Confessions from quality control part 3 - Dagenham!
Discussion
The Crack Fox said:
So they were recycling rejected parts and hoping Ford wouldn't notice?!
That's my impression at the time. Of course there might have been some 'rework', but nobody seemed to care much.A few years later a friend of mine had an Escort where one of the steering arms failed, sending the car off a straight road with (luckily) no injuries. "I may have made those bits" I told him...
Unfortunately bad working practices are alive and kicking in 2016 never mind back in the 70's & 80's, I was working in QC Inspection for the last few years for a company making highly expensive military equipment what was presented as finished items looked like monkeys had put it together....shocking.
An excellent read and explains why the cars of that era were such crap in every way. (BL similar factory conditions I understand, resulting in similar terrible quality cars.) It also explains why I made such a mistake in buying a new Fiesta XR2. I guessed at the time after owning it for a few hours that there must have been no quality control whatsoever. Come to think of it, the selling garage must have done no pdi either. The list of faults; the engine had a knock (like big end), the driver's door rubbed and buckled the front wing when opening and closing, a loud clunk from the front suspension when turning corners, paint flaking off, rear folding seats which wouldn't click back into place, four sets of disc brakes in 17,000 miles. There's probably more but that's what I can remember. I vowed never to buy a Ford again, the lazy baastards who built it didn't deserve a job.
The Crack Fox said:
Saw Boosh live once, Bob Fossil made me laugh until I felt sick. He's a genius.
Funnily enough, my gf is terrified of the Crack Fox. "Im gonna hurt you an make you wear a little dress. Can I come in your house?"
Sorry for the derail
Another great read. Keep the pages coming and you'll have a book 
A lifetime ago my Dad was a designer at Fords for their packaging. He started on drawing boards and switched to Wang computers, some time in the 1980s.
My Dad had to leave his office and talk to staff down on the factory floor about a problem with the quality. It was a short meeting. Someone got in a huff and threw a hammer at a steel I-beam close by. Unfortunately the hammer bounced back into my Dads head, knocking him out. When he came to, he refused to be moved to hospital until the culprit was sacked on the spot.
Luckily he was fine. Of course he could have been killed. The joys of working with scum in a hell hole!
A lifetime ago my Dad was a designer at Fords for their packaging. He started on drawing boards and switched to Wang computers, some time in the 1980s.
My Dad had to leave his office and talk to staff down on the factory floor about a problem with the quality. It was a short meeting. Someone got in a huff and threw a hammer at a steel I-beam close by. Unfortunately the hammer bounced back into my Dads head, knocking him out. When he came to, he refused to be moved to hospital until the culprit was sacked on the spot.
Luckily he was fine. Of course he could have been killed. The joys of working with scum in a hell hole!
I'm with you there - my dad took me there one day to see what life could be like if exams weren't passed... dear LORD, what a hell hole! Spoke to one chap, who was in safety, and asked (with all the innocence a teen can muster) "...oh do you have many accidents here then..." to which the chap nonchalantly held up his hand minus ALL his fingers and said (something along the lines of) "...occasionally..." <shudder>
Do you anything about the car bodies that ended up with a single door on the right, and 2 on the left? And the practice in the foundry of smashing up cylinder blocks if they made more than the quota. And the night shifts guys who slept more than they worked. I had a few relatives who 'worked' there !!!
PS. I started as an Engineering apprentice at the Marconi factory in Chelmsford in 1963. The quality of the stuff was staggering. Mostly because it was all MOD stuff. They would've given Rolls Royce a run for their money. Within 1 day of instruction on a lathe in the Apprentice Training Centre, I was working to a tolerance of .0005" on a lathe !! Known as a H8 fit to those in the know
PS. I started as an Engineering apprentice at the Marconi factory in Chelmsford in 1963. The quality of the stuff was staggering. Mostly because it was all MOD stuff. They would've given Rolls Royce a run for their money. Within 1 day of instruction on a lathe in the Apprentice Training Centre, I was working to a tolerance of .0005" on a lathe !! Known as a H8 fit to those in the know
Edited by robinessex on Friday 8th April 11:04
Edited by robinessex on Friday 8th April 11:05
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