How were the A bodies put together down the assembly line?

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Texas Red

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How were the A bodies put together down the assembly line? OK what I see when taking any older car apart converting into a stock car body, Drag racer, Street ride etc....... is what appears to be multiple pieces (some large , some small) that must be pushed up into a template or on some kind of fabrication table set up with each piece being spot welded together and set back down on the conveyor belt only to be picked up by the next group which adds their parts / pieces to the car which in turn do exactly what the previous group does and sends the beginning of a car down the line. As it continues down the line it begins to look and become whatever product line is being produced on that production line........................... whether its a truck division or a car division plant.

Were their QC people on these same lines assuring that quality was being put into each car as i have read where these A body cars could have been out of square etc.... to a certain degree and they were still pushed off the assembly line only to have the sheet metal division correct the bad?????? I don't remember how much this old body man had stated how much these cars could be off but it was more than I thought they should.

I am sure they tried to correct these types of problems ASAP but had to find the fault area to correct in the first place. If there are any retired line workers on here this might be interesting to know. Texas Red
 
How were the A bodies put together down the assembly line?
While this is not A-Body specific - it does give a brief but good insight into how a special car was built - The 1970 Plymouth Superbird.

This car was a special due to being a modified standard model, and the story gives a fairly good idea of the processes during the build.....even though there is at least one glaringly obvious flaw in the story down the page a bit that I only noticed a week ago when reading this again.....

How Chrysler Built Cars
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Check out posts by @Lance Lot Link. Some very interesting stuff posted by a long time Chrysler insider. I wish he posted every day.
He should see your question and may have some memories to share with you.
 
That is a very comprehensive and accurate article by Mr. David Patik. I'm going to reread it.
My desk, when I worked on floor was directly across from the guy separating the broadcast sheets, at the beginning of the "motor station". He would give me a heads-up sometimes that some rare engines would be run.

The broadcast sheet was taped to the engine "buck" and the engine hoist man loaded each buck. Very little assembly or disassembly took place at this station. Then it went to another "engine loop" or station some distance away by conveyor for the transmission and to dress the engine with accessories. If we missed loading a buck we had to put the engine in a 4 place rack and get the hi-lo driver to haul *** to the transmission install station. There we used that much smaller 2 way hoist to load the engine onto the buck. Otherwise, a vehicle with no engine would be pushed off the final line to a repair hole and all hell was coming down if more than one miss.
 

How were the A bodies put together down the assembly line? OK what I see when taking any older car apart converting into a stock car body, Drag racer, Street ride etc....... is what appears to be multiple pieces (some large , some small) that must be pushed up into a template or on some kind of fabrication table set up with each piece being spot welded together and set back down on the conveyor belt only to be picked up by the next group which adds their parts / pieces to the car which in turn do exactly what the previous group does and sends the beginning of a car down the line. As it continues down the line it begins to look and become whatever product line is being produced on that production line........................... whether its a truck division or a car division plant.

Were their QC people on these same lines assuring that quality was being put into each car as i have read where these A body cars could have been out of square etc.... to a certain degree and they were still pushed off the assembly line only to have the sheet metal division correct the bad?????? I don't remember how much this old body man had stated how much these cars could be off but it was more than I thought they should.

I am sure they tried to correct these types of problems ASAP but had to find the fault area to correct in the first place. If there are any retired line workers on here this might be interesting to know. Texas Red
Hard for me to speak of specific processes at Lynch Rd. (See article) or Dodge Main since I spent so little time there. My career total for time in production, I believe Dept. 9190 @ about $3.25/hr., was 2 weeks. I operated a "hanging gun", a spot welding gun hitting respot welds. This was the popular method of fastening in those days. Later, I taught hundreds of robots, mostly Fanuc, but earlier, many Nachi, and ABB, to do the resistance spot welding. I do recall parts being loaded into welding fixtures and clamped, sometimes by hand clamps, then spot welded. The PS [Process Standard (for welding)] spelled out how the welds were to be inspected, among other requirements. Weld destruct testing was most common, with a hammer and chisel. Air chisels were much better to separate two parts and examine the welds. The weld would be measured at two points for size, preferably with dial calipers and averaged those two measurements. If undersize, the weld or "nugget" could be improved (grown) with more time progammed in. The general rule is, when first devising a weld schedule: If no nugget whatsoever-then increase current. If small nugget, then increase time of current flow. To devise a schedule, I always requested type of metals, thicknesses, coatings, etc.
I'll try to answer the questions, if I can. Much metal was scrapped. Why? Well, if the stamping building of an assembly plant cut the blanks short, then stamped a part out with presses and sent it to assembly, there could be many edge welds because of "short stock". They tried to blame our processes first so we would have to prove it was their fault. Then, if they already stamped 500 of the parts, some big shots would show up and say so what, adjust your processes. We're not scrapping 500 hoods.
Typical early but automated hood subassembly line:
Inner portion of hood was the skeleton or frame for the outer, or skin. At one station of the hood line, the slam (latch) bracket was welded onto the inner. Another station the nige brackets were welded on. These stations were called Geo Stations, where each part was located by pins though holes in the parts, to the inner and received at least two welds to "lock" the postion. GDT. These welds MUST hold. Then the panel was transferred through other stations and received the response welds. After the inner was complete, it was joined with the outer, back then manually, and then continued through outer stations. This fastening processes varied but for most of the 60's and 70's I believe it was welded to the inner along the sides and nose. (I guess I gotta go look at a Duster hood). It could have been hemmed too, where the edges are folded over. Later, in the 1990's we glued them with two-part epoxy. I hope this answered the question, kind of, about assembling some of the parts. I did a lot of "closures" - doors, hoods, decklids and also floorpans. I never went back to BIW or Metal Shop after those two weeks of Hell I spent there, and never served full time in production again.

