FYI - 59 production rate in Nov. 58

[vernz]

I shot some pictures of 5 junk yard Squarebirds that I will post soon. I included pictures of the data plates and found that the VIN number on one of the 59's is only 383 higher than mine. The date code on mine is 10L (a Tuesday), and the date code on the junk yard car is 13L (a Friday). So that's 383 cars produced in 3-4 days.

Vern

[JohnG]

sounds reasonable... I believe there were about 38,000 58 TBirds made (rounded off) and if I assume that there are about 250 work days in a year, then that comes out to about 150 cars produced per day.

150 brand new Squarebirds out the door every day...just imagine!!!

John

[Penelope]

John, I wonder what the numbers are like now - how much have we progressed? Then you could go futher, how many staff back then compared to now, and the ultimate question how many cars per day per staff member?

I bet the results would be startling, and a little bit frightening......

[Anders]

Originally Posted by JohnG

150 brand new Squarebirds out the door every day...just imagine!!!

John

[bcomo]

I see something very interesting in that photo.

Look at the slanted headlights on car behind the T-Bird --- is that a Lincoln.

If so, would that be a photo of the Wixom assembly plant where they assembled the T-Birds with the 430 engines?

[fomoco59]

Yes, that's a '60 Lincoln. All TBirds and Lincolns were built at the same plant in Wixom.
Looks like they're assembling the bumpers.

[tbird430]

Wouldn't u like to time travel back to when/where that picture was taken Bart? Just image what we could find in a few of those parts boxes in the background.... LOL!!!

[Hawkrod]

Originally Posted by vernz

I shot some pictures of 5 junk yard Squarebirds that I will post soon. I included pictures of the data plates and found that the VIN number on one of the 59's is only 383 higher than mine. The date code on mine is 10L (a Tuesday), and the date code on the junk yard car is 13L (a Friday). So that's 383 cars produced in 3-4 days.

Vern

Unfortunately you would be wrong in your assumption. Cars are not built sequentially. A car with a serial number 383 higher than yours could have been built weeks before or after yours. On your build sheet there is a box marked ROT and it has a number in it. The numbers run from 001-999 and then start over. That is the sequence cars are built in. 001 was followed by 002 etc... Cars were batch built based on common features to make the line run faster so they would build a group of say 50 white cars and then 50 red or whatever. If you look at that line picture you will notice that the cars are the same color. I have two 1968 Mercury Cougars, one is 8F93S545119 and the other is 8F93S545139. They are actually twin cars and were built in the same batch but 139 was finished three days before 119. I have also seen 8F93S545117 and it was built 4 days after 139! The serial numbers are no good for figuring out production because the numbers are not related to the assembly process. Hawkrod

[YellowRose]

Thanks, Anders, for posting those video links. There are a lot more of them to look at off to the side. I have been enjoying looking at a lot of them. Nice stuf..

[fomoco59]

I talked with John Rotella "the Code Cracker" about this subject. "In the years 1958 through 1976, Thunderbirds shared the same assembly line with Lincolns (as was the case in 2002-2005).
Ford VINs always start with the number 100001. During the SquareBird Era, Lincoln VINs started with 400001. So it is easy to tell how many were built, or to be precise, how many were scheduled to be built.
From what I have read and understood from people who worked on the assembly line, in the SquareBird Era it was most common to see Convertibles only a "Convertible Day", they never ever mixed Hardtop production with the Convertibles. Lincolns had their own separate line on which they would be veered off for some special items, and then the Lincoln Convertibles had their own special line off that one! It must have looked like a railroad yard.
The only place where Thunderbird production is confusing was at Dearborn (1955-1957), and Los Angeles (1968-1976) when Thunderbird production numbers were merged with other Ford products.
All Lincolns were built at Wixom starting in 1958, and continuing right up until the present with these two notable exceptions: the Versailles (built at Wayne with the Granada and Monarch) and the present-day MKX (Oakville).

Right, this photo is correct. As the assembly line process neared its end, the Lincolns would go off to the side for some special quality checks, and tests of some components that the Thunderbird did not have.... like automatic dimmer or power door locks. Then the Lincoln would get back on the regular line. In late 1957, when the new big Lincolns were being built at Wixom but Thunderbird production had not yet started, they really enjoyed some intimate "hand holding". A retired ex-manager from Wixom told me a while back that he felt the reason that Square Bird production was delayed was really to accommodate the workers in a new surrounding, and to get the Lincolns on the right track.
Every road test comparison of the day, Cadillac vs. Lincoln, always puts Lincoln ahead in the quality control department. Not to say that they were such wonderful cars, but for 1958 standards they were the best in the U.S. "

Thanks John.