1949 Fords being assembled

Coupes, sedans and woody wagons are assembled on the line at the massive Rouge River complex of the Ford Motor Company.
After sticking with its well-received previous model through model year 1948, Ford completely redesigned its namesake car for 1949. Save for its drivetrain, this was an all-new car in every way, with a modern ladder frame now supporting a coil spring suspension in front and longitudinal semi-elliptical springs in back. The engine was moved forward to make more room in the passenger compartment and the antiquated torque tube was replaced by a modern drive shaft. Ford's popular 226 CID (3.7 L) L-head straight-6 and 239 CID (3.9 L) Flathead V8 remained, now rated at 90 hp (67 kW) and 100 hp (75 kW), respectively.
The 1949 models debuted at a gala at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City in June 1948, with a carousel of the new Fords complemented by a revolving demonstration of the new chassis. The new integrated steel structure was advertised as a "lifeguard body", and even the woody wagon was steel at heart. The convertible frame had an "X member" for structural rigidity.
From a customer's perspective, the old Custom, De Luxe, and Super De Luxe lines were replaced by new Standard and Custom trims and the cars gained a modern look with completely integrated rear fenders and just a hint of a fender in front. The new styling approach was also evident in the 1949 Mercury Eight and the all-new Lincoln Cosmopolitan.
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[@gary2785]

Thank you, great to be able to see my Dad at work (1:02) rear left trimming bench seat. Almost 70 yrs later.

[@casualobserver2305]

I miss this America. Awesome video. People worked hard, made good living. Simple . Looks like my kind of place.

[@234dilligaf]

Back before liberalism became the complete wrecking ball it is today.

[@michals547]

@@234dilligaf The Zionists stole America and destroyed American factories.

[@jimself9395]

Think about it, most of the men in this video were fighting for their lives and our freedom in the Pacific, and Europe, four ,to five years before this was filmed.

[@Oldcarnut63]

Yes they fight to keep our way of life here. being free and to have the opportunity to have a good life. and the generation's that followed have allowed all they fought for to be taken away. and we have the mess were in today.

[@jibaritobarranquitas4036]

That's a 51 ford being built I had one in high school 16 my parents didn't know my brother and I had one we would park it around the corner from our house my brother and I so my parents would see it RIP MY BOTHER F.O. YOU WERE THE BEST BROTHER THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING

[@robertchristie9434]

They're '49s. I had a '51 sedan and it had 2 bullets on the grille, the '49s and '50 had one., my dad had a '50 and a lot of my relatives had '49-51s. I was raised about 2 miles from the Rouge and the neighborhood was loaded with Fords and Mercurys.

[@scdevon]

Brand new flathead Ford V8s painted Ford blue. Awesome!

[@lalvarado63]

Ford Shoebox Paradise!

[@CallmeDaBreeze1971]

Love the old shoe box.

[@lasuvidaboy]

Very interesting. Basically handbuilt cars in those days.

[@garywood9525]

BTW, FORD incresed its pay to $5.00 a day to stop the high turn-over rates for the boring jobs to do the same thing every day. I would have rotated workers through every step until they learn how to assemble the entire car, this way they could work a month at each step and then return back to the start. Kinda like an assembly line chain where the chain goes back to the start to pick up a new product part. A worker could be rewarded of they see a better way , or cheaper way to assemble the car.

[@hebneh]

Those paddles marked "OK" that lift out of the way at 3:23 and 3:32 are to aim the headlights correctly.

[@00mondeoman]

Cool old video - thanks for posting . I'm building a 49 Custom Club Coupe right now . Mine's going together a bit slower than the ones in the video , lol !

[@KingRoseArchives]

Good luck with Club Coupe. Even though it's taking a bit longer might hold together longer.

[@00mondeoman]

Thanks - I sure hope so ! I've found out that the build quality on the 49's was (for lack of a better work) crap :) . Much improved for '50 , as I've seen first hand .

[@ferlenarab]

00mondeoman The ad for the '50's said 50 ways better. There are lots of differences, but I like the '49's, and they did have their problems.

[@anthonytorrey]

Impressive!

[@charlieirvin5423]

That's when Cars were Real Cars I'm very Impressed with video. I'm an old car Fan Thank's for showing this.

[@KingRoseArchives]

Thanks for watching.

