Some of you followed my original post,well it was lost forever.

So with YOUR help we can re-visit it, and save it to the archives.

Lets try to do this in chronological order.

A little history of the Chrysler South Assembly Plant form Allpar.

https://www.allpar.com/corporate/factories/st-louis.html

Chrysler once operated two plants out of Fenton, Missouri, called the St. Louis plants. St. Louis South, opened in 1959, made cars and minivans; the St. Louis North, opened in 1966, made trucks; and both closed within a similar span of time. with the St. Louis South plant shutting down on October 31, 2008, and the North plant closing on July 10, 2009.

The St. Louis plant was closed on October 31, 2008, leaving Windsor the sole minivan plant (as it had been in 1984). The failure of the Chrysler Pacifica to gain traction, coupled with customers’ rejection of the 2008 minivans, sealed St. Louis’ fate. The property was sold and the plant torn down.

Chrysler announced an investment of $1 billion in the St. Louis North and St. Louis South Assembly Plants in 2005, to modernize and re-tool the facilities.

The Fenton truck plant (St. Louis North) made B-series vans and wagons until 1980; it built the Dodge Ram (over a million of them) until all production was shifted to existing plants in Saltillo, Mexico and Warren, Michigan. The plant had recently won quality awards, and was originally the exclusive producer of RamBox equipped pickups. It had made the Ram 1500, Ram V10, and Ram diesels.

The car/minivan plant had opened in 1959, making the mainstream Plymouth and Dodge cars. It gained Valiant and Dart in 1960, making it one of the original small-car plants. in 1969, St. Louis South built 216,215 Belvederes, Coronets, Chargers, and Darts, easily dwarfing Newark, and edging out Belvidere (which, in fairness, only made Fury and Polara).

St. Louis made a wide variety of cars through the 1960s and 1970s. Rear wheel drive’s last year at the plant was 1981, with the LeBaron and Diplomat; from then on, the plant built the highly popular K-cars and numerous K-derivatives until 1991, when they made their last LeBaron coupe and convertible. In 1996, St. Louis was dedicated to making minivans, and continued to be minivan-only for its final 12 years.

St. Louis South
Plymouth, Dodge 1959-1964
Valiant 1960-1965, 1973-1976
Lancer or Dart 1960-1965, 1973-1976
Belvedere / Monaco / Coronet 1964-1976
Barracuda 1964-1965
Charger 1968-1970
Volare /Aspen 1976-1977, 1980
LeBaron, Diplomat coupes 1977-1981
Caravelle coupe 1977*-1981
LeBaron/400/600 1982-86
Aries and Reliant coupes 1981-86
Limousine, Executive 1983-86
Laser Daytona 1984-86
LeBaron Coupe and Convertible 1987-91
Plant Closed 1991-96
Minivans 1996-2008**
* Model year 1978 ** Model year 2009

The City of Fenton has several streets named after Chrysler cars, a tribute from the days when Chrysler paid immense amounts in property tax and employed thousands of local people.

O.K. I'm in

I'll start with this... a pic of an ad from Laclede Steel promoting the innovative new technology used in the construction of the South Plants floor!

With everyones help this should be a great post worthy of the archives!

Chrysler's Fenton South Plant, gone but not forgotten

The neighborhood is just southeast of the plant across Interstate 44...

Here is a view from across Interstate 44 that is missed.

Pic found on-line...

This is a great 1962 picture from Allpar of the the south plant with the water tower.

Great stuff guys! Let's keep this going even if most folks on Moparts seem to be more fascinated about japanese generators, tiny german diesel cars and celebrities than Chrysler history. Sorry to hear the original thread is gone, it was awesome!

Quote:

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in 1969, St. Louis South built 216,215 Belvederes, Coronets, Chargers, and Darts,

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Great information and pictures but I question this statement....STL didn't build A body Darts until later.

Thanks Forwardlook

Here are more found from the same set as the pic posted above...all taken while in operation!

More...

Close up of loading docks...

Water tower in the background...

Lots and lots of dock doors...

Overview from west

Don't forget the sign out by HW44.

Here are a few of the assembly line. These arn't mine, but were too good not to post. Found on the web.

Anther of the line.

