[Bills68]

Ok guys on another venue the following thought experiment was proposed:

You wake up, and 75 years have passed. There is no one else around. Assume an area around your starting location of several hundred miles where there is no one living people. Everything from our current time has been sitting untouched for 75 years.

Would it be possible to return a motor vehicle of any type to operation sufficient for you to use as primary transportation.

My opinion is "No" because there's no electricity, no viable fuel, and anything rubber is going to be degraded to the point of failure.

Your opinions?

[694.1]

A diesel with a stick might run on anything but tires would be an issue. Roads would also be an issue.
Those guys don't have enough to think about? (So that's what it's like in Prison...)

[Will]

Fuel and rubber are going to be the sticking points. Not sure how you get around those.

[daduck]

my first priority in that situation would be to check the condition of my guns and ammo.

If those are good........the big challenge will be survival on foot.

[Half-Inch Stud]

Batteries stone cold dead with sulfidation.
Oil reverted to gunk
fuel loaded with moisture (gunk), rusty lines
coolant full of decay and corrosion
hardback books crumble to dust.
better be a vegan

[Ben M.]

An old IDI diesel can run on fuel oil which, provided it hasn't been contaminated with water and grown mildew, can last a long time. Presuming you can fire it up though, batteries are going to be a big sticking point.

Rubber could probably be used if it hasn't been checked in the sun and you don't go too fast on it, but more likely than not it wouldn't be long for the world.

[Will]

Back to steam engines on wooden wheeled carts! With leather drive belts!

[tstroud]

An old mechanical injection diesel with an air starter could potentially work.


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[b-man]

[1965gp]

What about a hand crank car from the 20’s. It’s already set up for wood wheels so you could possibly use wagon wheels. Fuel/oil would be an issue but you may be able to find something. I’ve opened (or had leak) 50 year old oil cans and it it looks like it could be used. Would depend on how it was stored.

My 73 Kawasaki fires right up and runs fine with no battery so I think you could work around it

[Keith Seymore]

According to the documentary "Mad Max" (I and II) various types of automobiles were viable.

K

[Fullsize455]

Given the context provided in the OP of a hypothetical situation, no, absolutely not, for a large number of reasons, many of which have been covered here already.

[400 4spd.]

You wouldn't believe the crap we go through to get a car running right after sitting 10 or 15 years. And then you have to make it stop. 75 years? Forget it.

[shaker455]

This is what will be left....

[1965gp]

I’m diggin that corvair....

[dataway]

Assuming everything hasn't been looted.

Dry stored lead acid battery from an auto parts store and acid stored in a plastic container away from the sun should be ok. Perhaps tires stored in the basement of a tire shop etc. would still be viable, maybe tires sealed for transportation or storage.

Oil in sealed containers would still be absolutely fine, I mean it survived underground prior to refinement for millions of years.

For fuel ... might be chance propane or LNG storage might have survived if protected from the weather. Alcohol fuel can be made from many organics, and of course if you found enough good batteries and some solar panels still wrapped for transport might be able to go electric.

Water power to generate the electricity. Many dynamos from the 40's are still in service today, some maintenance, find a way to turn them (water wheel) and electricity is doable.

Within a couple of years people with the know how would be refining fuel again, at the very least kerosene.

Sealed electronics should have no problem surviving that long.

If 10% of the people survived, civilization would be back up and running in ten years.

[Sirrotica]

An IDI diesel, with a stick, parked way up on a hill...……

[shaker455]

Originally Posted by dataway

Assuming everything hasn't been looted.

If 10% of the people survived, civilization would be back up and running in ten years.

I'm assuming I'm the last one left alive!..

[bird72]

I am counting on particularization using deconstruct / reconstruct techniques and bends in space time as key factors in travel.

[dataway]

Originally Posted by shaker455

I'm assuming I'm the last one left alive!..

Yeah ... you're F'ed