Every new car starts as a drawing. Then designers make big clay models of the new car. They cut the clay and shape the clay by hand. A clay model is a big copy of the car, made before the real car is built.
Cars are made in very big factories. Many cars come out of them every day. A car has about 30,000 parts if you count every screw, nut and bolt. Count only the big pieces, and it has about 1,800 to 2,000.
Body parts are made from big rolls of steel or aluminum. The rolls are cut into flat pieces. Big presses squeeze the flat metal into the shapes of parts such as doors and side panels. One press line can press up to 18 times a minute.
Paint goes on in layers, not all at once. First comes primer. Primer makes the surface smooth and even, so the color goes on well. Next comes a base coat, which gives the car its color. A clear coat goes on top to protect it.
Cars move along a line from station to station. Workers and machines add parts to them. Before Ford's moving line, workers built each car by hand while it stayed in one place. Ford's line first ran at his plant in Michigan in October 1913.
A rope and winch pulled the chassis of each Model T along a short track. Workers added parts as it passed. The line cut the time to build a Model T. It went from more than 12 hours to about an hour and a half.
In 1914 Ford began paying workers $5 a day. That was more than twice what most carmakers paid. A new Model T cost $850 when it first came out. Later the price fell to $260. Then many more families could buy one.
Words to know
- chassis: car frame
- presses: metal squeezers
- primer: first coat
