You already shifted the engine to base+red tech. It would be cool to shift the car also to base+red tech and give some recipe for a not as good fuel, for instance coal dust based for instance. Maybe even shift the engine and the car to basic tech.
An other option would be to include a basic car alternative like the monocycle industrial revolution has with a normal burner energy source.
If you don't have oil in your starting area and are playing on rail world settings finding your fist oil to actually fuel the car is quite a chore.