[@jamespn]

49 shoe box ford was very popular especially with the flat head V8.

[@bruceh92]

OMG the two guys painting the trunk lid, and I use the term "painting" very loosely. Just brutal. wow.

[@bobobrazil1973]

Daaamn that one at 2,26 was sweet..

[@user-qt5eh9wb7g]

What a quiet factory....

[@tb40ford]

Thank you for this video. Travis

[@grant15075]

Very cool.

[@19fortynine10]

Wonder if any of those are mine :) nice too have a woody or a convert also :0

[@fleetwin1]

very cool

[@willsco76]

"NEW for 1949"

[@johnhiram1207]

Great video. Always wondered how the woodys were made. Did they have carpenters making the parts? Kinds of wood used, etc. We had a 50 woody. Dad always remarked on how nice it rode and maybe why he chose to buy it. Took many camping trips into Maine and drove thru Hurricane Carol in 1954 as we frantically tried to get home hundreds of miles away. Dad always had a Ford.

[@barrysimmons7993]

John Hiram.

[@pilsudski36]

Almost all of the painting and assembly work see being done by hand in this video is now automated.

[@geosutube]

This is from the era of "Don't buy a car built on a Monday."

[@buckyflywoodie3905]

And don't buy the first model year, the 1949 is gorgeous but plagued with problems

[@garywood9525]

I think the device is to detect a wraped tire that was balaced for spinning but still had a problem with its shape. Plus the wheel bearing and brake adjustment could be caught at this stage if the drag on the shoes was to great. Each tire is balanced but I think FORD wanted a double check on it once on the car.

[@vitosanto3874]

51s try are not ,if you notice the gas filler cap is on the outside of the left rear quarter panel ,on the 51the filler cap was under a small door on the quarter panel. They are 49s.

[@arnoldziffle8779]

Most 50's hid the gas cap too

[@victormusic01x]

..was this filmed at the River Rouge plant?..thanks for sharing..stay safe and stay strong..New York..April 21, 2021..

[@lalvarado63]

Wow! All those Fords in mint condition!, Just like New!......hehehehehe!

[@georgesviderski2469]

Im glad its sillent. Its better than the god awful music everywhere else, so not paired correctly , almost like technoshit. Thank you

[@hebneh]

The '49 Ford saved the company from potential financial ruin because it was a solid success. While he'd been alive, Henry Ford had run the company as a dictatorship that resisted change and innovation; after his death, it was possible to jump in with a crash development program for this all-new car. It came at just the right time for both Ford and the American marketplace as a whole.

[@rickdevault2535]

I don't know why that people say the 49 ford saved fomoco. After wwII any car and all cars sold. People were comming out of the depression and WWII and had money to spend so any thing was being bought.

[@markk3652]

@@rickdevault2535 it actually did pull Ford out of its postwar nosedive. The 49 was a big departure from the earlier models of postwar Fords. It had a whole new look, and many features that made it an attractive choice for the public. The flathead engine was also redesigned with a new ignition system that made it easier to service, and run more reliably. It truly was a turning point for the company.

[@EristiCat]

@@rickdevault2535 very true. Similarly a lot of marginally talented people got into new car dealerships and became rich because demand was so high. The ones that were truly talented built multi location multi brand organizations. The others cashed out and had good retirements after their 15 - 20 year run.

[@michaelgeorge8671]

yep Ford sold a million of these single spinners and it saved Ford from Bankruptcy .

[@SuperAgentman007]

How come they didn’t show any footage of the unique robotic line?

[@tb40ford]

I would love to know what is happening to the wheel and tire at the 3 :15 mark? Wow what a video

[@rickdevault2535]

Alignment . The other guy is in the pit under the car.

[@Handiman544]

When during the assembly do they put the gas in the tank??? I notice after the car is completed, they just drive it off the line.

[@pgdaley5038]

You could say these cars were hand built.

[@renj6531]

'Handbuilt by pure anericans', unfortunately where I live no homes are built by Americans no more. It's a wonder the home hasn't collapsed cause all they do is drink and stay high all damn day.

[@renj6531]

I would imagine it would have been different because their wasn't any plastic . The dashes in those were metal. My dream car would be a 55 ford cv skyline or Montclair sun valley of that same year

[@arnoldziffle8779]

I have a 49 convertible, i'd like to think the one in this film is mine........

