The 'E' Type Forum

When the factory built our cars did they do so on one production line or separate lines for each model variant ?
I think it would have been separate lines for each.
Steve

I don't know, but I have heard that they would make cars left or right hand drive to order.

This photo suggests that the US cars (whitewall tyres) and UK cars got dedicated lines. At least the front (yellow) car is RHD but you can't see what is the config of the cars behind.

The row on the right is mixed....nice green ots with a hardtop in front fhc behind

Yes its this picture that got me wondering and asking the question.
You would have thought a separate line for each model so that all the parts delivered to each position on the line would fit the cars on that line.
Having the cars mixed up as it were means that you either have to have the parts for all cars that are likely to come down the line or you have to deliver sets of parts in the correct order. A logistical nightmare I would have thought.
Steve

Stevejaguar wrote: ↑

Fri Feb 12, 2021 6:20 pm

Having the cars mixed up as it were means that you either have to have the parts for all cars that are likely to come down the line or you have to deliver sets of parts in the correct order. A logistical nightmare I would have thought.
Steve

Modern production lines are all mixed up and parts arrive in very tightly controlled order.
But back in the day, unless you were going to build a batch of e.g. black LHD OTS then a similar batch of blue RHD FHC they would have to come along the production lines as ordered/required with parts ready as needed.

As LHD made up the vast majority of the cars their production line(s) would be much the longer.

Geoff

Jeremy, car behind the yellow one is also RHD.

Can't you work it out by considering the dates cars left the factory, cross referenced by the fact that 75%+ went to America? To have separate lines, you'd have 5 lh lines for each rh line. Or you can batch a few rh drive cars into a lh line.

kind regards
Marek

Am I correct in thinking that the only model with a separate door lock is the series 1, 2+2 like mine?
If so at least 2 cars behind the yellow one are 2+2s. If I am correct, the chrome trim on the top of the outside of the doors is not fitted and there don't appear to be any holes for it.
Steve

Such a fascinating picture, with so much tantalizing detail.

I assume the yellow car is an auto (single driver's side reservoir), but the one behind is manual.

As you say at least the first 3 cars are 2+2s.

The yellow car is just about complete, and has a windscreen whereas the car behind doesn't have screen fitted. I wonder whether this section of the line might be for trim etc.

Looking at this I wonder how on earth they get the components to the stations. Maybe they are run up on the line itself on dollies, or they have a gantry system and bring them in above the cars.

I think the cars behind the yellow one DO have windscreens ..you can see the labels stuck on top and bottom!
I think you’re right about trim ...the second yellow bin has a piece of red trim that looks like a rear seat back of a 2+2 (that second car has a red rear tailgate lining)
However the second car is also having its engine bay worked on(no triangular air intake yet)
I always thought that maybe the parts were delivered to a line in a box but with body number written in hand on the back of them and the assemblers then new which part went on which car?
Robbie

I love this sort of stuff.

I'm assuming that those yellow boxes are trolleys dragged along the production line along with the car and that they contain all of the final fit and finish items - note the rusty bar connecting the box to the drag link attached to the front frame. The box for the 2nd car seems to contain the rear seats.

There definitely isn't room overhead for any clever delivery system - its all full of state of the art fluorescent strip lighting.

I've often thought that it would be great to get hold of the factory production process cards to see the order in which they were assembled. That would be a great help for anybody embarking on a rebuild, especially for those of us who bought their cars as a series of boxes.

Regards

1954Etype wrote: ↑

Fri Feb 12, 2021 6:55 pm

Jeremy, car behind the yellow one is also RHD.

Maybe that one's mine Angus

Ah, no - now I can see it's a 2+2....duh

The yellow car at the front has 51312 on the parts bin that is attached to it. If this is the BODY number then this matches chassis 1E 50188 BW. That car is on XKE data as having been built 22 June 1966 and exported to Singapore. That should help date the picture to mid June 1966. My 2+2 was built on 16 August 1966 so probably just a body shell awaiting the start of assembly at that time.

Another couple of images but with the variants not mixed on the lines, the first reported to be 1966, the second 1972. Spot the hardtop suspended above the S1 OTS line.