How were American hand-made autos assembled, 1920s

[IraT]

Hi, I'm a novelist who needs truly expert advice. The main character of our story has gotten a job working for a small-time American auto manufacturer. It's 1928, and this manufacturer is one of the last of his kind. 

I imagine a garage with four employees and four cars being made at a time. Certain items are brought in from outside (windows, tires, engine parts, etc.) Sheet metal is shaped on-site by hydraulic presses. There must be molds, I suppose, for the hydraulic presses, but I have no idea what they'd look like, how they'd be inserted, etc. Heck, I don't even know what the presses would look like.

What's the layout for this small factory? What machines do they have? In what order is each car assembled? What tools are used to assemble the cars? In short, assume absolute ignorance on my part. 

Any help will be greatly appreciated -- a book title, article, website, or personal expertise. Thank you very much.

[John_S_in_Penna]

You might ask "Prewar40" on our forum.

He is a recognized expert on the Gardner car,

which was produced in relatively small numbers

by a small manufacturer, the Gardner Motor Company,

from 1920 to 1931.    By 1928, however, I don't

know whether it was produced as you describe,

because that method was more likely in the 1900-1910 era,

and technology was advancing fast.

 

Here's a link to where "Prewar40" has contributed.

Find one of his postings, right-click on his name, and

send him a Private Message to get his attention.

Otherwise, he might not notice your inquiry.

 

ANOTHER POSSIBILITY:   The DuPont car was a very

high-end car, and its production in 1928, being in small

quantities, might have been more like what you describe.

I can put you in touch with an actual nephew of the

company's founder if you want;  he is a car buff and may

know of the production methods.  (Send me a P. M. if you want.)

Edited November 14, 2019 by John_S_in_Penna (see edit history)

[58L-Y8]

Do some research on Cunningham of Rochester, New York; Streans-Knight in Cleveland, Ohio; McFarlan of Connorsville, Indiana; DuPont of Wilmington, Delaware; Locomobile of Bridgeport, Connecticut.  All were still in business in 1928, all basically hand-built operations, soon to be gone.

[dei]

Not to be critical but further research will help and reaching out here should prove helpful for you.

Others will chime in but I think you might be looking at a time period which by 1928 had major players in the car manufacturing business. (Think just before the Great Depression)

Sorry for the small picture but here is a postcard of the Willys Overland Plant in Toledo, Ohio which by 1918 was a big competitor for Ford and his Model T. In order to do that, Overland had a big facility like Ford.

 

If you're speaking/writing about a parts supplier, even Dodge Brothers had big production facilities to produce enough parts for car assemblers by 1928 (which was done quite often).

 

Again, others will add to this as I'm not an automotive historian, just a long time antique car hobbyist, but if you are envisioning a small scale shop I would ask you to look at the beginnings of Ford in the 1890's with his car development and Billy Durant starting up in Flint in the early teens. 

 

Check out the plant that Ford built in his early years and is located in Greenfield Village today. That might be the small size plant of which you are thinking but is earlier that 1928.

 

Good luck with your story and have fun researching the info, there is lot's out there.

[John_S_in_Penna]

2 minutes ago, 58L-Y8 said:

Do some research on Cunningham of Rochester, New York; Streans-Knight in Cleveland, Ohio; McFarlan of Connorsville, Indiana; DuPont of Wilmington, Delaware; Locomobile of Bridgeport, Connecticut.  All were still in business in 1928, all basically hand-built operations, soon to be gone.

 

Those are all good possibilities.

The author is asking us if we have some

specific, helpful knowledge.  Can we direct him

to experts on those marques, or definitive

publications that might explain their production?

[TerryB]

I just looked at a short write up on the DeVaux automobile.  They used a circular assembly process that would be unique in the industry.

[Brass is Best]

This movie might help. It is about Packard but there is a lot of hand work: 

 

[Brass is Best]

 

[Brass is Best]

 

[Walt G]

dei has it correct. By 1928 the automotive industry was really "swinging" at production which is why there were so many independent automotive brands being made. ( men had returned from WWI and factories geared up for the demand of a need for a car as families and life got back to pre war standards) The time period you describe would be much earlier when the automotive industry first started. Four people total even to make an "assembled" car  ( motor, wheels, springs etc purchased from suppliers) is unrealistic. You would need four people just to mount a finished body that was "in the white". To make your novel even some what realistic you need to do a lot more research then to just ask for an answer here and to get all the story/knowledge/answers you need in a few sentences. This is not a put down, just being realistic.

