Long Term Storage - Thought Experiment

[Kane]

So in BTTF III, Doc went back in time to 1885 then stored the DeLorean in the cave until Marty and Doc recovered it in 1955. So, assuming that Doc drained the fluids, etc when he put it in the cave, what kind of realistic condition would the car be in after spending 70 years in a cave?

How much work (man-hours) and how much money (in today's dollars) would it take to restore the time machine DeLorean to mechanically operational condition given that the cave was not climate or moisture controlled?

[NightFlyer]

So in BTTF III, Doc went back in time to 1885 then stored the DeLorean in the cave until Marty and Doc recovered it in 1955. So, assuming that Doc drained the fluids, etc when he put it in the cave, what kind of realistic condition would the car be in after spending 70 years in a cave?

How much work (man-hours) and how much money (in today's dollars) would it take to restore the time machine DeLorean to mechanically operational condition given that the cave was not climate or moisture controlled?

Remember, when Marty went back to 1885 to get Doc, there were two DeLoreans in 1885 - the one that Doc put into storage in the cave and the one the Marty brought back.

Better question is what did Doc do with the gas that was in the DeLorean that he put into storage in the cave and why didn't they use that gas instead of fooling around with the whole using the train to push the other DeLorean up to 88mph?

As to your question, there was probably excess moisture in the cave, but the car appeared to be covered/wrapped up pretty well. I honestly don't see it being much different than pulling a DeLorean out of a 10+ year storage situation. Thus, it really all depends on how well the rubber parts in the fuel delivery system have held up. You may get lucky and only have to put a battery in and fill the tank with gas. Or, you may end up having to replace a few things.