Since the ’60s, Ford Has Stored Cars Underground in a Kansas City Cave
You may have seen a photo floating around the Internet that depicts a gaggle of Mavericks—not the pickup, but the econo-coupe that preceded it—lurking in what appears to be some type of natural cave. Dig a little deeper, and you might even stumble across a sentence or two explaining that these unlikely spelunkers represent overstock stuffed by Ford into a subterranean system carved deep beneath the bedrock of Missouri.
The image might seem an oddball anachronism, some kind of temporary solution to overflowing dealer lots that somehow made sense in the 1970s. Would it surprise you to find out that Ford is actually entering its seventh decade of keeping cars in said caves, which are part of a vast business complex called SubTropolis?
Legacy of Limestone
Most of the time, defunct mining operations are viewed as hazards and liabilities. The legacy of resource extraction is highly variable but almost always negative, except in those rare cases where geology and foresight converge to present a singular opportunity.
Such was the case with the Bethany Falls limestone mine, a 1940s operation that dug deep into the 270 million-year-old bedrock underpinning Kansas City, Missouri. In the process, miners procured much of the stone that was used to construct the buildings and infrastructure needed for the bustling metropolis sprouting up in the center of America. Although limestone exports were strong throughout the 1940s, over the course of the following two decades it began to look like the economic potential of the mine had been fully wrung from the rock. Left behind was a unique complex of stable, moisture-free man-made caverns located within Kansas City limits. Two decades later, it took an outsider to recognize the commercial potential of the mine’s skeletal remains.
“The Hunt family got involved when Lamar moved up from Texas and brought the Kansas City Chiefs with him [in 1963],” said Ryan Tompkins, Director of Sales and Leasing at SubTropolis. “He wanted to invest in Kansas City and really show its people that he was here for good. He wanted to put his roots out. So he purchased the active limestone mine at that time.”
It’s here that SubTropolis began to take shape. Rather than continuing to run the facility exclusively as a mine, Hunt began to use it to store mining equipment as well. It was a solid proof of concept: With a depth of up to 160 feet, the temperature inside the network of tunnels and chambers hovers between 68 and 72 degrees all year round, with humidity sitting at a comfortable 40 percent. Thanks to the miners’ use of an extraction technique called the “room and pillar method,” the enormous underground cavities left behind are supported by 16-foot pillars; the space is open, regular, and, expansive enough to accommodate nearly anything that can fit through its above-ground, drive-in entrance ramps.
Ford Tags In Early
It didn’t take long before SubTropolis attracted its first major client. An article from the Ford Kansas City News employee newsletter dated August 30, 1965, features the headline “Parts Storage Area Completed After 560,000,000 Years,” and describes the company’s plans to use 82,000 square feet of the SubTropolis facility to support its nearby Kansas City Assembly Plant, which was originally built in 1951. Another article written a month later describes something called the “Ford Family Showing” that welcomed 5000 people into the limestone caves so they could get a look at automaker’s 1966 line-up.
“In Kansas, in the Midwest, you get rain, you get hail, you get winter, you get ice, you get everything. And I think [Ford] really wanted to store the vehicles that they were producing and assembling in the area that wouldn’t come into harm’s way,” said Tompkins. “And so what better location than under a large roof? Since then, Ford has relocated its plant and they are now really adjacent to our underground, so we continue to have a really tight relationship with them.”
Blue Oval In The Bedrock
Although Hunt Midwest works with other automotive partners at SubTropolis, Ford is truly the anchor tenant. With its Kansas City plant still building the F-150 pickup (as it has since 1957), and another nearby Missouri facility churning out the Transit van, the company’s underground presence has grown alongside both of those product lines.
“It’s really Automotive Alley,” said Tompkins, referring to the business center built above the caves. “You can consider SubTropolis as the ‘basement’ to the surface property and buildings up top. In addition to its production facilities, Ford has located its North American Vehicle Logistics facility, called the NAVL facility, right beside us.”
What this means, functionally, is that every Transit produced in the United States since 2014 passes through Kansas City. This lure, plus the presence of the evergreen sales monster that is the F-Series, has attracted a critical mass of aftermarket upfitters—companies that modify vans and trucks for various commercial or retail buyers—that have chosen to locate their businesses within the confines of the cave complex.
“Since NAVL arrived, we’ve added close to two dozen upfitters occupying close to a million square feet. That’s up to 120 acres of vehicle logistics, [which] equates to 13,000 vehicles [in SubTropolis] at any given time,” said Tompkins.
