Any old Ford employees here?

Lebowski

Lebowski

Member
I recently acquired an old DuKane movie projector and record player along with dozens of films and records from the '50s which were put out by Ford for use by their salesmen and mechanics. It appears to work but I don't know how to install the film and synchronize it with the record. Does anyone know how to do that? If so please let me know. Here's some pics. Thanks…. ;)
 

Attachments

  • PICT0010.JPG
    PICT0010.JPG
    105.4 KB · Views: 51
  • PICT0009.JPG
    PICT0009.JPG
    107.3 KB · Views: 53
  • PICT0012.JPG
    PICT0012.JPG
    105.8 KB · Views: 50
  • PICT0007.JPG
    PICT0007.JPG
    113.1 KB · Views: 52
  • PICT0018.JPG
    PICT0018.JPG
    109.7 KB · Views: 57
  • PICT0026.JPG
    PICT0026.JPG
    106.8 KB · Views: 57
  • PICT0029.JPG
    PICT0029.JPG
    112.2 KB · Views: 43
It could be that the film has a count down, before actual video, that would tell you when to engage the record to sync up the audio & video.
 
I worked at the Lorain Ford Assembly Plant. I was a Paint Repairman in the final Garage. Lots of overtime there. I started in 1960.
 
Your projector loads from the top where the filmstrip arrow is located. The filmstrip sits loose in the red cup and the beginning end feeds down thru the projector. There appears to be a clip on the takeup spindle for the filmstrip to attach to after it comes thru the projector. It is advanced by the round crank midway down on the projector body. I can't tell if there is a remote advance button or not.

The records have a beep sound on the soundtrack which indicates to the operator when to advance the filmstrip. I don't believe that the filmstrip advance is automatic or synchronized.
 
Don Rogers said:
Your projector loads from the top where the filmstrip arrow is located. The filmstrip sits loose in the red cup and the beginning end feeds down thru the projector. There appears to be a clip on the takeup spindle for the filmstrip to attach to after it comes thru the projector. It is advanced by the round crank midway down on the projector body. I can't tell if there is a remote advance button or not.

The records have a beep sound on the soundtrack which indicates to the operator when to advance the filmstrip. I don't believe that the filmstrip advance is automatic or synchronized.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info, Don. I'll see if I can figure it out tonight and let you know. I have a button on a wire that plugs into the machine which is probably used for advancing the pics. (See photo.) What do you think something like this is worth with all the films and records? Thanks again….
 

Attachments

  • PICT0024.JPG
    PICT0024.JPG
    105.5 KB · Views: 6
Ken Crans said:
Where did you find this? Very educational..
Click to expand...

I purchased some old car brochures from an 85 year old guy who worked for Ford from 1952-97 and he sold it to me. He said they stopped using them in the late '50s. We've come a long way since these were used, haven't we?
 
These were issued to all dealers to educate the salesmen on the new cars and thier features so they could better sell and also to the service department on new model prep, new features of the vehicle, how to repair components, etc... Sort of what the TSB's of today do. Each filmstrip has a label telling what it covers. That's quite a nice find. It's rare you find all three parts together, the projector, filmstrips and records.
 
Lebowski, The projector really isn't worth that much. There was one on ebay that didn't get a bid at $24 (eBay item number:121155492529) An individual record or filmstrip with out the other one is worth about $5 ea. A matching filmstrip and record would be worth about $15. Open the filmstrip canisters and smell them. If there is a strong odor of vinegar, the film is starting to decompose and may be worthless.
 
I have worked on many of these projectors. I spent over 40 years as an Audio/Visual technician for a school board. Often times the records have an automatic advance side as well as a manual advance (beeps) side. These filmstrip projectors later replaced the record with an audio cassette. Like Don indicated...the filmstrips tend to get brittle after a long period of time...depending on how and where they are stored.

Pat
 
The film strips that I have looked at are flexible and not brittle and they don't smell, probably because they have been stored in airtight metal containers for all these years. When I have some time tonight I'm going to try to figure out how to insert the film and synchronize it with the record. If I get it working I'll make a video of it with my iPhone and post a link here. Thanks for the responses and advice…. :)
 
I can't figure out how to load the film. I see an arrow with the word "film" and I fed it through there but nothing happens. I played the record for several minutes but didn't hear any beeps. The guy just kept talking nonstop. The reverse side of the record is blank. Are there any web sites with visual instructions on how to make this thing work? :confused:
 
I found a video on YouTube of a guy who bought a DuKane projector identical to mine for one dollar. He played a record on it but didn't have any film so I still don't know how to install the film. Any suggestions? :confused:
 
I went there and they don't have a manual for my model, which is 14A-390D so I did a Google search for DuKane and they're still in business in the Chicago area. I called their 800 number and a guy there is going to see if they have a manual for the model I have. I'll let you know what happens. Thanks….
 
1931 flamingo said:
Have you re-read post #4??
Paul
Click to expand...

"Your projector loads from the top where the filmstrip arrow is located. The filmstrip sits loose in the red cup and the beginning end feeds down thru the projector. There appears to be a clip on the takeup spindle for the filmstrip to attach to after it comes thru the projector. It is advanced by the round crank midway down on the projector body. I can't tell if there is a remote advance button or not.

The records have a beep sound on the soundtrack which indicates to the operator when to advance the filmstrip. I don't believe that the filmstrip advance is automatic or synchronized."

Yes I have. I don't know what a "takeup spindle" is and I don't see any kind of a "clip" or a "round crank" either. Hopefully the guy from DuKane will call me back and be able to send me some kind of instructions so I can figure it out….
 
I have several of the Magnavox Illustravox versions from the '30's - '40's and have just bought one the same as yours from an eBay seller, but it is missing the power lead. I'm hoping to source a replacement lead of connector so that I can get mine operational so that I can convert the Ford filmstrips and records I have into video clips. It will be a long slow process, but worth the effort I hope.
 
Don Rogers said:
Lebowski, The projector really isn't worth that much. There was one on ebay that didn't get a bid at $24 (eBay item number:121155492529) An individual record or filmstrip with out the other one is worth about $5 ea. A matching filmstrip and record would be worth about $15. Open the filmstrip canisters and smell them. If there is a strong odor of vinegar, the film is starting to decompose and may be worthless.
Click to expand...


In addition to just decomposing and worthless, it may be DANGEROUS. As nitrocellulose film decomposes it can spontaneously combust and with the fuel load of the film can create a large fire quickly. If the film strips are marked "safety film" they are an acetate film and should not be a problem.


Nitrocellulose is also the chemistry behind pyroxlin coatings (and the sefety issues are the reason we can't get them).
 
I have several 1935 and 1936 Ford Truck filmstrips and matching records. I took a digital picture of each slide in the filmstrip and also made a digital recording of the record. Then I merged the filmstrip images and the records recording in Blender (a software program on my computer). I then synced the viewing length of each filmstrip image to the space between the beeps in the recording.

The end result is a video file that I can play on my computer which automatically "advances" the image at every beep and I no longer have to touch the filmstrip or record disc. It took a bit of time, but now I can easily watch the filmstrip and listen to the audio anytime I want.

Frank Scheidt, a member of the Early Ford V8 Club in New York, did this for a lot of EFV8 era filmstrips and records. He has since passed and I don't know what happened to his collection of finished products that he use to sell on eBay.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top