Are there mistakes done at the factory on the assembly line?

[rodster]

This is what I like to see. These are things that we can learn from about the cars and am glad you have shared your "paint traveler". I would like to have a database of AAD sheets that have been left in cars that needed repairs on the assembly line. It would be interesting to see what is out there

Funny thing is that when I went to the body guy the other day, he talked about how the paint jobs back then were not that great. I pointed out some imperfections and he told me straight out that cars came that way and the single stage paint does not tolerate not being taken care of that well. I have some imperfections on one area and I think it is solvent pop or something and he said it was prob from armor-all that was over sprayed in the wheel well that attacked the paint a bit and caused some of it.

Glad to share. Based on what I've seen I think your car could have been delivered the way it was shown in your original post. It was all about getting cars out back in the day. Just my opinion. I've seen many factory defects on original cars.

In the big picture, that little item does not matter too much considering the overall quality and condition of your car. I wouldn't dwell on it any longer.

Regarding paint imperfections and solvent pops, my 83 TBird is a perfect example. I bought it new, took very good care of it, no Armor-All and I have some pops/spots on the hood and roof. Do I like it? No. Can I do anything about it? No. Has to be a paint issue from the factory. Warranty is over.

Here it is with 130k+ miles. Anyone can pick it apart, I really don't care.

[mrmustang]

Glad to share. Based on what I've seen I think your car could have been delivered the way it was shown in your original post. It was all about getting cars out back in the day. Just my opinion. I've seen many factory defects on original cars.

In the big picture, that little item does not matter too much considering the overall quality and condition of your car. I wouldn't dwell on it any longer.

Regarding paint imperfections and solvent pops, my 83 TBird is a perfect example. I bought it new, took very good care of it, no Armor-All and I have some pops/spots on the hood and roof. Do I like it? No. Can I do anything about it? No. Has to be a paint issue from the factory. Warranty is over.

Here it is with 130k+ miles. Anyone can pick it apart, I really don't care.

Infamous Silver paint, not just a Ford issue in the time period, but GM and Dodge as well. All bought their Silver paint from the same manufacturer, all had issues of one kind or another, some taken care of under warranty, others, years down the road, fought for, but lost in court. I saw plenty of these through my old shop, some coming off in sheets due to contamination in the primer paintline, others from contamination in the batch(es) of raw paint product. Others from a paintline stoppage which caused excess time in the paint drying area.....Oh so many others years later, at different manufacturers, who did not learn from the previous mistakes of others. Same occurred with certain whites of the same time period, mostly on the truck line, where the paint came off the hoods in sheets, and 6" wide and 4' long strips, like opening a cellophane wrapped product.

Bill S.

[gr79]

Errors can still happen now even if qc tightens 10x.
Seen bins, pallets, or boxes of new parts for the lines dropped, mishandled, or spilled all over the floor during handling.
If no boss is looking, they are simply dumped, swept up, repacked, if not visually damaged or dirty. No tell no see.
Parts may be ok, may not be. Sensors, pistons, belt tensioners, alum oil pans, alum rims. Seen it.
Nothing gets sent back to mfgr unless approved. Sometimes a rework or reinspection area was set up.
JIt delivery no extra parts on hand. Inventory is tight and missing new parts show up eventually during inventory checks.
If boss catches this happening, one may be headed out the door. Better be honest or have a good story.
Boss does his job because he has a family to feed too.
Especially if u-r-not unionized or fail the mandatory drug test. Work rules and safety policies.
Depends on company policy for damage before disciplinary action or how much they value you.
Even if company is short on workers. Thus adds to worker shortage. Or get suspended or wrote up.
Depends on labor market. Other companies will hire you and dismiss the past if not serious.

Never was or will be a perfect world building automotive products with perceived perfection.
Much more picky now than in the 80's. Customer pays for all. Profit vs who eats what.
Has not seemed to make cars last longer nor easier to work on.
Reduced cost of parts, labor, or manufacturing savings is passed to shareholders not customers.
Increased costs, mistakes, are passed onto consumers more now than ever.
Where have the customer's bean counters gone?

