It is now equipped with historic whitewall tires (to replace the original tires which had long since rotted away), and a tray of 1955 components, including vacuum tubes, strapped to the hood to replace the damaged time circuit control microchip. The younger Doc restores the DeLorean to working order with replacement parts that are available in 1955. Going against 1985 Doc's instructions to go immediately back to that year and then destroy the time machine, Marty decides to go back to 1885 to rescue his comrade. Marty takes a photograph of the tombstone. The tombstone also reads that Doc had been shot in the back by Biff's great grandfather, Buford "Mad Dog" Tannen "over a matter of eighty dollars" and was erected for him "by his beloved Clara", a name which Doc doesn't recognize.
1985 Doc explains in the letter that he doesn't want Marty to come back to 1885 and pick him up he is perfectly happy there and has accepted his new life as a blacksmith in the Old West, as well as fearing unnecessary time travel will cause further damage to the space/time continuum.Īfter the pair recover the DeLorean from an abandoned gold mine, the excavation of which is documented using 1955 Doc's camera, they discover a tombstone bearing Doc's name and stating that he died on September 7, 1885, only six days after writing the letter.
Enclosed with the letter is a map describing where the DeLorean time machine is located, with the letter mentioning that in the DeLorean are instructions and a schematic diagram showing how to repair it using 1955 components so that Marty can return to 1985 once he has arrived back, he must destroy the time machine. Once 1955 Doc wakes up, he dictates the previous night's events on his reel-to-reel tape recorder, during which briefly assumes that what he saw was just an "residual image", but resumes his state of shock when he realizes Marty's right behind him.Īfter calming down, 1955 Doc uses a magnifying glass to read aloud a letter from his future counterpart explaining that he has been accidentally sent back to 1885 by a lightning bolt, damaging the time circuits which Doc was unable to repair since the only suitable parts wouldn't be invented until 1947. Marty takes him back to the mansion to recover. Emmett Brown is shocked to see Marty moments after sending him back to 1985 and he faints outside of the Hill Valley Courthouse. Like Back to the Future Part II, Back to the Future Part III picks up where the previous film left off.