[BaadAssGremlins] Re: First Gremlin, stainless steel Fords down Producti

"Having spent a summer at GE working
on and around a assembly line I just find it hard to believe that they
would run this special car with all the special parts on it down the line. I
would love to know how many times that line had to be stopped because a
special part wasn't there. It would have cost them a fortune."
Terry

Reading about another special type of car, Ford made some stainless steel cars, particularly a '59 ? T-bird and another '60's Ford some years later, and in the book it says they ran them down the line like a regular car. So, yes, I can see a manufacturer doing this, if they're planning the production anyway of a particular model, they have to run it on the line a first time SOME time, to work the bugs out of the Production area. And a Gremlin isn't far off a Hornet that they couldn't do pre-production planning to make sure most of the parts were on-hand. They'd probably chose a Friday to do it, since Production would be winding to a close for the week, anyway.

So, yes, Terry, it HAS been done, and DIDN'T cost them a fortune to do it, as all the gear, tooling and parts are , where else, on the assembly line, and if you run it as the last item for the day/week, you're going to shut down anyway, so stopping/starting isn't as big a concern. I think trying to build a few cars in a specialized shop would take LONGER , as you'd have to do everything by hand, and it'd take way longer, and not be as good as a jigged, assembly-line welded item. Not every production plant would use this method, but in automobiles, where there are 10,000 parts or more per car, just couldn't do it easily or as quickly in a special shop vs. on a standard line where all the parts are anyway. Besides, AMC used similar parts on all ( or most ) of their cars, so the special items would be at a minimum. And again, planning would be required, as with any special automobile. How about Station wagons vs. Sedan Delivery ? same body type, but different parts and welding, yet they ran down the same lines for years. They have production planned for all body types, from convertibles to sedans to wagons, so building a special first-time car is no different - just the planning. I think you are missing that aspect.

Jerry

[BaadAssGremlins] Re: First Gremlin, stainless steel Fords down Production lines...