Quote:
Originally Posted by asagaai
It is a visceral experience combined with some 500 plus hp, totally different to a car from the 20 or 30s which was ICE in its infancy and being honest, boring in sound and performance.
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Steam engines float my boat, big time. Particularly the chuff, chuff sound of exhaust steam existing the blast pipe. I am old enough to remember watching steam trains do their thing, and I wanted to be an steam engine driver when I grew up.
The cold harsh reality is that steam engines are not the best passenger experience. They stink. Spray fine soot over ones clothes, and getting soot into one's eyes is a horrible experience. They are noisy and slow. To be honest, I much prefer catching an electric train to work. Quiet. Fast. Smooth. And air conditioned.
So, in 50 years time I suspect people will marvel at an ICE. Similar to how we look at steam engines today, they will be impressed by the engineering and wonder in amazement how the previous generation could do so much with such primitive technology. They will giggle at the noise and think how cool it would be.
And then jump back into their cosseted, almost silent, autonomous driving EV, be quietly glad they don't have to operate such complex controls like a clutch and gearbox, and head back home ....
Getting back to the question raised by the
OP, it appears that all old machinery goes through a "valley of disinterest" post decommissioning. For example, there were over 22,000 Supermarine Spitfires built during WW2, of which only 179 originals remain. Most were scrapped and melted down, some dumped at sea. Now they are around $5M each (when one comes onto the market).
Take steam engines, again, most were sold off for their just scrap value. Or placed in parks for kids to play on (until OHS rules came in, and now you don't find them in parks.) Steam enthusiasts spend big bucks repairing the few viable ones remaining. Even now Queensland Rail is scrapping its first generation of electric suburban trains. No one raises an eyebrow, because no one cares.
For any enthusiast wishing to hold onto a classic car, it is always an uphill battle. Always was. Always will be. That is why only enthusiasts undertake the challenge as it is a labour of love.
As others have pointed out, having the Internet around will help. Both in terms of accessing technical information and sourcing components. In addition, additive manufacturing (3D printing) is getting cheaper, and that will help fill in some repair gaps. Liquid fuel will be readily available for the next 100 years (at least), and will probably progress to synthetic fuels. If worst comes to worst, one can convert an ICE to run on hydrogen gas generated by a renewable source.
In terms of skill base, yes, that too will decline over time.
As an aside, there is a great article in today's Wall Street Journal about the challenges facing people who are employed building ICE engines. Worth a read (I think this link to a free article will work.)
https://www.wsj.com/articles/gas-eng...hare_permalink