The future is very exciting if we can convert our gas engines over to hydrogen. Looks relatively easy. Just need a hydrogen fuel tank, lines, regulator and either a carb (if possible) or injectors.

Apparently hydrogen is 130 octane??

The truck doesn’t sound any different running on hydrogen but you get no smell and water out of the tail pipe.

 

Funny, I just saw this the other day, would be very interesting to have them cost out the conversion on a C3.

Dave

 

Would be neat.

Toyota hasn't gone all-in on electric for a variety of reasons.

 

That is as close to electric as I'll ever get, how can you drive an old (maybe new) hotrod that doesn't make noise.

 

THen I could name my car the Hindenburg II....

 

I'm not going to watch a 30 minute video to get the answer, fortunately the top comment from the video creator states:

So, much the same as an EV, but with more moving parts.

 

Eventually, (someday in the future ..20-30 years??) C3' will be converted over to either electric or whatever fuel system becomes dominant. Probably electric since it has a head start and all the mfgrs are putting billions towards R&D and virtually none towards ICE's. But it could be Hydrogen fuel cell (almost certainly NOT ICE engines). buying gasoline will be like finding karosene today ..lol. Along the way energy storage will undergo a series of incremental improvements and/or dramatic technological breakthroughs (as it already has) and future energy storage will charge much faster & the charge will last much longer with less waste. Just like cars today aren't like Model T's or Model A's of the early days of gasoline vehicles. Electric cars can go like rockets!

There will be a whole cottage industry devoted toward converting over classic cars (some shops already do it, but heavy batteries are a stumbling block). Probably somebody will make a 'Classic Car Skateboard' that fits C2's/C3's and maybe adaptable to other classic cars, ya just bolt yer body on it ..and it will likely have C5 handling capabilities and C8 performance. Or else just modular equipment to convert over classic car engines. Equipment that makes engine noises will likely be an aftermarket add-on, rather than exhaust systems. They already 'pump artificial engine sounds' into some current cars! Engines at car swap meets will be plentiful and worth almost nothing, like how there used to be a ton of CB radios nobody wanted to buy (except me...of course). The young people of today, Gen Z, and Alpha behind them don't care about engine noise anyway, or carburetors, or gasoline. All us old foggies who do, will be dead and gone, or just hanging on (irrelevant in terms of classic cars at that point).

If future batteries will last a long time, be a lot cheaper, weigh a lot less, give better performance, and handling, and grid improvements can keep up, it will be a classic car win-win. Performance actually looks really bright. Esp for a classic car that doesn't get driving much. It's still 1917 in terms of battery technology. But now there is also hydrogen fuel cell technology on the rise ...which still uses electric motors.

We'll see. But hey "..how 'bout dem Bears!".... LOL

___

 

Toyota already announced they were going to research hydrogen cars instead of electric, which is going to put the American car makers behind the 8 ball again.
Most of the young generations are more interested in rideshare, uber , etc. that driving anyway. That way they don't have skyrocketing insurance costs.

I guess I will have to start making moonshine for the car .

 

Toyota (and GM) are looking into Hydrogen fuel cell technology cars ...not engines. Early stages, but much more high-tech. Basically a high tech converter which converts hydrogen directly to electricity ...essentially an electric car which doesn't require heavy batteries, more efficient, doesn't rely on gas/coal/oil-fired grid energy (of which only ~27% of the actual energy used to make electricity reaches your house! The rest is lost, not CO2 friendly), and much longer fuel range. The drive motors would still be electric (more power/less weight!!). It gets around most pitfalls of battery technology as it is today. Using oil/coal-fired grid energy is kind of a rotten idea from a CO2 perspective, unless you have your own solar/wind energy source.

It's pretty amazing next-gen technology. Eventually there'll be lighter weight batteries too if things keep progressing. Who knows where it'll all end up? There's already several advancements at the lab level which look promising. Point is, I still think the rotating engine is on it's last legs. And I love rotating engines! But the handwriting might be on the wall. Technology has moved on. But maybe Hydrogen can preserve it.

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But back to the OP's original comment ...if Hydrogen DOES become a common power source of fuel, then yeah, it's availability potentially bodes well for classics and street rods for some time down the road. Better and cheaper than a battery electric conversion. Very good point!

Errr....there's always LP too