A fair number of carriage manufacturers would have gone into automobile production as they already had the facilities to produce finished vehicles, but producing a car that has brakes, shifts, is self propelled by a motor etc demands more then just 4 people.

Perhaps it would be good for you to see if you can get a tour of a thriving restoration shop that covers all aspects of restoring a car - it will give you a bit more perspective of what it takes to put a car together and the pieces involved.

Edited November 14, 2019 by Walt G
added a word to clarify (see edit history)

[JV Puleo]

Nowhere near enough people... 3 or 4 workers would be more like 1899-1903. By the 20s even the smallest auto makers had many more hands involved. Even assembling a car, if none of the parts were made in house, would take more and I don't think you can include the body of the car. Many high end car makers only made (or assembled) the chassis. The body was built elsewhere or shipped in and mounted on the chassis.

[Gary_Ash]

Any shop that lasted into 1928 with only 4 employees and making a few cars at a time would have been in the specialty business.  No particular company name comes to mind that would have fit that description.  However, they would not have been able to afford stamping presses and dies, wouldn't be able to justify the costs.  A lot has to come from the outside, but there were many suppliers in the 1920s.  Most car bodies in the 1920s were made with wood frames and the metal skin was nailed onto the edges of the frame.  So, the shop would look partly like a woodworking shop with bandsaws, planers, sanders, shapers for making finger joints.  For shaping the skins, a 4 ft to 6 ft wide shear, a bending brake, a slip roll for forming cylindrical shapes, and some gas welding equipment is needed.  For more complex shapes, an English wheel, a stump, leather beater bags filled with lead shot, an assortment of mallets, hammers and dollies would be used to concave and convex forming of aluminum or steel.   An area for washing parts and for painting by spraying is needed, also an upholstery area with a sewing machine and cutting table.  With all these operations needed, it's hard to think that only four people could do all these things, maybe 20 are needed.  I doubt that such a small company would make cars in  batches, they would be serial in various stages of progress.

 

See this about the English wheel:

https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/classic-cars/a26081/lost-art-the-english-wheel/

 

See web pages or videos by/about Ron Fournier, Kent White, Wray Schelin and others to see how they build cars by hand with not many tools.

 

I could imagine a shop of this size making race cars in the 1920s.  There wouldn't be any wood used.  Examples might be Harry Miller's early shop, Rigling and Henning  or Floyd "Pop" Dreyer in Indianapolis.  There is a book about Dreyer - "They called him Pop" - but it's pricey.   

 

Here is a photo of three Studebaker Indy cars being assembled by four men in 1932.  Rigling and Henning built the chassis and Pop Dreyer built the bodies, while the engines, transmissions, steering, axles, and other mechanical bits came from the Studebaker factory.  Many similar cars were built and raced using engines, etc. from other car makers.

 

 

Edited November 14, 2019 by Gary_Ash (see edit history)

[IraT]

18 minutes ago, Brass is Best said:

This movie might help. It is about Packard but there is a lot of hand work: 

 

Thank you so much. Really.

[IraT]

3 minutes ago, Gary_Ash said:

Any shop that lasted into 1928 with only 4 employees and making a few cars at a time would have been in the specialty business.  No particular company name comes to mind that would have fit that description.  However, they would not have been able to afford stamping presses and dies, wouldn't be able to justify the costs.  A lot has to come from the outside, but there many suppliers in the 1920s.  Most car bodies in the 1920s were made with wood frames and the metal skin was nailed onto the edges of the frame.  So, the shop would look partly like a woodworking shop with bandsaws, planers, sanders, shapers for making finger joints.  For shaping the skins, a 4 ft to 6 ft wide shear, a bending brake, a slip roll for forming cylindrical shapes, and some gas welding equipment is needed.  For more complex shapes, an English wheel, a stump, leather beater bags filled with lead shot, an assortment of mallets, hammers and dollies would be used to concave and convex forming of aluminum or steel.   An area for washing parts and for painting by spraying is needed, also an upholstery area with a sewing machine and cutting table.  With all these operations needed, it's hard to think that only four people could do all these things, maybe 20 are needed.  I doubt that such a small company would make cars in  batches, they would be serial in various stages of progress.

 

See this about the English wheel:

https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/classic-cars/a26081/lost-art-the-english-wheel/

 

See web pages or videos by/about Ron Fournier, Kent White, Wray Schelin and others to see how they build cars by hand with not many tools.