[@kevinmacnally5096]

NO SOUND! SORRY!

[@waterheaterservices]

No frameless freak wheel drive piles of plastic .

[@rogerbahakel]

that's when ford built a great car,when they put real frames underneath.

[@desertbob6835]

This is THE car that saved FoMoCo from bankruptcy due to Henry Ford's incompetence and paranoia. It was about the best thing Hank the Deuce ever did for the company, for he started going downhill after that. He was the driving force behind the Edsel fiasco, although after it tanked on its debut, he lied and denied any knowledge of the project. In fact, it wasn't Hank the Deuce who had the idea for the '49...it was the "Whiz Kids," led by Robert McNamara who Hank hired. McNamara would later rescue Ford from Hank's alcoholic lunacy with the Falcon project. Hank the Douche and tRump have a LOT in common. I had a '50 Fordor Custom. It was a pretty good car, although that flattie 239 was its Achilles heel. The 6 was a better engine and gave 5 more HP than the V8. Ford passed Chrysler for the #2 spot in early 1950 due to this car, and served Chrysler a double whsmmy in 1951 with a three speed Borg-Warner-based sutomatic. Chrysler couldn't compete with that until the Powerflite in '55, but got a leg up with the 1957 Torqflite. Even with Exner's wild styling, Chrysler never caught up to Ford due to the momentum set by this very car.

[@afterhourshotrods6882]

I'll take 10ea of the Woody's and 10ea of the Vert's. 1 in every color. Thank you!

[@akc-dr3uo]

Now new cars are made cheap plastic and thin tin and sold for a high price, what a joke it became

[@fgtgvg6725]

هاي سيارة

[@petervitti9]

Lots of workers. I just watched a video about putting the 2020 f150 together. Lots and lots of robots and one or two humans. So tragic.

[@jpolar394]

I'll take one in red please. It's better than any of the shit that's made today.

[@Hr.0ldenberg]

No Sound, no tune,... whats on...???

[@radioguy1620]

My Dad's first car at age 20 bought brand new for cash after getting out of the Air Force, told me a story about accidently running over some chickens in the road in Texas coming home to CT and had to outrun the farmer because there was a 25 dollar fine for each one, He Did, !

[@mikedrown2721]

It looks slab sided

[@48censor]

CORRECTIONS: MY BRAND NEW FORD TRUCK WAS THE LAST PURCHASE OF AN AMERICAN VEHICLE I EVER MADE. BACK AND FORTH TO THE DEALER FOR WARRANTY WORK. 3 PAINT JOBS ALL OVER THE VEHICLE. CLUTCH REPLACE. MASTER CYLINDER FAILED AND HAD TO BE REPLACED. REAR MAIN SEAL FAILED. REAR END REBUILD. GEARS DID NOT MESH PROPERLY AND STARTED TO GRIND I BOUGHT MY NEW ASIAN MADE VEHICLE, DROVE IT OUT OF THE SHOW ROOM AND HAD THE OIL CHANGED THAT THE ONLY DEALER VISIT NO ISSUES LIKE MY TRUCK, WHICH WAS A GREAT LOOKING VEHICLE. ONLY GOOD FOR SITTING IN MY DRIVEWAY. 15MPG? I THINK NOT.

[@markk3652]

A double yelling post, how cliche'.

[@48censor]

MY PURCHASE OF ABRAND NEW FORD TRUCK WAS THE LAST PURCHASE OF AN AMERICAN VEHICLE I WILL EVER MAKE. BACK AND FORTH TO THE DEALER FOR WARRANTY WORK. 3 PAINT JOBS ALL OVER THE VEHICLE. CLUTCH REPLACE. MASTER CYLINDER FAILED AND HAD TO BE REPLACED. REAR MAIL SEAL FAILED. REAR END REBUILD. GEARS DID NOT MESH PROPERLY AND STARTED TO GRIND I BOUGHT MY NEW ASIAN MADE VEHICLE, DROVE IT OUT OF THE SHOW ROOM AND HAD THE OIL CHANGED. NO ISSUES LIKE MY TRUCK, WHICH WAS A GREAT LOOKING VEHICLE. ONLY GOOD FOR SITTING IN MY DRIVEWAY. 15MPG? I THINK NOT.