How The Model A Ford Engine Was Built

The magic was in the tooling - how many operations per station and the number of blocks being machined at one time. I like how they spin balanced the cranks but went to the old bubble balance method for the flywheel.
And not an OSHA inspector in sight - get hurt lose your job was a big incentive.....
 
I see a lot if interesting things in this video. However, that man at 4:25 picking up those engine blocks, and placing them on that machine gets me. I picked up a block a few weeks ago, and put it in my truck. However, doing that for 8 hours a day, five, or six days a week is another thing. All for $5.00 a day. Horace and John Dodge should have went and done that guys job for a week... Guess times change.
 
Rick Black, I watched several times in the video where a long jig is levered down into the block and a workmen with two ladles leans over the jig and makes three pours of the liquid babbitt. How quick could it have solidified? Would have like to have seen how they align bored the mains and if finished to size by reamer.
 
Back
Top