 

I could imagine a shop of this size making race cars in the 1920s.  There wouldn't be any wood used.  Examples might be Harry Miller's early shop, Rigling and Henning  or Floyd "Pop" Dreyer in Indianapolis.  There is a book about Dreyer - "They called him Pop" - but it's pricey.   

 

Here is a photo of three Studebaker Indy cars being assembled by four men in 1932.  Rigling and Henning built the chassis and Pop Dreyer built the bodies, while the engines, transmissions, steering, axles, and other mechanical bits came from the Studebaker factory.  Many similar cars were built and raced using engines, etc. from other car makers.

 

 

 

[IraT]

Fantastic! Amazing! You mention things I couldn't even imagine and have given me a great head start. תודה מכל הלב (A whole-hearted thank you).

 

[jrbartlett]

One approach may be to set your novel around a guy working in a custom body building company, which were much smaller operations. Basically, body frames were built up out of wood by skilled carpenters, with metal panels (often aluminum) shaped by hand work involving a variety of the devices mentioned earlier. Paint and upholstery would follow, then assembly of the body onto a chassis obtained from a car manufacturer like Packard, Pierce Arrow, Duesenberg, etc. By 1928 the custom body builders were turning out some magnificent cars, but that business was beginning to dry up. Your protagonist could be portrayed as a proud man with very specialized skills honed through years of apprenticeship and then master craftsman status, but who is now beginning to feel threatened by the trends he's seeing. You could even task your guy with the proud task of screwing the body company's nameplate onto the body, as the final touch.  

 

[IraT]

1 hour ago, John_S_in_Penna said:

You might ask "Prewar40" on our forum.

He is a recognized expert on the Gardner car,

which was produced in relatively small numbers

by a small manufacturer, the Gardner Motor Company,

from 1920 to 1931.    By 1928, however, I don't

know whether it was produced as you describe,

because that method was more likely in the 1900-1910 era,

and technology was advancing fast.

 

Here's a link to where "Prewar40" has contributed.

Find one of his postings, right-click on his name, and

send him a Private Message to get his attention.

Otherwise, he might not notice your inquiry.

 

ANOTHER POSSIBILITY:   The DuPont car was a very

high-end car, and its production in 1928, being in small

quantities, might have been more like what you describe.

I can put you in touch with an actual nephew of the

company's founder if you want;  he is a car buff and may

know of the production methods.  (Send me a P. M. if you want.)

Thank you so much. I've just sent a PM to prewar40.

[IraT]

1 hour ago, 58L-Y8 said:

Do some research on Cunningham of Rochester, New York; Streans-Knight in Cleveland, Ohio; McFarlan of Connorsville, Indiana; DuPont of Wilmington, Delaware; Locomobile of Bridgeport, Connecticut.  All were still in business in 1928, all basically hand-built operations, soon to be gone.

Thank you. These sound like very good leads.

[58L-Y8]

Whatever you write, I would suggest you submit the draft to the gentlemen here on the AACA Forum for editing and correction.   Credibility of the novel depends on getting the pertinent facts correct in the context of the times in which it is set.  The period was one of technical transition in the automobile business, a situation further thrown into distress and turmoil by the onset of the Great Depression.   

[edinmass]

Buy the book ........The Custom Body Era on Amazon from the 70's by Hugo Pfau.........best information you will find easily.

[padgett]

And don't forget loading/inventory/storage. To get good prices (or buy at all at wholesale) you had to buy in bulk and store until needed. This is why some cars of a particular year might have an engine, etc. from the previous year. Before the depression really hit there were over 2,000 different makes so best to define the company and its product a bit better and then determine what the workshop would look like.

[IraT]

Thank you very much. I might just take you up on it. Thanks so much.

16 minutes ago, 58L-Y8 said:

Whatever you write, I would suggest you submit the draft to the gentlemen here on the AACA Forum for editing and correction.   Credibility of the novel depends on getting the pertinent facts correct in the context of the times in which it is set.  The period was one of technical transition in the automobile business, a situation further thrown into distress and turmoil by the onset of the Great Depression.   

 

[Walt G]

The Depression really did not become reality to most people immediately. It was a year after it happened in the Autumn of 1930 when most of the country realized that " gee there is no immediate recovery, this is going to be a long long time to see us back the way we were" 1929 had the largest production of vehicles in history until that time. It was by the end of 1931 that auto manufacturers were starting to see the doom and gloom that they may be going out of business. Custom coach builders ( ie body builders) saw the same thing.

