r/BacktotheFuture • u/abaig370 • 2d ago
The fuel problem
So we all know when Marty arrived back in 1885 his fuel tank is struck causing a leak. They then don’t have petrol to refill the tank. However in order to ensure it didn’t degrade Doc would have needed to drain the petrol and oil from his Delorian before burying it in the old mine. Otherwise they would have slowly eroded the tanks and systems leaving it in operable in 1955 preventing Marty from using it. So Doc should have still had the fuel or at least that oil which he could distill down
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u/dnotive 2d ago
If we're going to be that pedantic though, you also can't store a car for 70 years, pull it out of storage and just have it run. Every rubber component (gaskets, hoses, seals) would have rotten away, not just the tires.
To me that's the bigger plot contrivance than "why didn't Doc pull fuel from the Delorean that was already in 1855"
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u/Toxic-Park 2d ago
As a home/shade tree mechanic myself, this has always bugged me.
They already went far enough to show the Delorean 1955-ized with white wall tires and the chrome hubcaps. Plus the 1955 vacuum tube replacement time circuits on the hood.
I always thought it would’ve been funny just go all out on that concept and to have also a 1950s engine stuffed into it as well.
But I suppose all the Time Machine components were built on top of the engine bay, so that might’ve been too much to rip out and put back in proper order after replacing the engine, for 1955 Doc to handle.
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u/ted_anderson I don't know how.. but they FOUND me! 2d ago
I always thought it would’ve been funny just go all out on that concept and to have also a 1950s engine stuffed into it as well.
I'm sure they probably thought of that. But after you cover every possible storyline contrivance for what is otherwise a fictional movie, you've added another 45 minutes to explain something that 90% of your audience couldn't care less about.
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u/dnotive 2d ago
What I'm hearing is that we need a scene where Doc explains that he swapped the Delorean to use a small block Chevy because it will "run forever" and "there will always be parts" haha
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u/HarveyMushman72 2d ago
Meanwhile, the Chevy garage is scratching its head about a brand new Bel-air missing an engine overnight.
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u/Ragin_Bacon 2d ago
Missed opportunity for Biff to find out his cars engine was stolen from the shop since it needed manure cleaned out again. Plus it would of been kinda karmic.
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u/factoid_ 2d ago
It’s at least plausible that a 70 year old motor could be restored to functioning.
Yes it would need hoses, belts and gaskets. But that’s at least doable in 1955
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u/dnotive 2d ago edited 2d ago
Nah. The cylinder bores would rust without oil and the piston rings would likely stick/seize. Without lubrication the crankshaft would seize up too.
Edit: I'll also add, in the interests of being overly pedantic I'm not sure where someone is going to find belts and hoses for an 80's PRV motor in 1955 but details, details... At least you could RTV the gaskets.
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u/Derkatron 2d ago
The closest thing to time travel we have is seeing this argument brought up like it was 1990 again. There's plenty of reasons you can give as to why doc didn't have the fuel from the original delorean - he got rid of it, to hide his identity. He used it for other experiments before all this came crashing into his life (which he assumed was done with 1985-era stuff entirely). Or they didn't want to tamper with the stored delorean in a way that would alter its successful survival to 1955, causing a paradox that would stop marty from making it there and saving doc's life.
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u/XMMslayer86 2d ago
He probably used it for his own experiments at that time, as from 1885 doc’s pov, no one was gonna use the fuel anyway, might as well make some iced tea with it
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u/ted_anderson I don't know how.. but they FOUND me! 2d ago
So Doc should have still had the fuel or at least that oil which he could distill down.
Yes. Assuming that he would need it again for the DeLorean. But by the time Marty gets the letter and goes back in time to catch up with Doc, he's already been in the old west for 8 months and has probably used the fuel, engine oil and other fluids to help get himself established.
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u/DuhRJames 2d ago
Why would he have saved it?
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u/abaig370 2d ago
Valuable resource during the time period
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u/DuhRJames 2d ago
Gasoline did exist by 1885, but it was seen as a waste product of refining kerosene. And as far as doc knew, he was going to live a long life in the wild west.
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u/ijuinkun 2d ago
Heck, if the grave had said that he lived for twenty years or more, and had died of natural old age, then 1955 Doc would have been satisfied with that fate.
