How The Model A Ford Engine Was Built; The Engine Assembly Line 1928 1931
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- čas přidán 13. 01. 2022
- Using 22 different archived videos spliced together this video depicts the Model A engine being produced, from sand molds to being dropped in a chassis. Every Model A engine destined for one of Ford's 30+ US assembly plants was cast and assembled at the Rouge Plant in Dearborn, MI.
Make sure to look out for the main bearing babbitts being poured, the flywheel being balanced, and the manifolds being assembled.
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A Model A is dedicated to the history of the Model A Ford using historical images and videos as well as modern resources.
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Library of Congress Ford Motion Pictures Archives
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#1928 #1929 #1930 #1931 #fordmodela #modelaford - Auta a dopravní prostředky
These are the same hard men who tooled up America for WWII and saved the world. Thanks for posting!
My grandfather worked at Ford Rouge plant casting engines and other labor intensive jobs. He came here from Lithuania and spoke polish and very little English. All our relatives worked at Ford and lived in Dearborn Michigan. My father started at Ford Willow Run Bomber plant. Went to Night School at Henry Ford Community College and received an Associates degree in Business. The first one in the family with a college degree. Being the oldest second generation I was told to study hard and get the First Bachelors Degree. Then my responsibility was to encourage and help other family members to study for Bachelors or technical trade school. We helped with tutoring and a pool of money. Being part of a Ford employee family was important for us. Just last week we took our grandchildren to the Henry Ford Museum to show them what our family accomplished. Looking back Ford Motor Company provided opportunities for many hard working families.
That is a great family history. Thanks for sharing!
I don't know how those men kept up that pace in the casting plant-it looks impossible for someone to keep that pace for 8 hrs. Years ago, my uncle, who was a supervisor, took me through the engine plant in Cleveland. I was blown away-what an incredible operation!
those workers were happy for work.
note this film isnt speed corrected, it wasnt quite as fast as this
Did they have an 8 hour day?
Yes must have been back breaking work. I was in masonary and construction and am laying on a heating pad now.
Men were different then, you know, Real men, none of that sissy crap we have today
Having worked in a forging as well as a casting facility for 20 years, I think it would've more interesting to have actual shop noises on this video instead of this music. Anyone who has worked in these conditions will tell you there a a lot noise, dust, and heat on the shop floor. Nothing glamorous or fun. Hard and dangerous work that wears men down much too fast.
I was thinking the same thing while watching this film, wonder what it sounded like, must have been loud machines all day, too bad cameras didn't have sound back then.
They had sound capability by then, at least in Hollywood productions.
I kinda imagine a pianoman in the corner banging out jaunty tunes while these guys do life-threatening work... 23 skidoo!!
This film may have been done without sound .
Great point .
I just had my (4th ) spinal surgery.
I’m in transportation , but your point is well made , sir !
And thank you !
Utterly amazing how "Close Tolerance" was held in a time when carbide was Unknown along with CNC technology.
Fantastic process of crankshaft and camshaft manufacturing, 2 most Critical components in an engine still today.
Ты имеешь в виду карбид бора?
@@user-rz4ex6lf6mCarbide Tooling Cutters
Carbide really isnt the Tool best for Cast Iron
Astounding film footage. OSHA inspectors of today would have a fit seeing all the safety hazards Ford workers were subjected to back in the day. Our grandfathers were definitely made out of tougher stuff! (Thanks for posting!)
Funny enough Ford produced several safety films in the 20's that detailed safety goggles and other safety measures. It went so far as to show one of the factory maintenance guys in a staged fall out of an upper floor window while painting window trim.
THAT'S ONE RECORD....
THAT NEEDS TO BE BROKEN! 😁
@@AModelA they realized that looking after such matters benefited the firm as much as it benefited the workers?
Yeah, and they even knew which bathroom they had to use.
Musta been fun to be the babbit bearing pour guy, or anything dealing with those.
The fascinating thing for me is everything from the building, the machines the engines they are casting. The cars themselves were designed blue printed to the last detail with a pencil and a piece of paper. Impressive is an understatement.
A very good summing up here! No modern computers at work there, just the human mind variety! When the US puts its mind to it, they are very capable! But that seems to have fallen flat a little over time I feel?
