[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

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I'm not so sure it is from Dealer invoices as that does not substantiate "when" it was assembled. That would only validate which day it was sold.

In reality, that documentation probably came from factory Foreman's log books, and from inspecting documenting low-mileage, unmolested original Model A's. I know some folks 'buy-in' on the theory that Ford just used up old parts going down the assy. line until they were gone before he had them install a new version, --or those 'wives-tales' where one day Henry might pull someone out of the engine shop and have that person pinstriping bodies that day because he was short on pinstripers. The more I know about the workings of Ford Mtr. Co., the more I realize that is total BS.



Now here comes a lengthy opinion! James and I were talking about this very thing recently, and when you look at old copies of employee time cards and foreman cards, you realize that each employee had a certain task and an expected quota for that shift. For example, when an internal order for something was given, for example if they called for 5,000 A-3010 front axle beams to be made at the Forging Plant, the foundry manager didn't just choose some "out-of-the-sky" quota number for that shift to make based on his mood. In reality, Ford's scheduling managers knew exactly how many items they could make and on many papers I have seen gave the seconds of time alloted for each piece. Those same schedulers knew to give an order for 10,000 A-3030 to be poured, 5,000 A-3405's, 10,000 A-3105's, 5,000 sets of A-3115, and an equal number of A-3130's & A-3131's to be poured. THEN, the Machine shop had to machine each of those pieces, --which was not the only items the Machine Shop was responsible for. Therefore, the Foreman didn't just walk into his area and choose some random item for his men to work on that day. If this would have been the way they operated, there is no way each of the branches (factories) could have cranked out the volume of vehicles that they did. I take the belief that each area knew exactly how long it was supposed to take, and knew exactly which items they had to manufacture based on internal orders given by Ford's management (schedulers).

This brings me to the next part for you to contemplate. For those who have looked at (i.e.: studied) original unmolested Model A's will be very quick to tell you that gross mistakes just didn't happen. Think about it, we all know that bodystyles were random as they came down the assy. line. Think about how easy it would have been to get a 7 leaf (Roadster) rear spring under a chassis that a Fordor Sedan was set on, --or visa-versa. The same for side-mounted spares. The welled fender(s) & aprons were assembled together several floors up and then were placed on the conveyer to arrive in cue with a frame that had the side mount(s) already riveted on. Think about the body for that specific chassis was being prepped in yet another separate work area, and plugs were placed in the rear of the body in lieu of a spare tire carrier because of the side-mount. Consider the logistics in all of this to get it done correctly! Also think about headlamp assemblies as they were sent down the line since it was critical if they were to be installed on a body with or without cowl lamps. Then think about the wiring harness and headlight switch that was already installed on the chassis. Again, when you consider this was all done without a computer system, it goes to show that "dedication" was not a problem for long in his organization. Human error did sometimes play into the equasion but when you consider all of the scenarios of possible malfunctions that could have easily happened during each shift, it is evidenced by their productivity and subsequent inspections of untampered-with cars that the percentages of errors was very nill.


One other topic that I feel one needs to think through is what all happened in the entire process prior to that Model A heading out the factory door. The depth of this is almost uncomprehendible when you truly think each step through. Since I mentioned the front axle assy. above, lets use that as an example. Where did the raw iron come from? How did it get to Ford's foundry? Who made the moulds for each of those pieces? Who told the pattern maker what the axle pieces were suppose to look like, or what to make it out of? Where did the foundry get their power and/or the supplies (sand, gloves, tongs, carts, racks, etc.) necessary to make those axle pieces? Once the pieces had been poured, how did they get each piece from the foundry to Ford's Machine shop? Who made the machines & fixtures to do the machining with? Who made the tooling to do the machining with? Who serviced those Mills & Lathes they used? What did they do with the scrap metal that was removed from the pieces, ...and how did they actually dispose of it? Who did the Q/C on each piece? Once each individual piece was machined, how did it physically get moved into inventory? Where did it get moved to so that it could be found when it was time to be used? My point is that we take an axle assy. for granted that it was supposed to be slid under the front crossmember but the behind the scenes crew was even more daunting than the assembly line worker. Somebody had to clean up, somebody had to work on the conveyor systems and keep them maintenenced. Somebody had to make sure the iron ore was being ordered and Ford's ships were getting it delivered on time, and somebody had to be changing light bulbs and cleaning up the bathrooms all these employees were using! Imagine the amount of labor it took for Human Resources to keep up with employee payroll! That don't even count keeping up with employee payroll deducts where Ford loaned his employees money for their house or car.

I am also of the belief that Henry was real big on training each of his employees. I take this assumption because we know he was a huge promotor of his trade schools, colleges, and even training of his dealer network employees (mechanics, salesmen, etc.) Therefore I feel certain with the few errors we have found on original Model A's, each area of the manufacturing had Foreman that saw that each employee was trained to do their specific task. That is why I do not "buy into" the belief that employees only stamped frames intermittantly with the corresponding engine number. If Ford instructed that process to be done, you can bet somebody's butt was in jeopardy if it wasn't getting done. I have yet to see a really nice frame that was sans a VIN. While I do not know the process, I do understand there is a method where the metal can be "x-rayed" to determine whether the metal's molecules have been disturbed such as would happen with a metal stamp. I would want to know this process had been done on all of these frames we are saying was never stamped before I would change my opinion mainly because it does not seem believable to me that he allowed this to be ommitted.

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