https://peertube.dngr.us/videos/watch/03f38c73-3369-448f-b492-3660f6064f17 Join this channel to get access to perks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCddem5RlB3bQe99wyY49g0g/join Help us preserve, scan and post more rare and endangered films! Join us on Patreon. Visit https://www.patreon.com/PeriscopeFilm Visit our website www.PeriscopeFilm.com “A Car is Born” (1968) is a color promotional film presented by Ford illuminating the miraculous process of how raw materials become automobiles. The film plays off of Henry Ford’s pioneering model of the assembly line, emphasizing different specialty production plants that contribute to the creation of the final automobile. This film shows all aspects of the car assembly process from the foundry at Ford River Rouge complex to the storage of vehicles at Ford’s St. Thomas Assembly Plant's selectivity tower. The film features 1968 Ford Thunderbirds, Mercury Cougars, Ford Mustangs, and Ford Falcons in production. Amber haze from fire and smoke fill screen, interior of foundry at Ford River Rouge complex (0:31). Molds of molten steel filled amid cascade of sparks, giant ingot hoisted out of furnace and placed into following mill (1:50). Rolled and flattened ingot shaped into long slab of steel (2:42). Finished coils of sheet steel (3:03). Vinyl rolled, prodded in huge mills (3:20). Close-up vinyl fabrics used for upholstery; Shot emphasizes texture of material (3:46). Float glass process: Blend of sand, other minerals fed into furnace (4:18). Central control room with closed-circuit monitors, reel tape storage drives, early model computer (4:39). Glass emerges from machine, cut into shapes to fit windows, windshields (5:09). Glass panes move along assembly line via air table with moving guides (5:32). Plastic applied between two layers of glass to form safety glass (6:23). Frame plant assembly line: Steel parts joined to other parts using welding equipment to construct frame of car; Inspector looks at all frames and determines what moves along to assembly plants (6:52). Three-story high pressers at Ford stamping plant, producing hoods, doors, bumpers (8:18). Bare bones of car body passes through assembly line, automatic welding machines and individual welders begin building out body (9:16). Next round of quality control, officer traces body of car using special mitt to feel any defect in metal (10:50). Approved body lowered into 50,000g bath of red liquid for rust proofing process (11:10). Body sanded and polished before sent to be painted (11:58). Engines taking shape, molds for casting engine components made from precise patterns (12:27). Precision equipment used to shape two half shell molds made from sand (13:06). Molten iron brought to casting floor using two-ton ladles that then fill smaller ladles; Ladles travel along mono-rail to fill the engine molds (13:37). Foreman uses optical pyrometer to ensure proper casting temperatures maintained (14:21). Finished blocks move from casting floor, expendable mold chipped away (14:44). Milling and fine finishing: Different high precision automated machines perform different operations to outfit the engine (15:19). Other precision equipment used for quality control i.e. measuring regularity of cylinder bores (15:38). Drills secure crankshaft in place, pistons receiving piston rings, other operations as engine passes through assembly line (16:18). Recognizable V-8 engine takes form (18:20). Final protective coat of paint applied to engine (19:00). The “hotline:” Each engine run for ten minutes to check for faults etc. (19:07). Convergence of all parts at Ford’s 21 final assembly plants; Dozens of men manually combine various parts to form final automobile i.e. seats, engine etc. (19:33). Aerial shot final assembly line (20:35). Custom modifications for dealers, private buyers made i.e. drum brakes, white walls, color and trim (21:42). Selectivity tower at Ford’s St. Thomas Assembly Plant in Ontario, Canada (22:51). Various automobiles in tower for temporary storage: Ford Falcons transported throughout tower (23:02). Inspection along final line, Ford Thunderbird engine turned on and drives off of assembly line (24:03). Test on dynamometer for stimulated road test (24:40). POV from inside car as it goes through water test, simulate driving through torrential downpour (24:51). Camera pans outdoor lot with hundreds of completed cars, Ford Mustang Coupe drives through lot (25:54). Car transport freight train speeds along track (26:49). Ford logo, closing credits (27:05). Film ends (27:12). If you have endangered films you'd like to have scanned, or wish to donate celluloid to Periscope Film so that we can share them with the world, we'd love to hear from you. Contact us via the weblink below. This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rq5_SX8TXHA Mirrored from Periscope Film (https://www.youtube.com/@PeriscopeFilm) Thu, 11 Jun 2026 06:47:45 GMT https://validator.w3.org/feed/docs/rss2.html PeerTube - https://peertube.dngr.us https://peertube.dngr.us/lazy-static/avatars/41a6fee9-7f57-42d0-a5fc-5db4f1af2e31.png https://peertube.dngr.us/videos/watch/03f38c73-3369-448f-b492-3660f6064f17 All rights reserved, unless otherwise specified in the terms specified at https://peertube.dngr.us/about and potential licenses granted by each content's rightholder.