I cad design to make docs to build parts is no better then paper. I did it.
ford's torque spec for the mains and rods..."Good and tight"
kev theplumber Great enthusiasm here, but a little over the top! I won’t even start on what others actually came up with first, just to say that America is great at developing and upscaling production! The problem with America is that you leave yourselves too insular! Cheers from the UK!
I'm so glad they recorded these amazing times. And I'm so glad you're sharing them. A very cool step back into time.
Glad you like them!
Absolutely fascinating documentary film. Model A Fords are still so interesting.
Absolute Men....Grabbing those blocks, just hoisting them up in the air with their bare hands to hang on something, like it was a five pound sack of potatoes. And that crankshaft forge, I couldn't wrap my head around that. Thanks for the awesome video.
How about the flywheel 63 lbs 4 oz that man held it like it was nothing 😇🙏
Fascinating and I too would like to heard the original noise and smell the original smells. It must have been like Hades working in there
Recording sound with the film was just starting in the late 20s. It was too complicated and expensive for this kind of video.
A lot of them still running to this day. AMAZING
As they say the best Fords were powered by Dodge. Those engines and the entire drive train on the model A was made by the Dodge Brothers!
@@lisamcdonald7828 BS, you're just another jealous of Ford person.
I'm a Ford historian by the way and
have a extensive library. Not only that know the Fords personally.
@@gurneyforpresident2836 Gayyy
@@lisamcdonald7828 uh, no they weren't.
@@lisamcdonald7828 It’s a shame Dodge went to complete crap, I guess some time in the 70s or 80s? I had a ‘62 which was bullet proof and a ‘98 that was total garbage.
State of the art. The men who made the machines that make the machines unsung masters. Thousands crowded in a tight space. Someone back then was brave enough to capture every step, in dust and fumes and racket.
I could watch these all day. Hot dirty hard ass work. Massive dangerous machinery. Hard working Americans. Powering the Industrial revolution. Building America. 👏👏🤠🇺🇸
I remember touring the Ford plant in 1968 when I was 9 years old. From the steel mill to the end of the production line with ‘68 Mustangs rolling out. That’s when I learned the power of vertical integration. (Contrary to the GE school of management.)
After Henry Ford built the River Rouge complex, he rarely set foot in it - the inhuman scale of it was just too much for him to take.
He soon created Greenfield Village, an homage to a way of life that he helped destroy.
And this is why these engines still run after 100 years real craftsmanship 🇺🇸
Flew over Rouge daily for 16 years when I was based in DTW. Absolutely colossal! It's one of the top man-made structures I've ever seen from the air. Toyota in Georgetown, KY is a distant second.
It took almost eleven years to be finished, we can imagine how big it is 😲😲
Interesting you mention Toyota the Japanese visited the Rouge plant long ago and were amazed to see raw iron ore turned into within 40 hours from start to finish. thats were the Japanese got the "just in time mfg. concept from."
Amazing how many jobs the auto industry provided back then. Everyone wore hats too!
Really appreciate the opportunity to see this
A Complete version of the film
Interesting how they fit the safety wire at the flywheel
Today most people make it much more complicated, twisting it all over
Also the man who torques the crankshaft does it without any special tools, only by hand and arm feeling
Thanks for posting it complete
I'm impressed, that they use a ball bearing as a pilot for the transmission input shaft. they even balance the flywheels!
@@vincentrobinette1507 Those flywheels weigh 70 odd lbs so balancing essential.
As GM have proven a bronze spigot bush causes very little grief ever.. Roller bearings can and do fail. I have had several that have welded themselves to the gearbox input shaft. They should be better but in practice are worse.
Again,,, prehistoric. 4 bolts on the flywheel with said bolts lockwired. Most engines used 6 bolts and were torqued in. I have seen both A and V8 engines with loose flywheels, the viabration in effect stretches the bolts.
Though I have seen plenty of modified later model engines from most manufactures do the same. But not stock engines
Yeah, I thought the same thing on the lock wire. The Navy taught us to twist it and round the bolts so they couldn't back out. But maybe that's overkill.
As for torque, I'm assuming that's why the car had safety wire and 70-something cotter pins.
Teamwork and synchronization at its finest.
I really like the Dark Town Strutters Ball at the two minute mark. Adds to the ambience.
those engines are tough, and were designed to be rebuilt, this would be strange words to our present day "THROW IT AWAY" mentality!!!! . back then all bearings were "FITTED" and adjusted with shims to get the proper clearance.( poured bearings are a "LOST ART") thanks for posting this video!!!!!