That footprint is on top of the 2 million square feet provided by surface buildings. The 7.8 million of available square footage located underground is served by a stunning 10 miles of roads. Those figures are subject to change, as SubTropolis is constantly expanding, and Hunt Midwest claims 55 million square feet of usable space would be available in total should the entire cave system be developed.
The appeal of being close to Ford’s infrastructure is only part what’s led to SubTropolis’ success as a haven for truck and van customization. Kansas City has the advantage of proximity; it is located within a two-day drive of 90 percent of the population of the continental U.S., greatly simplifying transportation and planning for operations. Then there’s the fact that snowy winters, rainy springs, and blistering summer heat have no impact on underground workers, who are free to comfortably install bedliners or transform a panel van without ever needing to surface. And don’t forget, it’s hard to beat the security of surrounding your business with impenetrable limestone.
Stalactite Drift
SubTropolis claims to be the largest underground business facility ever built. By extension, that makes Ford’s operations there the largest subterranean automotive operation. With the vast majority of the action hidden from prying eyes, perhaps it’s to be expected that most enthusiasts are unfamiliar with the fact that the Blue Oval has been digging into the Missouri bedrock for 70 years. You don’t have to be a Bond villain to appreciate the privacy, convenience, and stability of the caves, but it wouldn’t be at all surprising to see something like SubTropolis show up as the backdrop for a chase sequence in the next Fast and Furious installment, with Torreto and fam drifting Raptors around 25 square-foot limestone pillars that are as cinematic as they are crucial to supporting an automotive operation like no other.
Ummm, a mine (carved out by man and machine) is not “some type of natural cave”.
It is specified that it only “appears” to be some type of natural cave. The article never claims they are actually natural. In fact, the article makes fairly clear that they are, as you say, “carved out by man and machine.” A direct quote from the article states, “Left behind was a unique complex of stable, moisture-free MAN-MADE caverns.”
My point was that nothing about this photo even “appears” to be a natural cave.
Why bother with such silly criticisms?
Most of my criticisms are silly – it’s a gift that I bring to you for free. 😊
Yep
Really, who cares enough to complain. It is quite an incredible accomplishment. Such a fantastic idea. Can see potential for some really bad juju!
It is an old quarry. It is a cold-storage warehouse.
Correct. Truly massive site as is the one further east in Independence. Worked both.
Hey Joe, Does Ford keep several different examples of early Mustangs, Torinos, etc. down there or was it a place for overstock? My mother owned a Maverick, but it really deserved to be in the cave. Terrible
Natural limestone maybe, not naturally formed
You’re trying way too hard to read more into this than what is clearly stated throughout the article. The only place in the article where it says “natural” is when referring to how the photo may appear to some people. It’s neither a claim nor a description of the underground lot, it’s simply a reference to what some people might assume about an image.
I live in Kansas City, and have a classic car business, and for 15 years rented warehouse space inside an underground cave complex to store and work on my small inventory of vehicles. Unfortunately, being self-financed and not wealthy, I couldn’t afford the shiny bright white and polished floor confines of Subtropolis, so had to rent in a “lesser” underground warehouse. It was very affordable, but had plenty of disadvantages as well, including never being well lit, and generally not being well maintained. I kept my space clean and secure from prying eyes, but never enjoyed the experience due to not having any drive-by exposure, and it always being somewhat dank and eerily quiet. But, it fit the bill at the time and allowed me to survive as a “one man show” who owned all his own inventory. The final straw came several years ago when a fire broke out in one of the rented areas near me (caused by the negligent behavior of the unsavory help there at the time). The massive amount of smoke, soot, limestone particulate matter, etc covered every square inch of my vehicles, including under the hood, inside wheel wells, etc. I had to spend over 4 months not making any money completely reconditioning every single vehicle. I wanted to sue the owners, as did many of us tenants (and some did), but knowing the shady nature of the owner at the time, I couldn’t afford to pay the lawyer bills since I’d been months without a paycheck, and knowing he’d do everything he could to screw us in the end. Shortly after, I packed up everything and moved to a much nicer facility (my own). Having that experience definitely tempered my enthusiasm for the underground experience, but better facilities yield better results, and they are truly fascinating places to roam around and learn about.
Where can I see your vehicles?
You can find me on FB by searching “KC Classic Cars”. I never have everything listed that’s available, so I show by appointment. Hope to hear from you.
So, only FB users can find your business? I’ve been off FB for 13 years, and don’t miss it at all.
Agreed. I hate when I click a link for what is supposed to be a business web site, only to be taken to FB, which I can’t access.
Samo here, when that happens I simply move along.
I agree with gearjammer, I left FB a few years ago and don’t plan on ever coming back. So how am I ever going to find out about your business?