[JV Puleo]

Shaping body panels with hydraulic presses was introduced in the 20s and then only in large plants. The presses were extremely expensive and usually custom built for the job.

Having had some experience with this sort of writing (I've started, but never finished, two novels - I'm really a non-fiction author) I'd be inclined to put your characters in a context that you do understand. Acquiring enough knowledge of the technology of the 20s and how it was used is a major research project in itself and you are almost bound to make some errors. You might consider putting your character in the purchasing department of a small, "assembled car" plant. I'd guess that 3 or 4 people could handle that, no actual machines would be involved and all you'd need is an overview of the specialty manufacturers of the time. They all advertised their products in automobile trade publications so you have a ready source of information on who supplied frames, engines, electrical components etc. I've spent years studying the early auto industry and I wouldn't try to do it, at least past about 1910.

Edited November 14, 2019 by JV Puleo (see edit history)

[padgett]

Just a thought but you might start here and decide which manufacturer to emulate.

 

The problem with something like the Stude racing shop is that if they needed a part, they just called over to the plant and had one sent (is how the experimental garage (and an enterprising GMI student) at GM worked ). Sound like you want more of an independent specialty shop or coachbuilder.

 

ps FYI the molds used by hydraulic presses were made by tool and die makers: specialist machinists who were the highest paid hourly workers. A small shop will use either sand or lost wax casting. Might watch Ian Rousseau on Full Custom Garage to see what one skilled worker can do and with what.

Edited November 14, 2019 by padgett (see edit history)

[IraT]

1 hour ago, TerryB said:

I just looked at a short write up on the DeVaux automobile.  They used a circular assembly process that would be unique in the industry.

Do you know where I could find out about this assembly process? Thanks.

[1912Staver]

Yes to what others have said, a hydraulic press with the necessary very expensive dies would only be used in a situation where at least hundreds of identical body's were produced. Such a plant would have several hundred workers at the minimum. Very small scale , custom production would have a minimum of expensive equipment .

But probably at least a couple of dozen skilled men. A 4 man shop would be small in the extreme. One at a time race cars ? 

 

Greg in Canada

[60FlatTop]

Pick up a copy of this book and read it. Lots of insight:

https://www.amazon.com/Driving-Force-McLaughlin-Family-Age/dp/077107557X

[Gunsmoke]

The British Morgan sports car is still made in small numbers and still uses largely hand-made bodies. Like many automakers of the 20's and earlier, they use wooden armatures/molds and hand form the sheetmetal using English wheels, beading tools etc and lots of hand finishing. The finished metal panels are then affixed to a similar wooden carcass (usually with nails). Some used steel bodies, some used aluminum, some used fabric on parts of the bodies. With the onset of Unions in the 30's, the cost of labour rose to the point that labour intensive body making became un-affordable except for the very wealthy.  So one consideration for a novel as you propose is that clients of such an "exclusive" enterprise might be wealthy, perhaps aristocratic, perhaps eccentric even, just like the car company!

 

[prewar40]

IraT asks good questions, (What's the layout for this small factory? What machines do they have? In what order is each car assembled? What tools are used to assemble the cars?)
I wish I had a lot of good answers. It's not for lack of effort, not much was published about the Gardner Motor Company factory.
But I'll give you an idea of how the factory progressed and how it started.  Gardner started by building buggies in 1892 and moved to St Louis in 1897 where he built a large factory. In 1915 he invested $1,000,000 to upgrade the plant in order to assemble Chevrolets. Much of the money spent was for equipment, he would also build the bodies which required a lot of wood in those days. I don't know if he had a hydraulic press for the body parts or if that was shipped to him from Flint.
In late 1919 he was building Gardner cars, with the parts shipped in from various suppliers.  He had his own engineers that required many of the suppliers to provide parts under a Gardner design.  An example is Lycoming engines were different in Gardner than what Lycoming supplied to other car manufacturers.
The factory did have an assembly line which was 'L' shaped.  The paint and upholstery shop were separate from the factory.  There were a number of quality inspections during production, and testing of both the engine and a test run of the car.
From a photo of Central Manufacturing they built the body and the body wood and sent the body ready to be painted and then installed.  In 1922 they had 510 employees and built 9,000 cars, for 1928 about 3,500 cars and I don't have an employee count for that year.  I do have some articles I'll send you about the factory. 
The factory photo is from 1928, placed next to the river and rail lines to make shipping more economical; in fact that was the reason to move to St. Louis in 1897.

