Not sure if something like that would even support x86 or C99, so would probably still need an older mainframe and early GCC source tree. Could probably get by with a virtual emulator for the former.

Would be good to cross post this to:
https://programming.dev/c/nix

I could imagine bootstrapping via Bell Labs Unix from the 90’s would be more authentic, yet demanding LFS experience. I wonder how far back computer historians could bootstrap up to a modern compiler for integrity and verification purposes?

https://www.owlfolio.org/research/bootstrapping-trust-in-compilers/

https://www.theregister.com/2025/11/07/unix_fourth_edition_tape_rediscovered/

Image Transcription: Meme

A photo of an opened semi-trailer unloading a cargo van, with the cargo van rear door open revealing an even smaller blue smart car inside, with each vehicle captioned as “macOS”, “Linux VM” and “Docker” respectively in decreasing font size. Onlookers in the foreground of the photo gawk as a worker opens each vehicle door, revealing a scene like that of russian dolls.

I’m a human volunteer content transcriber and you could be too!