I won’t because nothing will motivate me to overcome the stench of FB to find out about you.
So sad really.
No one is forcing you to be on FB 7 hours a day.
Doug were you in the Rush Creek properties before?
Independence underground cave is a bit sketchy in places and dark.
Tours?
Yes, you can drive through the caves. There isn’t any official tour, but you can drive in on your own. You can just drive into any of the many entrances. You can also stop at the security office on the main road in and view a model of the complex and get more info. But you are not required to stop there.
Remember that this is an active warehousing and storage complex and there will be a lot of semi traffic and even trains operating. Make sure to follow the speed signs and stop signs as it’s a maze of blind corners. There is good signage to find exits as well.
It’s worth checking out.
If there was ever a collapse in society. And it was like zombie land all over i know where I’d be finding parts and vehicles .
Where would you find fuel?
Pesky detail
I believe the US Army has massive fuel storage reserves at various locations across the US. Didn’t Reagan draw down some of the reserves during a spike in fuel prices to try and keep the price of fuel from going even higher?
Reagan opened the strategic cheese reserves. But maybe petroleum too. Draining part of the strategic oil reserves seems to be habitual across administrations to even out price spikes particularly near election season
George Romero’s Day of the Dead. No cars, but it’s got the “surviving in an underground complex” thing down pat.
Dig it!
Why do I not see any flat tires ?if they have been there that long they would surely all be flat
I think that is just an old picture of those mavericks on that cave. From the article headline it looked like those cars are still there today but after scanning the article again I didn’t see any evidence that those mavericks still existed down there. Almost like a clickbait kind of thing. I could be wrong though but that’s what I’m perceiving with this article.
I can tell by the chroma that the photograph was taken somewhere in-between the mid 70s and mid to late 80s. The transferring of a photo from that era to current signal processing technology while retaining the signature of the technology of the time deserves a nod.
Caves + Germans = Beer. A time proven Wisconsin formula…maybe in KC too. Great article!
These limestone mines are all around. There are sone in OA that store all sorts of records, music and even old Hollywood movie prints.
Ozzy was there listening to the original recordings he made.
One of the few places a Fird will not rust.
There is a mine in Barberton Ohio. It is still there and maintained. The trouble with it is Yost it is do deep that you can only get yo it via elevator.
It is still full of earth movers that were assembled underground as they were too large to go under ground whole. I would love to go on a tour. .
Grand Rapids, MI has an old Lime Stone mine system under it that is used for food storage
…and mushroom farming at one time.
Same in Windsor Ontario. The old machinery used on the Windsor Salt mine stays down there parked in an abandoned drift. They are not worth dismantling for removal.
I’m going to open a bar there and call it the “Ultimate Man Cave”
Be careful with your bar na.e. I opened one a bar called the G Spot. Went broke. Men couldn’t find it. Opening another bar soon… Going in a totally different direction with next bar… The Loose Stool.
Why not call it “The Office”? You don’t have to lie when you come home all wobbly.
My stepfather was a bartender at a bar called The Office. It was located on College Avenue, right at the one mile alcohol free zone that surrounded the UC Berkeley campus. Not sure if it’s still there, so you may be able to use that name…;o)
20+ years ago I had a small 3.2 beer Tavern named The Office. Cheers type atmosphere with the same regulars and not Norm but a couple of them had their own barstool.
Disappointed that I read your comment !
I believe there are some very large salt mines under Lake Erie in the Cleveland area
The Lake Erie drainage basin has had 16 earthquakes since fracking was permitted on the U.S. side. The CBC even had a story on these quakes. I would be careful with your idea.
Maybe the older cars. Have 4 Fords in my driveway. 8yrs old to 25 years old. No rust. My dad was a auto body repair man and said Chevrolet are the ones bad for rusting.
I can assure you, Cam – as a MA resident who did auto repair for 14 years, EVERY brand rusts. The crappy part about newer vehicles is the parts that count rust out before the bodies now, but the bodies aren’t any better. Even the aluminum Fords. Paint falls right off of them, and the low-grade aluminum turns to a white powder.
Bodies can be repaired & reworked, but when the frame & suspension rot to nothing, the vehicle heads to the crusher.
There was an article floating around a while back that bertone has a bunch of unsold X1/9s also stored in that facility. Eventually they moved them, but kept them there for all the temperature and humidity reasons noted
This is one of those things you would never believe if someone told it to you at a bar
You just don’t hang out in interesting bars.
