BTF part 3 question - why not use gas from the second delorian????

[yoda313]

Ok I know this is out of left field and I'm sure there are whole internet forums dedicated this type of stuff. But I was just watching a few minutes of Back To The Future 3 again and it hit me - When they are in 1885 there are 2 Delorians - the one Marty drove back in and the one the Doc stored away in the cave (the one that brought him back there when he was hit by lightning).

Now since he says the car has always run on gas WHY DIDN'T THEY DRAIN THE TANK in the "first" Delorian? You know the one that he is stashing in the cave?

I'm sure this has been brought up somewhere but it just dawned on me.

Thoughts?

Of course they could simply say the Doc lived dangerously and was running on fumes with nothing left in the tank when he was hit by lightning in BTF2.

[adam]

If you remember, the delorian stored in the cave doesn't run on gasoline it runs on fusion.

In part II the delorian is modified to just use random garbage for fuel. When Doc gets sent back to the 1880's the car is damaged and cannot be repaired using the technology of the time. He stores the car in the cave and in the 1950's Marty and that Doc are able to (de)modify it to run on gasoline again. (because remember even by that time they still don't have the technology to make it run on fusion.)

When Marty then goes back to the 1800's with that delorian, the fuel line gets cut and loses all the gasoline.

So that Delorian only runs on gas and they have none. The other Delorian in the case has no gas because it only runs on fusion, but its broken and can't be fixed.

I'm fairly certain I remember Doc explaining all this right before they decide to use horses, but its in a rant that lasts only a few seconds. Another possible explanation, though one I don't think they even mention in the film, is that it could have caused a paradox if they removed the other delorian from the cave. Remember that Marty was only able to go to the 1800's because Doc left the Delorian for him in the cave. If they were to mess with the Delorian after Marty went back, it could affect his ability to have been able to go back in the first place. See what I mean?

[Supreme2k]

I thought that only the Flux Capacitor was powered by the Mr. Fusion. I assumed that the cars ran on electricity or something, since I would hope that they're not letting the general populous drive around with fusion reactors strapped to their cars (don't get me started on the idiocy of flying cars when people can't even navigate regular ones).

[MeDiCo_BrUjO]

It is a valid question.

Mr. fusion only supplied power to the flux capacitor and not the engine, it was still running on regular gas. Dr. Brown made this clear when they were stuck in the old west and Marty asked "But we still have Mr. Fusion right?".
Mr Fusion was never damaged, it was one chip from the components that got damaged . Remember Dr. Brown (1955) picking it up and saying: "No wonder it got damaged... it's made in Japan!". They had to redo the chip '55 style and it was the HUGE board on top of the car.
Mr. fusion was working, that's why they were able to jump from the wild west to 1986's "present" time without catching a lightning bolt or anything like that.
My best guess for why they didn't use the second DeLorean's gas is that Dr. Brown arrived at the past and drove for several miles trying to hide the car somewhere and he MUST have tried to run experiments until the tank dried out and he had to put it away. That's why he wrote the letter to Marty almost a year after he arrived and not immediately.
What a great movie, it gives you a lot to think about.

[yoda313]

@adam - sorry supreme2k and medico_brujo are right the engine runs on gas but the flux capacitor takes fusion from gargbage instead of nuclear power.

@medico - good point he may have had to drive around a lot to find the cave. Who knows how far away it was.

Anyway just thought I'd bring it up. I figured somebody had to mention that sometime.........

@adam - one other thing - I'm not talking about taking the car out of the cave - just drain the tank. He could add another page to the letter he sends and says - "oh by the way you need to fill her up". Since there are gas stations in 1955 that wouldn't be a problem. Just like buying the new tires for the car. (though that brings up another question, what are the odds that you could find 1955 tires that would fit a delorian? Or put it this way - let's assume they used a Hummer H1 instead of a Delorian for a time machine these days - how many tires would fit a monster like that from 1955????).

[adam]

Well guess I was way off on my theory. Its been years since I watched any of those films. I don't think there really is an answer, its just one of many tiny little plotholes that can be ignored in the grand scheme of things.

@adam - one other thing - I'm not talking about taking the car out of the cave - just drain the tank. He could add another page to the letter he sends and says - "oh by the way you need to fill her up". Since there are gas stations in 1955 that wouldn't be a problem. Just like buying the new tires for the car. (though that brings up another question, what are the odds that you could find 1955 tires that would fit a delorian? Or put it this way - let's assume they used a Hummer H1 instead of a Delorian for a time machine these days - how many tires would fit a monster like that from 1955????).

