The Model A Ford Assembly Line 1928 - 1931

If you've never worked in a factory, it's hard to appreciate that what you see most of these guys doing for five seconds is what they did for the entire day, every day, for years.

What impressed me the most was they manufactured everything right there from the beginning of pouring the engine blocks right down to the wire spoke rims. Henry Ford was a big thinker a visionary that actually did what he dreamed.

I worked at GMH Fisherman's Bend in plant No 1 in the 1970s in an era where GMH built virtually the complete vehicle in-house. Many things in this video were still being done. The factory was much larger and more spacious. Methods engineering had reduced handling and made conditions safer. Indeed working at GMH was vastly safer than in the heavy steel industry where injury was still pretty common. One thing that most of these movies get wrong is the myth that people were trapped into doing just one repetitive job. This was very much up to the individual. Foremen actually wanted workers to be multiskilled. You needed an agile work force because people might call in sick etc. I worked and was trained in many roles from machining to assembly to welding to many tasks. I thoroughly enjoyed the work. These days I restore classic cars as a hobby in retirement. Especially vehicles of the 1940s and 1950s. It really was the great age of manufacturing quality machines.

Back in the days when we still made great products. And this was during the depression too!

Fascinating. I love the model A . How I wish I could go back in time , buy a new one and have it here in the present . So easy to work on and maintain . Did the job just fine without all the electronic junk that no one can fix .

I had a Model "A". I used it several times to go buy parts to fix my modern everyday car!! One of the greatest cars ever designed.

I've got a 31 AA it ran 20 years ago...always loved Fords

So many differences between this time period and now that this movie illustrates. Thousands of people working making these machines that have now been replaced via robots and/or off-shore cheap labor all in the name of "good business/profits" while Henry Ford became one of the Richest men in the world using this model. Have to love the ingenuity in all the machinery shown here that someone had to engineer, assemble, run, and maintain. Notice the guy who comes and checks the "quality/accuracy" gauge the guy is using on the cranks. Love those big stamping presses making the body panels and the guys fitting the Tudor Sedan body together. Currently assembling a 1931 Model A motor together from a stash of old parts, this film really hits home by how "automated" they had engineered this assembly line. "Everything" had to be very accurate as there is very little "adjustment" available on most of these assemblies.

It's absolutely awe inspiring that they could do all this over 100 years ago. Henry was a true genius.

Unbelievable, that they made their Own glass, Their own upholstery

Henry Fords greatest achievement was interchangeability. Standardization of components. He perfected the assembly line

I have unwavering respect for the engineers who developed the automation in these plants. A finely tuned symphony of complex varied movements that come together in harmonious task delivery hour after hour after hour. The mechanical upkeep, the onerous troubleshooting and the “overhaul” shutdowns had to be mind bending. Respect ✊ 🇨🇦

All spare parts were made by hand, one piece after another. There were no robots or computers running a factory.. There is nothing more beautiful than making and perfecting the human hand.☝️👍

I can't even imagine how they were able to create the tools and dies for all those complex shapes and have the parts come out fitting so well, without the aid of computers and CAD software.

God Bless all those hard working people. They shaped the greatness of America.

Not one of them complaining about “I CANT BREATH” or complaining about how hard the work was. True American men with a back bone. Nothing like the sissies we have today. I’m proud of each and everyone of the men that put the model A’s on the road.

Every person in this film has passed on, but their contribution to America can not be understated. "Any color you like so long as it's black."

I worked in an old foundry while in college in the mid 90s. They're dark, dirty places. When I saw that line of men pouring the engine blocks...no one can explain how hot that room was, you'd have to feel it to understand.

Some of these awesome cars still remain in 2022, but sadly the people who made them arn't,i hope they all lived beautiful lives and are imortalised in this video..

The manufacturing automation of those times is simply astounding & it was all pioneered then! Also, everything is made in-house!! All sorts of trades specialists under one roof!!