I dunno, my 2004 accord still churning out at 233k miles. My 86 Nissan hardbody body truck still going at 500k miles.
@@jogmas12 yup !!!, I have a toyota that has 235k miles on it also, my sister has a toyota also that has over 400k miles on it also. the machining processes are way better today than what they were back then, also the engines are being operated by computer, in addition the oil of today is by far better than what was being used back then. the air filtering back then only filtered out large debris, it is the fine dust that does all the wear. oil bath air filters only can do so much. there is a lot of 8N/ 9N ford tractors that are still on the job, with the same style engine.
Poured bearings were just part of the 'problems' with those engines. They were well out of date even then. And from a production standpoint very slow as well.
@@ldnwholesale8552 , that is true, however it was the only way to do it back then due to bearing shell design had not been invented yet. you also had to be really careful when rebuilding those engines, as each bearing was fitted, and adjusted with shims. the "FORDSON TRACTOR" used the same engine design, and the lower end of those engines never really posed a problem in terms of longevity. it was cylinder( ring and piston) / valve wear due to the poor efficiency and loose fitting of the oil bath air filter. poor maintenance was also a big factor. the oil used in those engines back then was just a shadow of what the present day oil is. this required frequent oil changes back then the engine did not have an oil filtering system either, .. that was a massive engine in terms of size Vs. engine horse power output. in todays standards that engine is overdesigned.
@@jogmas12 yeah sure but does your truck have the beauty of a model a? Not even close...my 31 has been on the road for 91 years ....talk to me about your Toyotas in another 85 years.
4:50 battiting the mains.... amazing!
I never thought about how many people were working in these factories. Now I understand why whole cities were built around them.
Very cool video! Thank you for posting. Those poor guys, we’ve come along way.
Thanks for watching!
amazing no dial indicators all thickness gauges .....also see the man check the drag on the crankshaft , he knew just by feel...wonderful vid
Ford knew the requirement for precision measurement and in 1923 purchased C.E. Johansson, Inc. and moved the company, including Carl Johansson from Sweden to Dearborn, Michigan. Ford manufactured and sold Johansson gauge blocks and other precision measurement tools. You can still find Johansson gauge block sets for sale (often on Ebay) with the Ford logo on the gauge block box.
@@buckhorncortez, it wasn’t just for precision, it was also for interchangeability.
THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!! I AM LEARNING ABOUT THE MODEL A MOTOR!!!! GREAT VIDEO & EDUCATION. THANKS FOR SHARING!!!!
What a treasured piece of video history. Just the sheer volume of activity from raw materials to finished product on machines made just for the tasks at hand give a fresh ...or revived meaning to "qualified tooling" .
Thanks for watching!
I served my time as a fitter turner so I really appreciate this film.
I'm a ToolMaker by trade, from Birmingham England. If fastinates me to watch this video, the way they make the cranks and the grinder that does all the journals in one hit is a stunningly clever piece of not only engineering but mass production. I take my hat off to Ford and their engineers. The Doco on the development of the flathead v8 is also worth watching as it cronicles how Henry Ford side stepped the Engineers who were adamant that a single v8 block could not be done in a way as to mass produce it. Ford setup a makeshift design studio in his mates workshop ( None other than Thomas Edison ), and they came up with a block that could be mass produced, and the flathead v8 was born, the rest is history as they say.
Thanks for watching!
Came here first for the video, came back again for the music😂
Totally awesome old footage of so many men working on the line and making $5 a day, which was real good money back then.
Excellent documentary on Fords ingenuity to mass produce these cars.
Henry Ford was a genius
He was also ruthless in getting his factories producing vehicles fast. My dad said he was a very hated man.
At first I thought c'mon get to the good stuff but then I realized it was showing the casting media and how they set up the castings. Then every single step was a new form of "Wow, that's cool!" Those flywheels were gigantic especially for small 4 cylinders.
Really, really interesting.
The music gets a little old though.
Who knows...one of those engines in this film clip could be sitting in my car...!!
My dad did that at the Chrysler foundry in Indianapolis for 30yrs it's now done in Mexico
It's nice to see how it was!
Seeing the quality dept. checking the go / no go gauge for the finished crankshaft👍
Yes! As a former machinist myself, I saw that as well at the 5:55 point. We called them snap guages in our shop. We set up the precision guage blocks to the go / no go spec. A second person (quality control) would verify the settings and then check the guages periodically throughout the shift.