Yeah I know but those are the things that paradoxes are made of. Let's say that after Marty goes to the 1880's they decide to enter the cave and get the gas, and the cave collapses and permanently destroys the delorian. So now there's no way for Marty to go back to the 1880's, but wait he already DID go back to the 1800's which is what caused the delorian to be destroyed. Bam, say good bye to the universe. Going to the cave to drain the gas is no more sinister than Marty meeting his mom in the first film, or buying the sports almanac in the second film yet both of those things skewed history and almost led them to paradoxes at various times. Any little change can cause a paradox when you've traveled back in time to do it. Its the butterfly effect.

[yoda313]

@adam - ok you do have a point there. But I"m at least technically correct in that there SHOULD be gas in the car unless it was run dry before being sealed up.

[adam]

Ah ha. Look what I found... http://www.bttf.com/film_faq.htm

It's an interview with Producer Bob Gale and Writer/Director Robert Zemeckis and they answer this very question. And I was right about the possible paradox...just wrong about everything else.

Q: In I885, when Marry tells Doc they're out of gas; why don't they just go to the Delgado Mine, dig up the DeLorean where Doc hid it and get the gas out of it?

A: There are two logical answers to this one... 1) The car mechanic's answer: As anyone who has stored an automobile for a long period of time can tell you, you always drain all of the fluids out of the car before putting it into storage. Doc most certainly would have drained the gas out of the DeLorean if he was going to leave it hidden for 70 years. At the 1955 drive-in, Doc specifically says "I put gas in the tank" indicating that the DMC must have had an empty tank when they found it in the mine. 2) The time travel theory answer: Even if Doc had not drained the tank, he still would not have gone back into the mine for fear of creating a time paradox by accidentally damaging the DeLorean, the mine, or who knows what. After all, since Marty is now back in 1885, Doc's plan obviously worked, and worked perfectly. But what if Doc were to go back into the mine and accidentally cause a cave-in that causes even more damage to the DeLorean? What happens to the future of that DeLorean, when it's unearthed in 1955? And what might that do to Marty and the undamaged future DeLorean now in 1885? As an analogy, imagine a time traveler going back in time, finding himself as a child, and cutting off that child's hand with a meat cleaver. What happens to the adult time-traveler's hand? That would definitely risk a time paradox, and we know that Doc would never go out of his way to risk such a thing for fear of (in the worst case scenario) unraveling the fabric of the space-time continuum and destroying the entire universe.

[yoda313]

@ adam - ok that works. But even though he says "put gas in the tank" in 55 still doesn't mean there wouldn't have been enough gas left for one speed up to 88mph. Also wouldn't the Doc have stored any drained gas in his shop as a "rainy day" fund?

Any way just thought I'd ask. Thanks for finding the OFFICIAL answer adam.

[lordsmurf]

Having 1950s Leaded Gas in a 1980s Unleaded engine was the problem I always had a question about. Some engines will barf and refuse to work correctly, especially if you're trying to go 85+ mph.

[yoda313]

Good point. That is one of those dirty little secrets.

You know on a side note I was thinking about the tires too. What are the odds of finding tires at the same size of a 80's car in the 50's?

It is funny though - in bttf 2 if you catch the dvd commentary the joke about the extreme range they get out of those walkie talkies

[Supreme2k]

Actually, there was plenty of unleaded gas in the 50's, as lead was an additive. Doc being a scientist, he could have had access to at least a few gallons of pre-additive gas.

Also, tires have been pretty basic since the "modern" age (post wagon wheel-esque Model T), so finding spares wouldn't have been too big a problem.

My biggest gripe is the calibration of the flux capacitor. Applying a simple relativity-phase inducement equation, the capacitor would have easily reached temporal equilibrium at .87-.93GW. I know that they wanted it to look "cool", but temporal insertion would have resulted in loss of heat (no flame trails), while expulsion would produce heat (rapid oxidation field stasis re-integration).

[Midzuki]

IMHO we all should be using our neurons on things more realistic.
The whole time-travel subject is a complete absurdity in itself.
There simply is no place for it in the way the Universe actually functions.

[lordsmurf]

I accept Supreme2k's answer: "Doc being a scientist, he could have had access to at least a few gallons of pre-additive gas."

For any of you that have never been inside, driven or been near a real DeLorian, the tire size is not exactly standard on some of them. They're quite wide, especially on the gullwing in the movie. The rear are at least 1-2" larger width than the front ones. I guess it all depends on what was available, and what could be jerry-rigged.

DMC still exists in Humble, Texas. I hope it still exists when I can afford to buy one for myself.

[Webster]

DMC still exists in Humble, Texas. I hope it still exists when I can afford to buy one for myself.

They not only still exists, you can actually buy a new one for starting price of $57,500.00 plus options cost.

http://www.delorean.com/newbuild.asp