[Keith Seymore]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: SS427</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Damn! I knew I should have gone. I could sit there for hours and listen to their assembly line techniques. Many of you know how anal I am about how things were done on the assembly line and this would have been a great time to hear it first hand. My first question would have been, &quot;How were the coil springs inserted into the frame in only a matter of seconds?&quot;. Thanks for posting the photos. </div></div>

It was done as you would imagine it: front cradles and rear axles details (ie, shocks, springs, brake lines, etc) were subassembled on a separate feeder line. The front upper and lower control arms were attached to the subframe, &quot;open&quot; at the ball joint end. The front spring was hydraulically compressed and positioned, and the ball joint attachments made.

So - the operation was done in a traditional way but the use of hydraulic compressors and air tools made it go faster.

Alternatively, for those vehicle assembly plants building full frame vehicles (like light duty trucks): the entire front engine/suspension crossemember could be built up at the source. This crossmember, complete with suspension and brake corners intact, could be received at the assembly plant and fed to the main line directly, where it was attached with two or three horizontal bolts and two or three vertical bolts (per side) in the vicitny of the engine mount. This reduces the time at the final assembly plant and transfers responsibility for the quality of the subassembly to the supplier.

K