a bright yellow 1975 Chevy Vega, a blue Kawasaki motorcycle, and thousands of everyday objects meant to reflect American life during the mid-70s.
According to GM Authority, the Vega, stored with zero miles on the odometer, has emerged in remarkable condition. The find has triggered a surge in online interest, with queries for “Chevy Vega time capsule” trending on Google Trends since the event.
A Vault Built for the Future, by a Man From the Past
The time capsule wasn’t a small-town gimmick. Davisson designed it with serious intent — building a reinforced underground vault under a concrete pyramid in the backyard of his business, The House of Davisson. His goal was to preserve a true slice of American life for future generations.
The project included over 5,000 items, from handwritten letters and cassette tapes to a 1975 Barbie, a Teflon frying pan, and even a Pet Rock. According to KLKN-TV Lincoln, a local ABC affiliate that covered the unsealing, the capsule was opened on the 50th anniversary of its burial, with the items temporarily moved to Davisson’s former store for public viewing.
The Vega That Time Forgot
The star of the capsule is undoubtedly the Chevrolet Vega — once hailed as a bold new direction for General Motors but later derided for its engineering flaws and reliability issues. Despite its troubled reputation, the model preserved in Seward has stunned experts and locals alike.
“It was unbelievable to me that after 50 years, the colours were that bright and that the whole car was in that good of shape,” said Trish Davisson Johnson, daughter of the capsule’s creator, in an interview with KETV Omaha.
The two-door Vega was a notchback variant with a brown interior, and based on surviving video clips, it appears to feature a 4-speed manual transmission. The only major visible flaw was rust on the hood, but structurally the vehicle is otherwise intact — a testament to the unexpected durability of a car often ranked among America’s automotive misfires.
Missing Records and a Fragmented Recovery
While the contents of the capsule are mostly well preserved, the recovery effort hasn’t been seamless. The original inventory list was lost in 1991, and a box of ownership receipts was stolen in the late 1990s. As a result, identifying and returning items to the families of original donors is proving complex.
Some of the letters and paper goods showed signs of water damage, but thanks to the pyramid’s structure shielding the underground vault, most of the collection escaped significant deterioration. According to Johnson, it was her father’s attention to engineering detail — not just nostalgia — that ensured the vault’s success.
In addition to the Vega, a Toyota Corolla was also buried but removed in 2024, a year ahead of schedule. The Kawasaki motorcycle, meanwhile, shared the capsule’s dark confines with the Vega and has also emerged in working condition.
A Second Life for a Forgotten Icon
Following its unsealing, the Vega was started up and driven in Seward’s annual Independence Day parade, completing a symbolic journey from the past into the present. Local outlets like the Seward County Independent reported strong turnout, with many attendees recalling the original burial ceremony as children.
Whether the car will be restored, museum-preserved, or driven occasionally remains to be seen. But for now, the vehicle — once mocked and discarded — has become an accidental hero of preservation, proof that sometimes history hides in the most unexpected places.
Similar projects, like the 1957 Plymouth Belvedere unearthed in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 2007, have ended less successfully. That vehicle suffered extensive corrosion after water seeped into its vault — a cautionary tale that only adds to the triumph of Seward’s unexpected time capsule success.
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