Rouge: Pictured in Its Prime

26. Body Assembly

26 BODY ASSEMBLY Wooden body frames for Ford cars gradually disappeared with late Model Ts. At the Rouge Plant, automotive body structures were assembled primarily from steel stampings. Throughout the 1930s, when sedans were more popular than open cars and Tudors the most popular of the sedans, the Rouge Plant concentrated on assembling Tudor sedans. There was a saying in the plant, “There is nothing too good for the Tudor,” meaning that the very best equipment would be installed to expedite its manufacture. Several of the more deluxe bodies were purchased by Ford from vendors such as Murray Corporation and Briggs Manufacturing Company. Rouge body assembly operations were on the second floor of the B building . To assemble the Ford Tudor sedan, the floorpan, cowl, side quarterpanels , door frames, and balloon back were all arc-welded together to form the body. In 1937, the turret all-steel top was added to the structure, making the body one of “all steel.” Interior upholstery trim and hardware were installed before the body was sent to the final assembly line on the first floor of the B building. Ford Motor Company purchased its upholstery and trim materials from a number of producers and conducted numerous tests on them to evaluate their quality. During the Depression year of 1935, when one million Ford cars were built, it was predicted that Ford automotive upholstery would require wool from 800,000 sheep, hair from 87,500 goats, and cotton from 433,000 acres. About this time, in Henry Ford’s soybean research laboratory, soybean fibers were being blended with wool (35 percent soy and 65 percent wool) to form an upholstery cloth. The strength of the soy cloth, however, was found to be only 85 percent that of wool and was never used as automotive upholstery. For personal use, Ford liked his automobile seat upholstered in leather, preferring to slide easily into and out of the car. He disliked mohair upholstery in particular. 165 The south end of the quarter-mile-long B building in October 1920, when Eagle boats are finished and Fordson tractors are about to be assembled. The B building will be the Rouge vehicle assembly building throughout the rest of the twentieth century. (833.1237) 166 Sheetmetal stampings spot-welded together to form the floorboard of a 1935 Ford body. (833.63445) Right and left body quarter-panels on either side of a “balloon back” are here in a “body buck” attached to a huge automatic spot-welding machine ready for simultaneous welding in a multitude of spots. (833.64682-B) 167 Sparks fly as the welding of the three large body panels takes place in an instant. (833. 65253) 168 The seam welding of an automotive cowl while held in a small body buck. (833.67634-C) 169 Gasoline tanks are fabricated by seam welding the top and bottom stampings. A mechanism of gears and chains automatically maneuvers the tank to its proper position under the welding wheel. (833. 9693) 170 Top: Standard Tudor bodies undergo metal finishing as they move along toward the paint shop and then the interior trim department. Installation of window glass, upholstery, hardware, instrument panel, and other final trim requires another two hours of assembly time. (833.61986) Bottom: A general view of the sewing room in the B building. In the foreground are two 50-inch sewing machines. In the background, piles of white padding are in sight, and to the left in the distance are conveyors loaded with completed automobile seats. (833.69805-B) Left: The starting end of the seat-cushion assembly line. When the line is in operation, men will be busily working on both sides. On individual trucks, each cushion is assembled upside-down, with upholstery on the bottom, padding above the upholstery, and steel spring frame on top. As the trucks move along, pressure is applied from above so that the fabric materials easily reach around the springs and can be fastened together. (833.69054-A) Below: The end of the seatcushion assembly line. After the fabrics have been firmly fastened around the springs and the trucks move toward the end of the line, pressure from the top is released, and the cushion is removed from the line. Other lines prepare the seat backs...