[TerryB]

DeVaux info link

http://www.carsandracingstuff.com/library/articles/21357.php

 

[58L-Y8]

The very limited production luxury make by 1928 that might best fit your scenario would be the DuPont.  They were just ending their last Wisconsin-engine six cylinder models E and F which comprised 85 cars for 1927-'28.  The Continental-engine eight cylinder Model G and H would go to the end in 1932 with only 276 built total.   Understand they assembled the chassis, the bodies were supplied by Merrimac and Waterhouse body companies. 

[Rusty_OToole]

Ned Jordan said the assembly line for his Jordan cars was only 50 feet long. I believe this was an exaggeration but could believe 50 yards. Their first factory building was only 30,000 square feet although they added a second building later.

He said he was barely in the car manufacturing business, his business was an experiment in modern advertising and custom style sales.

All parts were made by specialists. Chassis frames, engines, suspension, brakes, wheels, bodies etc all bought  from companies specializing in those components.

Then the parts were assembled into a car at the Jordan factory.

They must have had departments for sewing upholstery and painting as paint colors and upholstery would be different for each car, depending what the customer ordered.

Jordan is believed to have made between 30,000 and 100,000 cars between 1916 and 1931 or  2000 - 6000 cars per year.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jordan_Motor_Car_Company

http://speedreaders.info/8128-jordan-automobile/

Edited November 15, 2019 by Rusty_OToole (see edit history)

[Rusty_OToole]

You mention a small factory making 4 cars at a time. If they turned out 4 cars a week that would only be 200 per year. No company could survive on such small sales in 1928.

A custom body manufacturer  making bodies to go on chassis made by other companies might do so. I am thinking of specialist manufacturers of hearses for example.

[padgett]

The Jordan Playboy adverts are being taught today.

[Restorer32]

Artist"s renderings of early auto factories are notoriously "enhanced" as to the trust size of the operations. Non existent buildings and rail sidings are common "enhancements".

[TerryB]

7 minutes ago, Restorer32 said:

Artist"s renderings of early auto factories are notoriously "enhanced" as to the trust size of the operations. Non existent buildings and rail sidings are common "enhancements".

Good way to encourage investors to buy in!

[jeff_a]

It's neat to have writers use the forum enquiring about antique automobiles. A few years ago someone was asking about the correct vehicle for an up-and-coming female scriptwriter living in Los Angeles to be driving. People discussed at length whether she should get an Essex Coupe or whatever cars were available in the 1920s. (2/2/08 "Writing a story about 100 years in a house" thread)

----  The gentleman from R.I., JV Puleo, is right. Automakers with 4 employees and ones with hydraulic presses for stamping out body parts are mutually exclusive. The  contradiction is that presses like that were incredibly expensive. There were individually hand shaped body parts still being made around 1928, and there were still coachbuilders working on custom & semicustom bodies.

----  It would be possible to have four people building 5 or 10 cars a year and buying their body panels from somewhere else. Maybe some outfit at the end of several years' production and winding down before going out of business. Haynes and Apperson(built the Apperson Jackrabbit) go back to 1894 and got to the point of selling over a thousand cars a year, but by 1925 and 1926, respectively, were producing almost no cars. I'll try to post a photo of an Apperson, in case you've not seen one.

----  Restorer32 is right in saying the illustrations of the plants were enhanced to look bigger. There seemed to be only two types of car plants...the ones 1/2 a mile across, and the ones 1 mile across.

----  Maybe you should look at a copy of The Standard Catalog of American Cars, VOL I, 1805-1942, 1996. 1612 pages on about 500 major and 4500 minor auto manufacturers in this country. I cannot really zero-in the right shop for you. With this, as overwhelming as it might seem, you could find what you want. You discard all the also-rans and wannabes and find some firm doing "the right stuff" at the right time for your story. Or, you scale up the size of the work force a little bit. 

 

 

1923 Apperson 6-23 Touring Car......197 Cu. In. 46 h.p. six cylinder engine......$2,645 New

A Douglas Wilkinson photo from the Kokomo Auto Museum & Remarkable Cars website. I used to chat with the owner of this car, and saw one at the Reynolds Museum, Ltd. in Wetaskiwin once. One writer commented that this automaker was one of 200 luxury car makers at the beginning of the 1920s and this fierce competition caused a lot of them to fail.

Edited November 18, 2019 by jeff_a (see edit history)