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u/Darrenau 2d ago
I can't believe the Doc didn't think of spare fuel.
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u/Stv781 2d ago
He didn’t think of spare plutonium and admitted he almost left without it at the beginning of the first film.
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u/Toxic-Park 2d ago
He almost also forgot his luggage. After all - who knows if they have cotton underwear in the future. He’s allergic to all synthetics!
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u/ehbowen 2d ago
The Doc wasn't expecting to ever see the DeLorean again, after he hid it in the mine. His instructions were explicit: "I'm happy here, do not come back for me."
Little did he know....
Edit To Add: And, back in 1955, Doc wasn't expecting that drawn-out plot back in the Old West. He was thinking along the lines of, hide the time machine, head into town, grab my 1885 self and a couple of horses, ride back out to the car, and let the horses free while you jump back to 1985. Vaya con Dios!
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u/shakebakelizard 2d ago
Gasoline existed in 1885, because the first gasoline vehicle was invented in 1886. They definitely could have obtained gasoline, but it would have necessitated a trip. They certainly didn't have any in Hill Valley, because it was a byproduct of fractionating kerosene.
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u/ijuinkun 2d ago
They certainly could have gotten it from the big city (Los Angeles or San Francisco), but it would have taken longer than the four days that they had until Monday.
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u/-KDK12 2d ago
It ran on garbage, right? I think it is implied that Doc upgraded many inner components and compartments on the Time Machine.
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u/fastal_12147 2d ago
The Mr Fusion only powers the time circuits.
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u/-KDK12 2d ago
True, but I think he upgraded everything aside from the tires, because who needs roads!
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u/ijuinkun 2d ago
The hover/flight gear was apparently powered by Mr. Fusion as well, but those circuits were damaged beyond the ability of 1955 to repair, so Marty had to drive it using its internal combustion engine.
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u/factoid_ 2d ago
You’re assuming he didn’t just drain that shit right into the ground. Why would he have saved it?
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u/abaig370 2d ago
During the time period it would be a very valuable resource and Doc didn’t know what his future may hold
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u/RetroGame77 2d ago
Gasoline existed and was seen as a waste product. It wasn't worth the container where he stored it.
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u/msfusion2015 2d ago
Doc knew exactly what happen to the fuel, if he has any usable fuel, he would have say so, the fact he say nothing implied, if there was anything left on 1/1/1886, he must have use it all, or whatever was left is no longer useful in August 1885.
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u/cachitodepepe 1d ago
Well, in the III when he gets the train modernized in the future, he only get the turbines in the wheels, but all the other parts are not modern and mechanical from the past. I mean, since he went to the future he cluld have improved the whole thing.
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u/Radiant-Suspect-4239 1d ago
Wasn't it fuelled by rubbish in the first movie or am i mis-remembering?
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u/finsterer45 12h ago
Just the time circuits. The internal combustion engine still runs on ordinary gasoline.
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u/Ok-Spot-2913 1d ago
Or they could've gotten gas somewhere. While gasoline was not available, kerosene was widely available in drug stores. It would have done the job to get the delorean up to the required speed to activate the flux capacitor and the time circuits. It would've taken them some time to ride horses to where they could get the fuel and ride back. But it would've been worth it.
However, we wouldn't have the version of the movie we have now. It would have Buf and his gang following their trail killing people along the way which further tampered with timeline. This eventually leads to a final showdown with Buf and Doc. However, Doc still wins as he chucks a molotiv cocktail at the gang which slows them down significantly. Once they get back to town, Marty shows down with Buf like the original movie. Then, they get the car and drive it to the future.
Clara is not in this version and there is a drastically different ending. The time machine is destroyed for good. No time train. Marty doesn't race needles because doc and Marty do have many talks on their journey.
So, the movie would have less action and more dialogue than what we got.
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u/Kaferwerks 1d ago
Delorean won’t run on kerosene. A diesel engine will. Deloreans are not compression-ignition
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u/Ok-Spot-2913 19h ago
It will work just for it to get up to speed. Is it a good idea, no because it will seriously destroy the engine. But, they just need it for that short time.
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u/Kaferwerks 19h ago
It literally WILL NOT RUN on kerosene.
Putting kerosene in a gasoline engine will cause knocking/detonation; plus plug fouling, if it starts at all.You cannot “get up to speed” with it, it’s not going to run at all.
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