Excellent videos! I like seeing the old Ford stuff.
More to come! Thanks for watching!
Thank you for this history 🙏
Glad you enjoyed it!
Loved the sync of the music as the engine was lowered ! Great film!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Love the hand torquing of the main bearing.
Remarkable industrial engineering.
Looks like organised chaos. Funnily enough, some of those motors are still going today. That says something about the reliability. 👍🏻🇦🇺😁
The flywheel that's being handled with such apparent ease @ 8:12 weighs 65 pounds!
4 minutes of that music was all that I could take!
That music was better than the crap of today. All real musicians and singers, no auto tune BS. No electronic fix for anything.
It did get a bit repetitive. I had to watch it with no sound.
Mass production was almost more impressive from that era because so much of it was done by hand
Fascinating !
Amazing from stick's & stone's to this marvel of Engineering.
If only we could get along.
Excellent video.
Excellent video
Get any 18 year old to that kind of work today.
Very impressive!
Just brilliant
Henry Ford was a great man
The way they use that hydraulic hammer to beat down the cam shaft. No wonder they last so long.
Have you considered adding some selectable CC captions describing what is happening in each step? It might broaden your video's appeal a bit.
That's a good idea. I may work on that. Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment!
its amazing those things ran at all
The internal combustion engines for the second generation of mass-production vehicles. The overall thermal efficiency had improved to around 8% under optimum conditions, rivaling the OTE of contemporary engines made by Alco, Baldwin and Lima Locomotive Works.
thank you Henry
very, very cool, thanx
Glad you liked it!
The safety wire job is what surprised me. Did not know they would have done back then..@ 9:00
Safety wire was used on the differential, torque tube, flywheel and rear engine mount bolts.
The assembly line is similar or the same to the Gorky motor/car plant in Russia. In 1933 when they started full production of the Model GAZ A and GAZ AA(a redesigned Ford A and AA). However ford had a major problem from the very beginning. The lack of skilled workers in Russia. Ford had to send his own employees to train people who had never even seen a car. Not talking about how to assemble one. But that is another story of it's own.
Maybe this history could be told someday to all of us
@@Eduardonplima1 I'm sure it will be just a matter of time
Around 5:48 you can see an inspector come around with a couple of Jo blocks to check the guys calipers or guage to make sure it hasn't worn from use. He is using the gauge to measure the crankshaft journals. The inspector actually cleans the gauge before he tests it against the Jo block.
Oddly enough we are planning on releasing a video in the next day or two about JoBlocks! Keep an eye out for it. Thanks for watching!
OSHA would have a field day in there ! 🙂
Liked and subscribed.👍 Many thanks.👍
Thank you, we have more Model A videos coming!
@@AModelA Thank you, and may I also give credit to that vast manufacturering giant that came to Dagenham in Essex.
Ford's works at Dagenham bought much needed employment to the people who lived in the area.
During my childhood in the early 1960s, many of our neighbours worked at the plant. They were able to purchase a new Ford motor car too, which was very well subscribed.
Sadly though in our modern times, Ford is a shadow of its former self, with new homes being built on the old Dagenham site.
Still hopefully you'll bring us more memories about Ford. I'm hoping that you'll have some films about Dagenham too. Gone now, but not forgotten.
Kind regards.👍 Jonnie
Amazing
Its amazing that Ford could build this. But like all good things, progress must continue.
At 6:10 they use Mr Johanssons gage block, this was a great help for Mr Ford, to accomplish mass production. Mr Johansson was from Sweden, and among other things, the inventor of the wrench, as we know it.
"Jo Blocks"!
Ford OWNED the Johansson gauge block company. He purchased C.E. Johansson, Inc in 1923.
@@buckhorncortez, good info, thanks for sharing!
@@buckhorncortez At the end of his career, in 1923, Johansson started to work for Henry Ford , and the block was his invention. He brought them from Sweden when he first came to the US.
Ford then bought the entire American company, CE Johansson Inc. And moved it to Michigan.
He was a remarkable man, Mr Lealand, the founder of Cadillac, once stated "There are only two people I take off my hat to. One is the president of the United States and the other is Mr. Johansson from Sweden."
Cadillac also had the benefit of using the Jo blocks, and they became standard of the world.
