  Mopardan Member Username: Mopardan Post Number: 206 Registered: 11-2008 |
This is from the AllPar site. I thought it was pretty interesting. http://www.allpar.com/corporat e/factories/windsor-1975.html | ||
Vetalalumni Member Username: Vetalalumni Post Number: 1329 Registered: 05-2007 |
Wow, a trip down memory lane. | ||
Mopardan Member Username: Mopardan Post Number: 209 Registered: 11-2008 |
Vet, I take it you worked there. I forgot which plant produced my '73 SE...I'd have to check the VIN again. There's some pretty good videos on YouTube such as Assembly Line work, Proving Grounds & Sales. The site is blocked here at work, otherwise I'd post some links. Two really interesting ones are a Pontiac factory & Plymouth testing. I think if you type in the tags "Pontiac" "1971" "Fisher" "GM" it will lead you to it...about eight or nine clips starting from the foundry to the completed product. For the Plymouth I think the series is called "What Happened Tomorrow"...try typing that in for a search as I can't recall the tags for it. The user, Leif4444, has tons of them, including Packard design & assembly. Excellent historical footage. Do a search on his name & you'll be amazed at all the car videos he has. | ||
Vetalalumni Member Username: Vetalalumni Post Number: 1333 Registered: 05-2007 |
Nostalgic memories of mid 70s cars is an interest of mine. Have no connections to the assembly line though. | ||
Reddog289 Member Username: Reddog289 Post Number: 955 Registered: 08-2007 |
My late cousin would have loved that site, as he owned a couple mid 70's Chargers. His never looked as good as the ones in the photos. | ||
Mopardan Member Username: Mopardan Post Number: 216 Registered: 11-2008 |
I like checking into the site. They always have stories or pictures of the auto industry, obviously concentrating on Chrysler. The personal stories give insight to what was(or is) going on, plus the perspectives range from the assembly line up to the corporate office. As of late they've put out releases concerning Chrysler's restructuring plan along with the situation with Fiat & Cerberus. I own a '73 SE which is in pieces in the garage; it may see the light of day again before I die. I had a beautiful '74 SE which a girlfriend was nice enough to total for me back in '85. Yeah, I broke up with her right after that. Glad you guys liked the story & site. Also check out the YouTube videos, in particular that user Leif4444. Trust me, you'll be amazed at what he has posted. | ||
Eriedearie Member Username: Eriedearie Post Number: 3765 Registered: 08-2007 |
Mr. Erie worked at that plant back then. I've scoured the pictures to see if he was one of the hard working guys. Nope. But that might be him standing around leaning on what looks like a file cabinet. | ||
Mopardan Member Username: Mopardan Post Number: 218 Registered: 11-2008 |
Erie, are you talking about the very last picture of the TRAM where there are two men in the background? Do you know if he had any picture while he worked there? I'm sure the site would publish them. | ||
Eriedearie Member Username: Eriedearie Post Number: 3767 Registered: 08-2007 |
Yes, the 2nd to the last picture. Shows 2 guys leaning against something; watching others work. Mr. Erie did have his picture taken while he was in one of the plants. I think the picture was published in one of the news letters. He was in the "Ten on Two on Club" - Something heavy fell on his foot and he had no injury due to wearing steel toed shoes. Evidently, it was a huge problem back then having workers invest in and wear their safety shoes. | ||
Mopardan Member Username: Mopardan Post Number: 219 Registered: 11-2008 |
Yes, the 2nd to the last pic...I stand corrected. I worked the flightline for 7yrs while in the AF...safety boots are mandatory. Still got my "ten on two" after tools & other oddball things fell on my toes. I can imagine a factory is a lot more congested , not to mention a non-stop environment. Did he retire from Chrysler? | ||
Eriedearie Member Username: Eriedearie Post Number: 3772 Registered: 08-2007 |
Mopardan - he is retired from Chrysler Canada. He got 33 1/2 years in and said that's it! Yeah, when the factory was going 24/7 it was a non-stop deal. I remember having to drive by there a couple of times in the middle of the night, place was lit up all around. One would have thought it was high noon but it was 3 a.m. - not anymore. You drive by a car factory now and you're lucky to see a couple lights on for the cleaning crew and that's about it. | ||
Mopardan Member Username: Mopardan Post Number: 226 Registered: 11-2008 |
That is a long time. Scary to think that when I retire(hopefully) from here I'll have roughly 31yrs in. Geez Louise! I grew up in a household where you bought American & didn't dare think of putting an import in your driveway. I can imagine up until about the last 10yrs or so that a lot of the factories were running a hectic schedule. The 50s & 60s must've been unbelievable. Things will eventually turn around, but let's hope our guys can hang on & weather the current storm. | ||
Eriedearie Member Username: Eriedearie Post Number: 3779 Registered: 08-2007 |
I know Mopardan. I wish you luck in hanging in there. In the 80s when things weren't looking very good, we were scared he was going to lose his job. Talks of different plant closings and such. By then he had transferred to the van plant and those were selling like wildfire. His job was saved. BTW - the van plant is no longer there. They closed it, and tore it apart. Level ground now. I hate driving by there. That place was so busy, day and night. My family too - buy North American made. My dad's a Ford or Chevy guy from the git go. He is so devoted to those brands of vehicles...he would be able to take advantage of my husband's Chrysler discount, but he sticks with his favorite brands! He's got enough money he could buy any foreign made that comes down the pike - but he's devoted 100%. Yep, the 50s and 60s were amazing times in the Detroit area. Everyone was working. All my friends' fathers; they would be heading out for work with their lunch bucket, or coming home with their lunch bucket. And the cars they made...oh they were so pretty! Every make had a different personality. You could actually tell them apart just by their distinct shapes or taillights, fins, headlights. Not like these boxes we've been driving around for several decades now. | ||