BTW: Rest in Peace, Mr. David Patik (2020) and Mr. Gil Cunningham (2022). Thank You for the How Chrysler Built Cars article.
 
Great link kiwigtx.

I have seen two other 1969 Darts from the Los Angeles plant with similar damage at the upper shock mount - within a couple thousand on the VIN.
Can anyone confirm if the factory would do this on the assembly line?

IMG_6681.png


IMG_6682.png
 
Great link kiwigtx.

I have seen two other 1969 Darts from the Los Angeles plant with similar damage at the upper shock mount - within a couple thousand on the VIN.
Can anyone confirm if the factory would do this on the assembly line?

View attachment 1716299026

View attachment 1716299027

What's the specific damage in the 2nd picture?

If you are talking about the welds coming apart from the shock tower to the inner fender. That is common.

If it's still welded, the shock hole is not centered in the inner fender hole in somewhat common. It just places the upper shock location. Not critical to alignment geometry.
 
What's the specific damage in the 2nd picture?

If you are talking about the welds coming apart from the shock tower to the inner fender. That is common.

If it's still welded, the shock hole is not centered in the inner fender hole in somewhat common. It just places the upper shock location. Not critical to alignment geometry.

2nd picture obviously has no damage.
I was showing how off center both shock mounts are on my Dart.
Alignment is fine.
Question is would the factory do this on the assembly line to move the car along?
Other Darts I was referring to also had the same damage on the drivers side.
 
I thought you were asking about the pic that looks like a cutting torch was used to enlarge the hole ?
I can’t imagine the line doing that,,,,maybe grinding,,,but not a torch .

The offset hole location looks kind of typical for some body fitment,,,,poor QC probably ?
You have to remember,,,,these things were moving along pretty quickly,,,,,you didn’t want to be responsible for stopping the line back then .

And don’t feel bad,,,,I have a friend that is a Chevy guy through and through,,,,,he talks about their products more than ours .
He claims that all Chevies are out a fair amount,,,if you really measure closely!

Tommy
 
I thought you were asking about the pic that looks like a cutting torch was used to enlarge the hole ?
I can’t imagine the line doing that,,,,maybe grinding,,,but not a torch .

Yes, it’s looks like it was hit with a cutting torch.
Agree I can’t imagine the factory would do this, but who knows… I’ve seen it on other Darts.
 
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Thanks for posting some interesting pictures. First pics look like 72 Duster at Body Drop meeting conveyed drive train. The one that I saw had a crane operator in a cab moving the the body into position with workers on floor waiting. One per minute. The last Pic looks like final line before the rolls. The Dart? is on the flat conveyor, gets fluids, fuel, final trim, hits the rolls then a repair hole or in line to leave the building.
 
If you are talking about the welds coming apart from the shock tower to the inner fender. That is common.

If it's still welded, the shock hole is not centered in the inner fender hole in somewhat common. It just places the upper shock location. Not critical to alignment geometry.
Thank you!
I just confirmed the spot welds at the inner fender are in line with the shock towers. It’s WAY off center.
Looks to me like this was indeed done on the assembly line to clearance the drivers side upper shock mount. Interesting…
 
Maybe,,,,,maybe not,,,,I’m not too certain they had gold paint at the line .
Look at the paint on the wiring harness,,,,it’s been well sprayed after assembly.
Who knows what has happened in the last 50 years to these cars .

Tommy
 

Yes, in the last 55 years the car has had one repaint. Gold was the original color.
 
I'm not sure, but I know my cousin worked in the early 70's putting them together in Detroit until, he finished school to be an architect.
It's not something he remembers fondly :p
 
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