Mgmt got caught once trying to reuse reclaimed reworked diesel truck catalyst bricks. Detroit Diesel sent them back.
Someone forgot to erase all the qc markings indicating defects. Got caught even being rewelded into their metal cans.
Sent to quarantine area and were re-reworked correctly.
New parts are scrapped at last resort. Scrapping or shutting down production lines is very costly. The gray areas exist.

[1984GTTurboVert]

Infamous Silver paint, not just a Ford issue in the time period, but GM and Dodge as well. All bought their Silver paint from the same manufacturer, all had issues of one kind or another, some taken care of under warranty, others, years down the road, fought for, but lost in court. I saw plenty of these through my old shop, some coming off in sheets due to contamination in the primer paintline, others from contamination in the batch(es) of raw paint product. Others from a paintline stoppage which caused excess time in the paint drying area.....Oh so many others years later, at different manufacturers, who did not learn from the previous mistakes of others. Same occurred with certain whites of the same time period, mostly on the truck line, where the paint came off the hoods in sheets, and 6" wide and 4' long strips, like opening a cellophane wrapped product.

Bill S.

I remember there being white trucks from both dodge and ford with peeled up hoods everywhere back in the 90s.
I never heard about the silver paint thing though.

Glad to share. Based on what I've seen I think your car could have been delivered the way it was shown in your original post. It was all about getting cars out back in the day. Just my opinion. I've seen many factory defects on original cars.

In the big picture, that little item does not matter too much considering the overall quality and condition of your car. I wouldn't dwell on it any longer.

Regarding paint imperfections and solvent pops, my 83 TBird is a perfect example. I bought it new, took very good care of it, no Armor-All and I have some pops/spots on the hood and roof. Do I like it? No. Can I do anything about it? No. Has to be a paint issue from the factory. Warranty is over.

Here it is with 130k+ miles. Anyone can pick it apart, I really don't care.

Do you have any close up shots of the paint problems you have on it?
Nice car btw, have an 83 heritage me self same tu-tone exterior.

[scenarioL113]

I'm not getting into a online shouting match with you, nor will I take your posting style or attitude as a personal attack, instead, I'll explain it from the QC side, having spent time at the dealerships, and working with the dealerships, when these cars were new, and coming off the trucks as new. That, along with personally knowing several Ford employees who's job #1 was at the end of the QC line, just before the cars left the building, and ended up in the holding lot before they were loaded on to the trucks/train for shipment across the world. I can then follow up with the personal knowledge of how the shippers handled the damage in shipping (most shippers have regional repair facilities, or in the case of cars coming in from overseas, actual repair facilities near the shipping ports and holding lots).......The difference being, hands on experience in the process, face to face personnel on the ground working this day in and day out, and not an engineer who may have never stepped foot on the production or shipping floor space in his/her lifetime at Ford Motor Company. You and I can go round and round here on the forum if you like, but in your case, you have something to prove that bodes to the ultimate value of your car, where I do not have a personal stake in the car, or it's value and back story as told by you and "an engineer from Ford". In closing, while some things could get by Ford QC, the damage shown in the pictures you posted, especially the radiator/headlight support structure, would have been sent for subsequent tear down and replacement, or better hand massaging to the point it was not noticeable at all. If damaged in transit, then there would be external damage, in which case, there would be witness marks of panel repair, or panel replacement, with panel dates out of the known date ranges. There are a few other items I have not mentioned online, won't do so unless face to face, as I do not want to educate others who may have a nefarious reason for certain things (not you, in any way, shape, or form) being out there and reading this. Those that hold Gold Card Judge status may know what I'm alluding to in the pictures posted, most others will not.

I'll leave it at that.

Bill S.

Bill, 6 months has passed as the new owner of the car in question. Personally I am still baffled on the history of this SVO. With that said, I have had more time to study the car and learn more about it. Every single panel and part is properly date coded to the car. That includes the header panel (all pieces L+R), both fenders, the frame assembly, front fascia (bumper cover). Every single panel on the entire car that is visible is properly date coded and correct.

