At the end of this testing period, if no defect has developed, the motor is approved, placed upon a special truck and wheeled to the final assembling line.

The motor department just described furnishes an interesting illustration of the economy of the moving assembling system. Before the present system was installed about 1,100 employees were required in this department, working a nine-hour day to build 1,000 motors. Today, as a direct result of the new methods of assembling, and the efficiency gained through the profit-sharing with employees, about 1,000 men are assembling more than 2,000 motors in an eight-hour day. The assembling of the front axle, dash and radiator are fully as interesting as the unit just described, but space will not permit a detailed explanation of them.

Perhaps the most interesting department in the whole factory, to the visitor, is the final assembly. In this division, all the assembled units meet the assembly conveyor at the point where they are needed. At the start of the track a front axle unit, a rear axle unit and a frame unit are assembled. This assembly is then started in motion by means of a chain conveyor, and as it moves down the room at a constant speed of eight feet per minute, each man adds one part to the growing chassis or does one operation, which is assigned to him, so that when the chassis reaches the end of the line, it is ready to run on its own power.

In following the final assembly line from the point where the chain conveyor engages the frame and axles, the visitor is impressed with the dispatch with which every movement is executed. The gasoline tank, for example, comes down from the fourth floor on a conveyor outside of the building, and drops through a chute onto a bridge over the assembly line. On this bridge is located a gasoline pump, from which each tank receives one gallon of gasoline before it is installed in the car.

After the gasoline tank is assembled, a number of small units are added, such as the hand brake control lever, gasoline feed pipe, and fender irons, until the point is reached at which the motor is placed in the frame.

Ordinarily the setting of a motor in the frame is a long operation, but in this assembly the motor is elevated by a hoist, and lowered into place while the chassis is moving along the conveyor track. From this point, other small parts are added, and bolts tightened, until the growing chassis reaches the bridge on which the dash unit is deposited by a chute from the second floor, where it is assembled. The dash unit includes the dash, complete steering gear, coil, horn, and all wiring ready to be attached to the motor, so that its installation is rapid.

Transmission Cover Department.

Further along, such parts as the exhaust pipe, muffler, and side pans for the motor are quickly fastened in place, and the wheels are brought into the assembly.

There will be noticed the vertical chutes, extending through the ceiling. Down through these, from the third floor, come the wheels, with the tires mounted and inflated to the proper pressure. From this point the chassis moves under the bridge upon which are stored the radiators, which have been delivered by a belt conveyor.

At the end of the assembly line, the rear wheels on the finished chassis drop into a set of revolving grooved wheels, sunk into the concrete floor, and driven by an overhead motor. Two ends are accomplished by this operation. First, when the wheels of the car revolve with the grooved wheels, this motion is transmitted to the differential, through the drive shaft to the motor, limbering up all these parts. The second is that while the parts are being limbered up, the switch is turned on and the motor started.

Inspection of Front Axle after Machining.

At the end of the line the complete chassis is driven out into the yard under its own power. Guided by practiced hands it moves swiftly out into the yard, turns sharply and enters the final inspection line. A corps of inspectors at this point takes charge of the chassis, and the responsibility for each part is assigned to some one man.

From the final testing line the chassis is driven to the body chutes, which extend into the factory yard from the third floor of the new six-story building, and are so constructed that the chassis may be driven under them. The bodies are let down the chutes on belt conveyors, picked up by small derricks and swung over onto the chassis. The bodies are at this time placed on the chassis merely as a means of a rapid transportation to the freight cars, for in ordinary transportation the bodies are packed in the cars separate from the chassis.

In the rear of the main plant are two six-story buildings each 60 feet wide by 845 feet long, built parallel to each other and connected by a crane-way 40 feet wide the full length and height of the buildings.

The boiler house, which furnishes the steam for heating the entire plant, is located in the rear of these buildings. The method of heating is worthy of particular interest, as the air is forced over coils of steam pipes located in pent houses on the roofs, and from this point is driven down into the various rooms through the hollow columns which support the floors. In the summer, cool washed air is forced down through these same columns, maintaining a normal, even temperature, compatible with the state of the weather.

Installing Motor on Final Assembly Line.

Various unit assemblies, small machine departments, and store rooms are located here in addition to all the body work.

Practically the entire first floors are used as a receiving department, where all the material consigned to the company is checked and inspected. Railway tracks run the full length of both crane-ways, facilitating the unloading and loading of supplies and parts.