Model A assembly line video on "The Old Motor"

[SSsssteamer]

There is a good video of the Model A Ford Assembly line on "The Old Motor". Find it at: http://theoldmotor.com/?p=167195

Interesting techniques being used at the Ford factory that we are still using today on our Model A Fords.

[Steve Plucker]

I bet that there is so much film at the Ford Archives about Model A/AA production that has never been seen...what a treasure trove that would be for someone to put together.

Thanks for sharing SSssssssssssssssssssssssteamer!

Pluck

[john charlton]

The second video is Fords Trafford Park Manchester England plant . The AA truck chassis assembly segment is from a much longer video which shows the complete build up of the Chassis . At the end the completed RHD AA truck rolls off the production line . Note English built trucks had the fender lamps but no front bumpers were fitted although the frames had the stamped holes for the bumper irons . The video is most likely 1932/1933 with the model "Y" 8 HP car in production ,The AA stayed in production into 1936 .

John in sunny day tommorrow Suffolk County England .

[Chuck Dempsey]

Very interesting. Thanks!

[BILL WILLIAMSON]

Bet the FIRST AID Station wuz a BUSY place ! !
Bill Accidentprone

[Railcarmover]

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Originally Posted by BILL WILLIAMSON

Bet the FIRST AID Station wuz a BUSY place ! !
Bill Accidentprone

Those two cats that lift and spin the engine/tranny assemblies..that hurts just watching it.

[ericr]

fascinating....any explanation on how they got the engine assembly to drop onto the rear engine supports with so little effort?

[BILL WILLIAMSON]

This late in life, I even read the FIBRE CONTENT on food labels!
Bill Regular

[Mike Peters]

Most of the British auto workers wore neck ties in this old film, while their American counterparts did not. Americans a bit more informal.
Another thing....aren't these old films sped up a bit? Otherwise, like Bill sez, the first aide station would be over run with injuries from going too fast.

[Sparky]

Originally Posted by ericr

fascinating....any explanation on how they got the engine assembly to drop onto the rear engine supports with so little effort?

For a split second you can see a worker flexing the frame with a large lever. It looks like he is twisting it, maybe just enough for the engine to drop in.

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

No one has mentioned the "substitution engines" around the 30 second mark with the non-A parts on the line.

[john charlton]

When the engines are swung and dropped in place you can see they are the AF 3" bore engines as the cylinder outlines have a gap between nos 2 and 3 cylinders . These blocks were cast at the Fordson tractor plant in Cork Ireland ,Cork had a foundry but Manchester did not . They were machined and assembled at the Manchester plant .You can see the worker weighing the 3" bore pistons and some on the conveyers mixed with 3 7/8" pistons . The AA trucks had the regular 24HP engine .

John in rain on the way yet again Suffolk County England .

[Marshall V. Daut]

First video: Between 0:26-0:42 shows Model T engines and parts. The generator mount housing can be seen bolted to the engine blocks lying on their sides. Generator housings can also be seen overhead as they pass by. This is what Brent is probably referring to. I see this kind of mix 'n match all the time when factory films are inserted in TV documentaries by non-automotive savvy editors. One such show I saw on the History Channel jumped from 1930 scenes to '26-27 Model T engines moving down the line on a conveyer belt - and then back again. '26-27 transmission are easy to spot because of their oblong clutch and brake pedals. Oops!
In regards to the comment about the action sometimes seeming to be slightly speeded (sped?) up, this can usually be explained by the different speeds that silent and sound projectors showed the films. In the silent era, movie house projectors fed film through the sprockets at 16 or usually 18 frames per second (FPS), depending upon the speed the film had been cranked through the camera, as well as special instructions from the film company requesting a certain speed for some scene. When sound tracks on film (magnetic and optical) began to take over beginning in 1928, there was a problem making the recorded track sound natural. By increasing the projector's speed to 24 frames per second, the audio quality was improved, much as old reel-to-reel tape recorders gave better audio recorded at 15 feet per minute versus 7 1/2. Remember those days? As old silent film projectors became dinosaurs in movie theaters beginning in the early 1930's, the new generations of sound projectors normally had only one speed: 24 FPS. So, when older films made without sound were shown on sound projectors, the action speeds up by six frames per second, from 18 to 24 FPS, or about 1/3rd faster. That causes the jerky and unnatural human action we see today because sound projectors were/are used to transfer film to video, or even from film to film years ago. Some projectors do have provisions for slowing the film down to the speed they were shot, but for films duped from old negatives or copies years ago, only theater sound projectors could handle the conversion. Heck! They were just old silent movies nobody wanted anymore. Who cared if the speed was wrong? The original film masters are usually long gone (melted down over the years to retrieve the silver nitrate and other chemicals in the film = $$$$$), so the versions we see in videos like this were duped from multiple generations of copies away from the master. The quality suffers along with the awkward jerky speed of the images.
More information than you probably wanted, but when you watch silent movies on TV and they seem somehow too fast, blame it on the switch from silent projectors to sound projectors. Of course, when extra speed WAS required back in the silent era - such as during chase scenes or slapstick comedies from the Mack Sennett Studio - the camera was UNDER-cranked, which in effect made the recorded action play faster. It was SUPPOSED to be unnatural and faster than life for comedic effect. If you take nothing away from this little lecture on a Model A website, please be aware that silent movies did NOT run 1/3 faster than real life. And most were crystal clear, not faded, out of focus and scratched like we see them today. Once again, too many copies/generations away from the master explains this. And don't even get me started on why nighttime scenes in silent movies are perceived today as slipshod camera work because they appear to have been shot during the daylight hours or under studio lights. Well, they usually were. BUT - night scenes were tinted blue for theatrical release. But, that's another story that doesn't belong here, either.
Class dismissed for the day.
Marshall, Keeper of All That Is Trivial

[john charlton]

Not surprising to see model T parts . Ford absolutely dominated the British market between the two world wars , close on half the vehicles on the road were T and TT . Ford ran a comprehensive exchange service so new and rebuilt engines would be needed. The Ford competition was such that British manufacturers lobbied the goverment for protection so the dreaded "Horse Power Tax" was introduced anything over 15 rated HP faced punitive taxation hence the 14.9 HP small bore AF engine .

John in damp heavy rain Suffolk County England .