Or doesn’t remember the story the next day
Think of the savings of such a place: no HVAC needed – except fresh air(?) Ford really hit a home run with this facility. GM and Stellantis can’t even compete on the same level with them. You ever notice how Ford never seems to be in any real financial trouble? Smart business people.
You have not been following Ford lately?
Their stock is in the tank and they are cutting engineers that has led to massive recalls.
Also avoided the bail out because they went broke first anf got loans before the economy tanked. The banks did not have the money for the others then.
Ford also got $7 billion loan by the energy department but they have not fully repaid it or the bank loans.
Ford also went aluminum on the trucks and increased cost have hurt their profits.
I don’t hate Ford but they have just as many challenges if not more than the other companies. I actually worry the day may come when the family may cash out. They could easily take that money and make more other than building cars.
Ford stock is trading higher than it was five years ago and has stayed pretty stable at $11.08/share for the last 18 months or so. It did climb through the 2021 year, but then came back down pretty rapidly in January 2022.
Ford laid off 2,700 people in February and 1,600 in June. By comparison, GM laid off 1,695 last month and Stellantis USA laid off 2,450 in August. Stellantis overseas laid off 1,600 in July.
Your memory of history is blurred. Ford recognized the hard times that were ahead and took action to acquire funding to get themselves through. GM took loans and a bailout and never repaid the bailout (even though they have had record profits). Ford is not perfect but compared to the “making money is all that matters” mentality at GM, I will buy a Ford every time.
👍👍👍👍💕💕
That is the spirit @Greg Rad but I don’t think you will be enjoying driving your Ford too long. Ford is now the recall king. Where to begin? DPS6 transmission fiasco? 6.0 diesel? Eco boost with an internal belt running the oil pump? Just look at their current record. You would be better to take your money and buy a used Honda or Toyota and invest the rest instead of throwing it in the toilet.
They’re all junk today. After 14 years running a shop as a one-man show, I’ve gone the other direction: Anything built after 1995 has been sold off, and my fleet of 5 Southern or Western vehicles range from 1966-1994. Couldn’t be happier!
When something does fail it rarely leaves you stranded. Gives you plenty of warning ahead of time unlike newer electronic crap. Most of the time you can repair the actual part! Remember that? No parts required, no money spent! They’re also easy to maintain, diagnose, or fix, and parts are CHEAP, also unlike anything built after 1995 (and especially after 2007, then 2011 – they continuously get worse the newer the model year).
Must be a gm owner who took the loan any then a loan on the loan 😫your a loser that just will never get it
Well I suppose there
MUST be some people who will buy Ford. Not me, I’ve never seen a vehicle that comes standard with a worn steering pump right from the factory the way they do. It’s uncanny. If you a power steering pump staring to operate turn around and it WILL be a Ford. After 30+ years they keep selling cars with this blatant defect like it’s ingrained in their DNA and something they just won’t fix. GMC and Chrysler have their own issues I.e rust, CPUs, etc. that seem prevalent so I’m not just picking on Ford but this problem is just sooo irritating.
Ford, along with Chrysler etc. were equally part of the gigantic bailout in 2008! Don’t think they’re any smarter than the rest of the group. The smart guy here was the one who bought the mine and offered it to Ford.
Ford is the only manufacturer that did not go bankrupt. General Motors did and you & I paid paid for their bankruptcy. Bad management.
Can you buy an
Are mavericks for sale?
I’ll take two please.🙂
Me too, always wanted to put in a V8 in one. No major mods necessary.
They did make a Maverick Grabber with a 302 V8
They came with V8 302 actually and would haul ass
My mom had a ’71 Maverick and she loved it. Six cylinder with 3 on the tree. She loved the great gas mileage
My wife had a 1970 Maverick. In two years the transmission was toast and the valve seals were gone in the 6 banger. Traded it fast after we married.
WoW–she must have got a Lemon those straight Sixes were pretty bullet proof-
It was a good car, you might have traded the wrong thing in.
I backed my friend’s Maverick into a pole that left a big dent in, but the trunk still worked. Next, the Maverick burnt a valve while I was driving it on the freeway at our national speed limit of fifty-five.
To make amends, I rebuilt the engine on my friend’s replacement car, a 1969 MGC which had spun a bearing.
He never did have any luck with cars or was it his friends?
I may know you. Denver?
Truly appreciate this unique story line and history! It is fascinating as well as amazing “storied history”!
Interesting article but this is in Missouri NOT Kansas (we get lot of rain here in Kansa) If any Boss 429 Mustang left I’m interested lol
I’ll take two please.🙂
Does this mean someone can still buy a brand new 1970 Maverick?
Can I park my British car there? British steel rusts just looking at it…
Just like my GM junker.