Mopardan Member Username: Mopardan Post Number: 236 Registered: 11-2008 |
The news about GM today sure didn't help the cause. I still believe this administration will be friendlier than the previous one. I don't doubt they'll still make the Auto Execs do a dog & pony show, but it shouldn't be as bad as the last time. Plus if the plans they present are considered feasible chances are Uncle Sam will provide more loans. I've never been to Detroit, but your comment about all the fathers carrying their lunch bucket reminded me of the neighborhood I grew up in San Antonio; just about everyone was military or civil service with the two bases nearby. All these guys leaving or coming home in their fatigues or blues...once I hit middle school, you rarely saw it anymore. The good ol' days! I just realized when I wrote that line about retiring, I was on a break at work at the time, so that's where "here" was. Man that was a run-on sentence! Which plant was torn down that you wrote about? You're not kidding about styling. In my other thread about Sterling Hts, Cambrian(I think) described them as russet potatoes! Perfect! | ||
Eriedearie Member Username: Eriedearie Post Number: 3781 Registered: 08-2007 |
Yeah, Mopardan - I wrote that about the styling and then I saw the other thread and checked it out. Russet potatoes! LOL - The plant Mr. Erie retired from was called the Pillette Road Van Plant - in Windsor. Totally leveled. What a shame. It was still a pretty new plant. I think built in the mid to late 70s. When they had their grand opening, they opened the place to the workers and their families for the day. We got special tours and were taken throughout the whole place. It was interesting. It must have made an impact on the kids cause our 3 boys still remember going there after all these years. | ||
Mopardan Member Username: Mopardan Post Number: 238 Registered: 11-2008 |
When was the plant torn down? I found this on the AllPar site about closures under Daimler. Yeah that merger of "equals". Or as I like to say, a match just a few feet below Hell. http://www.allpar.com/history/ closed-plants.html One of my favorite articles on the site is about "Dodge Main" http://www.allpar.com/corporat e/dodge-main.html In '79 I did a term paper in HS about Chrysler's dilemma in trying to obtain gov't loans & the effort by Lee to save the company. Too bad we didn't have the internet back then as I spent a lot of time sifting through newspapers & magazines scouring for information. | ||
Reddog289 Member Username: Reddog289 Post Number: 967 Registered: 08-2007 |
My first car was a Dodge, A 77 Aspen to say the least.I did switch to Fords, Yet seeing this site reminds me of when I was young. I loved and still do love Mopars of all kinds. From the time I was 15 till 25, I mowed lawns for a lady who worked at Dodge Main. She started out as Rosie the Riviter,SPENT 33 yrs there.She said that after having spent ALL that time there, She was glad for the Union and her retirement.When I see "Dodge Main" she allways comes to mind. If she were around now , With all my questions She would be surprised with the stuff on the web.The way she talked her job was a nightmare. But then she got into talking about the Original Buddy's, the old hood round the plant, AND How she ended up in the Burbs.MoparDan you are right,Too bad we didn't have the net then. Alot of History has been lost.But as things go you got what you were told and have been told and thats that. | ||
Eriedearie Member Username: Eriedearie Post Number: 3782 Registered: 08-2007 |
As Mr. Erie remembers it the Pillette Road Van Plant was closed around 2000 he thinks. They started ripping it apart about 2 years later. I think there were some hopes of retooling the place to handle a different line, but that never worked out. The wrecking crews were called in and pieces of the plant were hauled away to landfills somewhere. I still get a lump in my throat when we have to pass by there. What a waste! All the time and effort to secure the land and build the plant, use it for a few years, tear it down and then have an empty field. Just does not make sense to me...  | ||
Johnlodge Member Username: Johnlodge Post Number: 9559 Registered: 10-2003 |
quote: Probably to factories in China. | ||
Mopardan Member Username: Mopardan Post Number: 243 Registered: 11-2008 |
I find it amazing that this country has no problem tearing something down. I'm sure Chrysler had their reasons, but it makes you wonder what they were. I can imagine if they didn't outright own the land it was costing a fortune to lease ,not to mention the maintenance costs. I can imagine the emotions you feel driving by...kind of like when I drive through my old SA neighborhood & how people have let their houses & yards go. It was pretty much cookie cutter low cost housing originally, but people kept everything up very nicely. I agree with you John about we we're probably shipping the scrap off to China then buying it back as products at Harbor Freight. I have a car project going(never ending it seems)...I haven't started purchasing serious shop equipment yet, but I'm going to do my best to look at Sears, Eastwood & any vendor who makes their own. It'll be a process, but hopefully worth it to keep a few of our guys employed. Red, I have to feel for you on the Aspen...I don't think they got the bugs worked out of that line until after '78. Lee commented that they were literally rusting away in "sales banks" lots...I think that's the term. From what I understand they were producing cars to meet quotas so mgrs could get bonuses...it didn't matter that dealers weren't ordering them. Later they tried to force them on dealers to sell...you're talking about cars with unpopular colors & nary an option. I think a lot of them wound up as fleet vehicles for companies. I wish I'd had all this info available 30yrs ago...man, it would've really added some punch to my paper & presentation. The stories y'all could tell would've brought it to life. I really appreciate the thoughts & experiences being passed on. | ||
Mopardan Member Username: Mopardan Post Number: 273 Registered: 11-2008 |
http://www.allpar.com/corporat e/factories/windsor.html A few more photos added recently. |