The gage blocks were pivotal in mass production.
Excelent!
Dedicated loyal workers.
$5 a day....Ford paid above average wages...and worked his employees to death...
Very interesting
Pistons, cams, valves, cranks, blocks... all components found in engines today. The fundamentals all still here in cars.
i still remember you need to use clutch to switch to neutral then clutch again to put it in gear
Very difficult to kill one of those engines and even if you did, a weekend in the shed is all it took if you could fix an old Briggs you could fix one of these. You could pull a piston and rod out on the roadside and get it home on three if you had to.
On my old Harley ShovelHead back in the mid 70's I was on a So Cal Freeway and had sucked one of the three bolts that held the inner carb plate on, it bent a intake valve. My buddies and I diagnosed what happen after taking the air cleaner off and pulled the pushrods out of that cylinder and I rode it to my friends house about 25 miles away on one cylinder doing 50mph on the freeway. We fixed it the next day at his place with and old used valve he had and I rode it that way for many years after
Hard to believe they could focus on the task at hand with that piano constantly playing
They say that we have come a long way but you can definitely see the same thing going on in an automotive plant today. More automation and definitely safety for sure. If any of those men were alive today they would definitely be amazed at the Rouge today!
Love the music.
My great uncle Horance Lucian Arnold built the plant for Ford. Until then Ford had only sold a few cars.
Look at all the men working crazy. We need simple vehicles today. The tooling to produce it is crazy.
Some of the actual factory workers were wearing ties.That generation definetly didn't have a shortage of hardened hard working men and women..I love the song playing on the Video to..I really think I would have like to have lived through that era..Always loved hearing old stories from my grandfather as well as my great grandfather about those times very interesting....
7:24 When Freddie "Twist" Torque invented the Torque Wrench.
Lmao !!
Great soundtrack
Hard hats and other PPE existed at the time but clearly hadn't caught on yet. I wonder how many of those guys made it to retirement with all their fingers and without any serious head injuries.
No talking, no smoking, no drinking! Silica sand -- no problem.
Back before planned obsolescence. A Ford engine would be used on a farm for lots of chores from sawing logs, pumping water, processing crops, washing clothes, etc. And it would last generations! Good luck finding a car to still be in good shape after 20yrs of daily use today.
Wish there was at least some naration on the video. Great historical footage.
I suggest the Hagerty video to see how one of those engines are restored today. Video covers full tear down and rebuild, including pouring new babbits!
What is a Babbitt?
@@bigbaddms Babbitt bearings are found on motors, fans, pumps, turbines generators and other industrial equipment. The bearings are designed to support the weight of the shaft, while providing a non-damaging surface for the high speed rotating shaft. In a Babbitted bearing, the lining of the bearing is bonded with Babbitt (a low melting-point, soft alloy). In the event of a failure or contamination of the lubrication system, electric arcing, or just wear over time, the softer Babbitt alloy wears instead of the journal or shaft.
Wow .. they played great music in the factory. What a swell place to work!
Those were silent films. The music is added by the uploader.
I'm struggling here....I just watched an amazing short film mesmerized by the machinery, watching brand new model A engines being built
And that 'Made a Lady out of Lizzie' keeps creeping into my focus.
Oh WOW! This is fascinating. I also notice whites and blacks working together just fine.
Wow amazing production line. No gloves no masks no safety glasses all the guys wore hats all shirts tucked in roll up your sleeves and get to work. No torque wrench needed I do it all by feel. Wow
The greatest women and men making America's finest trucks still today
The Model A engine looked almost exactly the same as the engines used in the Ford N series tractors. I have always wondered if they were the same basic engine.
Both made by Ford, both 4 cylinder, but completely different. The Model A engine is bigger than, but with lower compression than the Ford N engines.
The Ford 4 cylinder N shares a lot of parts with the Ford\Mercury 239 V8 engine from that same era.
Modelo A carburado ,el modelo n vaporizer gasoline , kerosenno o ambos combinados , motores muy similares, prácticamente indestructibles
That music makes it seems making cars is allot of fun. Think i'll suggest my boss play that while we are working. Couldn't hurt and what's the worst could happen.
How crazy and just think about the building of the facility to produce these engines the conveyor belts Etc and the Manpower
Trains dropped raw material at one end and finished cars came out the other. Astonishing...
notice they mostly wore a necktie and hats too.