Tonight on Twin Cities Public TV (Mp[ls/St Paul MN)

[38bill]

New documentary at 8pm tonight on the St Paul Ford plant for all you that can get TCPT.

Others may be able to locate it online at a later date.

https://www.twincities.com/2019/01/1...t-documentary/

[petehoovie]

Watch it here and now > https://www.tpt.org/minnesota-experi...t-paul-b4ojxa/


Brings back many memories. I spent a lot of time in that plant back in the '60's....

[Anteek29]

So interesting...thanks for that website!

[rich b]

I remember going thru the TC Ford plant on a grade school field trip. The area where they were making glass has always stuck in my mind for some reason. Can't imagine lawyers letting a group of kids wander around in a manufacturing plant now-a-days.

[Tinker]

Originally Posted by rich b

I remember going thru the TC Ford plant on a grade school field trip. The area where they were making glass has always stuck in my mind for some reason. Can't imagine lawyers letting a group of kids wander around in a manufacturing plant now-a-days.

Lucky! In FFA all we got to tour were slaughter houses.

[Gary in La.]

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rich b - Was that tour with the old "dewey tours" (not sure of spelling). I to got to tour it on one of their tours in 1956. Interesting place for a kid.

[paul2748]

Great - I have a 2001 Ranger that was built there, one of the best vehicles that I've had.

[Tinker]

Originally Posted by paul2748

Great - I have a 2001 Ranger that was built there, one of the best vehicles that I've had.

Looks like Ford is bringing back the ranger also. Like that.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money...up/1032446001/




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[40 Deluxe]

Originally Posted by Tinker

Lucky! In FFA all we got to tour were slaughter houses.

You too, huh? At least in ag shop class we got to tour the John Deere plant in Waterloo, Iowa. Funny thing, they bragged up the superiority of their two cylinder engines- all that torque, etc., but--the engineering department was off limits! A few months later the 2010, 3010, and 4010 came out. Suddenly the two cylinder was hopelessly outdated!!
So, what part of Minnesota are you in? I grew up on a farm in south central MN (little town of Sherburn).

[Tinker]

We did more then the yards, just a joke. Was a Green guy. IH vs JD, kinda of funny they were once the same.

Grew up Southwest. ... Been a long time. somewhat "nomadic" for 30+ yrs now.








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[nelsb01]

Paul2748..........I find it interesting that NJ also made Ranger pickups, but was closed and ALL production was moved to St Paul.
Tinker........I have my new 2019 Ranger ordered..........as the dealer said, they are the size of what the F-150 used to be. Just wish they had better choice of color, and a drop down rear window like my 2005 Explorer Sport Trac has.

[Tinker]

Originally Posted by nelsb01

Paul2748..........I find it interesting that NJ also made Ranger pickups, but was closed and ALL production was moved to St Paul.
Tinker........I have my new 2019 Ranger ordered..........as the dealer said, they are the size of what the F-150 used to be. Just wish they had better choice of color, and a drop down rear window like my 2005 Explorer Sport Trac has.

I'm assuming its base is the 3.5 6v? It's crazy how "big" trucks are now when most just need room for golf clubs. granted a lot of guys really use them. But mid-size might be the ticket with me again and others.

Ranger with a coyote motor??? I really care less for electronic gimmicks.


Not a big fan of fords F150 electronic tailgates without a mechanical override.

[38bill]

I too toured the plant as a school kid. Wish I could say that I learned something but I hardly remember it. I do remember the safety glasses everybody had to wear were a big deal.

PS: My 5' tall Granny worked at the plant during WW2. She waterproofed the gauges on the wheeled tanks and then drove them out to the loading dock. Go Granny go!

[40 Deluxe]

[QUOTE=Tinker;1716340]We did more then the yards, just a joke. Was a Green guy. IH vs JD, kinda of funny they were once the same.

Grew up Southwest. ... Been a long time. somewhat "nomadic" for 30+ yrs now. QUOTE]

We were Green guys too, but it was the better shade of Green--Oliver!

[Zeke3]

Thanks to 38bill and petehoovie for making us aware of this show. I had read Brian McMahon's book, "The Ford Century in Minnesota", and had visited the site last year on a visit to the Twin Cities, so this documentary was very much appreciated.

[Jeff/Illinois]

Originally Posted by 40 Deluxe

You too, huh? At least in ag shop class we got to tour the John Deere plant in Waterloo, Iowa. Funny thing, they bragged up the superiority of their two cylinder engines- all that torque, etc., but--the engineering department was off limits! A few months later the 2010, 3010, and 4010 came out. Suddenly the two cylinder was hopelessly outdated!!

That's pretty accurate. When IH came out with the Axial Flow Combine, Deere condemned it saying the straw walker was more efficient. When the patent rights ran out for IH low and behold the JD STS single tine system ROTARY combine appeared and the walker machines became history. Same with when Caterpillar introduced the track vehicle tractors with the rubber tank track kinda set up. JD said it was no good and it would compact the soil too much. Wanna guess what happened when the patent rights expired??!!

Great video on the Twin Cities Plant very interesting.

[nelsb01]

V-6 I wish. They originally stated two engines for the new 2019 Ranger, but have fallen back to just the 4 cyl eco-boost with turbo and 10 speed tranny.

[scicala]

Thanks for the video. Really enjoyed it. I used to go there about twice a year from about '88 to '92 to do driveability audits on new Rangers. The good old days.
I was hoping for more info on what vehicles were built there and some assembly shots, but there was very little of that. Still enjoyed it a lot.


Sal

[nelsb01]

This can help some --Model T's of course started it all, Model A's, V-8 until 33-34 when production stopped during the Depression. Restarted with the V-8s in 1935. By 1978 (75th Ford Anniversary) they were producing full size passenger cars and also F-150 pickups. Then the Ranger and extended cab Ranger till the end.
Just read a book about Iron Mountain that stated that when Iron Mountain started making the full body line for Station Wagons in 1949, Iron Mountain employees were sent to the Twin Cities Ford Assembly to learn how to assemble the metal bodies and paint them. That is a little off the track, but interesting just the same.

[petehoovie]

When I worked there back in the '60's, the plant had both a car line and a truck line....

[38bill]

The part that surprised me most was the facts about the early assembly buildings in Mpls and St Paul that were used to build "T"s. Now I'm going to have to check out the remaining building.

[ford38v8]

Good video! Just finished watching it. An education for all us non-Ford employees! For what it's worth, the same on the job race and gender biases occurred out here on the West Coast, in all types of jobs from hamburger joints to large factories.

By the way, does anyone still have one of those Metric screwdrivers?

[scicala]

Thanks for the details. When I went there from about '88 to '92, they were building F-series and Rangers.


Sal

[Tinker]

Originally Posted by nelsb01

V-6 I wish. They originally stated two engines for the new 2019 Ranger, but have fallen back to just the 4 cyl eco-boost with turbo and 10 speed tranny.

I used to joke, you could make a briggs and stratton motor go 100mph with enough gears.


10 gears is amazing. It's rethinking hp over gearing. I do like hp, but respect gearing.





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