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Posted by David Sherman on Wednesday, May 13, 2009 at 23:23:17 :
In Reply to: Truck Restorations in the Future posted by Paul (in NY) on Wednesday, May 13, 2009 at 22:44:13 :
My predictions:
In 60 years, gasoline will be a special product made only for collectors and it will be a big deal to actual drive a gasoline-powered truck, maybe as rare as running a coal-fired locomotive today.
Nothing existing today with a computer or any custom electronic chip in it will be functional in 60 years, so that means either pre-1980 vehicles or re-powering with either modern (whatever that is in 60 years) powerplants or pre-computer powerplants. None of the current electronic gadgetry in new cars and trucks like GPSs, stereos, Sirius radios, etc. will work, so it will be impossible to "restore" a 2009 truck to showroom condition. It's impossible to fabricate one of any custom integrated circuit, so once the old stock parts are gone, that's the end of it.
Government regulations will make it impossible to do any welding, painting, body work, or work on critical safety systems on your own.
I just paid a ridiculous amount of money to go for a ride on a B-17, just because my father always told me about being a navigator on one during "the big war". I figured it was a donation to a worthy cause -- restoring and flying one of the few remaining B-17s. The outfit that owned it spent 4.5 million dollars restoring it, and I'm sure that didn't include thousands of hours of volunteer labor. That's what restoring an old truck and making it operational will be like 60 years from now.