I just cant see the header getting damaged but not having damage to the front bumper. To add to that, the Form #AAD-7238 which is a FORD "Quality Control" sheet specifically mentions the header fitment as a problem. IDK?

On another note the SVO bumper covers were custom made and a red crayon was used to mark the cover with date and a number code. I have seen this on any SVO that I have been able to look closely at, including both my SVOs. This is the original bumper and cover on this svo. The bumper cover also sports the original bumper rivets which are usually a telltale sign if they have been replaced.

I wish there was a real expert that was local to me that I could go over the car with.

Have you had any experience with the Ford quality control sheets and / or know anyone that was part of the QC department that could be reached for an opinion?

If you think you may know someone please message me.

Frank V

[mrmustang]

Bill, 6 months has passed as the new owner of the car in question. Personally I am still baffled on the history of this SVO. With that said, I have had more time to study the car and learn more about it. Every single panel and part is properly date coded to the car. That includes the header panel (all pieces L+R), both fenders, the frame assembly, front fascia (bumper cover). Every single panel on the entire car that is visible is properly date coded and correct.

I just cant see the header getting damaged but not having damage to the front bumper. To add to that, the Form #AAD-7238 which is a FORD "Quality Control" sheet specifically mentions the header fitment as a problem. IDK?

On another note the SVO bumper covers were custom made and a red crayon was used to mark the cover with date and a number code. I have seen this on any SVO that I have been able to look closely at, including both my SVOs. This is the original bumper and cover on this svo. The bumper cover also sports the original bumper rivets which are usually a telltale sign if they have been replaced.

I wish there was a real expert that was local to me that I could go over the car with.

Have you had any experience with the Ford quality control sheets and / or know anyone that was part of the QC department that could be reached for an opinion?

If you think you may know someone please message me.

Frank V

Frank,

I applaud your further investigation, yet, you have not come up with a viable solution to the previous work (that would not have been done at the plant or on the assembly line) that would not have passed QC at the end of the line. Reviewing the following two pictures comes up with another possible scenario, just based on what I see:

On this one, we see an aftermarket hose clamp, could the radiator or condenser been removed, or replaced some time in the cars past? Could something have been dropped while removing these items, or perhaps other work was done under the hood and again, something was dropped on the edge, then a mechanic tried to make it less noticeable?

On this one:


I've blown up the image, and again, can honestly say, it would not have left the assembly line as shown. There are marks within this section that can easily be made by an adjustable wrench, tightened down, then used to pry the edge. Am I saying with 100% certainty that either of these things occurred with your car, no. What I can say with 100% certainty is that it would not have left the Ford assembly plant, or the QC section like this. I say this as my own 1982 Mustang GT was held up at Ford while they made a similar repair, after failing QC. Not exactly like yours, but also a fit and finish item under the hood, as explained to me, by Ford management at that time. When my car rolled off the truck at the dealer, there was 2.3 miles on the odometer, so it did not go far from the end of the line to the truck. But, it did spend an extra 8 days held by Ford. I had no other details back then as to the what and why, and quite frankly, back then, I was just thrilled to have the car in my impatient hands.

Perhaps we will eventually get to the bottom of your cars mystery, perhaps not, only time will tell.

Here is wishing you well.

Bill S.

PS: I'll be in Elmont, NY in mid October, but it is for a somber family function. If I had extra time, I'd gladly drive out to see your car up close and in person. But at this time, that will not be he case. If things change, I'll let you know.

[scenarioL113]

Great eye on the hose clamp. The car was off the road for 20 yrs up until last year. They had all the fluids replaced. Rear end, transmission, anti-freeze, oil etc... I actually have the receipt from the previous owner. The clamp is brand new. He regretted that the mechanic did not reuse the clamps...

I am gonna try and get pics of all the sheet metal stampings of the panels in question and see if they are as I say. I am no expert but I have had Fox Mustangs completely apart and am very familiar with what is going on behind the scenes.

Elmont is very close to me (25minutes), I would love to have you swing by and take a look anytime. Sorry to hear that it is not a happy occasion