Things are getting bigger.

More

another shot

More van

A red one

moore

THE LAST ONE

The one out by the highway.

Under robots

Stretch Assembly

End of the line

Nice aerial view found online...

Another great aerial view, this time Cassens Transport Facility

...

March 30th 2002, Google Earth...

November 13th 2002...

Here is something really neat, back on July 17th 2004 the South Plant and its workers celebrated its 45th anniversary

The amazing thing was that they held a friends and family day...inviting everyone who called ahead with a car inside the plant! With their car!!


Here are a few mementos I have of that day

As if that wasn't cool enough, we could also take a self guided tour of large sections of the plant

One of my friends I brought with me is a retired zone representative for Chrysler who had been in and out of there many times in the past...he really made the tour come to life with some "old school" perspective.

Thanks Jerry


AND to all who were involved at the plant for putting that day together...its a day I'll never forget

That day I got to bring my 69' Coronet R/T back home to its birthplace!

It had a scheduled production build date of April 30th 1969 from this fine assembly plant.

Even when the end was near the plant still played host to car shows


This was the last show held around July or August of 2008 I believe...anyone out there remember the exact date?

Had to work that day but ran down anyway...just long enough to take a few pics of the office building and of my car.

Had the feeling the plant would be closed but hoped I was wrong...I wasn't

The office building and grounds were looking sharp!

I found this info very interesting, it is about Lynch Road assembly plant. The St Louis South Assembly basically the same thing.

http://www.deadnutson.com/building_a_mopar.html

Road Runner SuperBird
LYNCH ROAD ASSEMBLY LINE
OPERATING DESIGN
By David J. Patik

Few Mopar enthusiasts have ever seen an automotive assembly line. Fewer still saw the assembly of Mopar muscle cars. Almost no enthusiasts active today in the hobby worked at Chrysler those many years ago.

Imagine the wealth of memories a Chrysler Engineer of that time period could share with us today! Gil Cunningham from late 1969 to 1974 was a Product Engineer at Chrysler's Lynch Road Assembly Plant, specializing in Body Sealing and Paint. This job entailed keeping his area of the assembly process running smoothly, and production testing of proposed changes in materials and/or their method of application and installation. Before and after Lynch Road service, Gil held several engineering positions at other Chrysler facilities, in both the car and truck divisions.

Today Engineer Gil is Dr. Gilbert Cunningham, chiropractor in private practice in Tallahassee, Florida. After a total of nineteen years at Chrysler, Gil eventually fulfilled his desire "to do something completely different than engineering, and work for himself." He is very much an enthusiast of Chrysler special cars, being Vice President of the Chrysler 300 Club International, and is the owner of a rare 1962 300H convertible, as well as other Letter Series Chryslers.

The article that follows is based on several interviews with Dr. Cunningham. It also contains information from interviews with former Chrysler Production Scheduling Programmer Walter Redmond, and long-time Chrysler Facilities Engineer Bob Badyna. In addition, Chrysler special body program information was derived from a presentation by NASCAR Program Design Engineers Larry Rathgeb, Gary Romberg, and John Pointer at the Winged Warrior National Meet in 1977.

Let's make a tour of Lynch Road in December of 1969, and follow the building of a SuperBird. But first, this imagination exercise: to get a good idea of the size of this facility, think of your local K-Mart store. It's about the size of a one-stall garage compared to the Lynch Road Plant! Built in the late 1930s, Lynch Road began building Plymouths after WWII. During the Muscle Car era, it employed 5,000-6,000 people. Only one story in design for the most part, ranging from eleven to fourteen feet tall, Lynch Road measures 660' wide by 2500' long. In 1969, it is considered quite modern and efficient, although the low ceiling height causes considerable difficulty in moving equipment into place.

Cars actually begin their life in the Production Scheduling Department. There, computer programmers perform tasks that are listed here in simplified form:

* Highland Park (main office) decides which plant will build the car, based on distance from dealer, workload, and parts availability.
* If the car has been ordered by a customer through a dealer (Sold Car), insure that the sales personnel have ordered options and equipment possible for that model of car. The Vehicle Order Number that will appear on the car's fender tag and broadcast sheet is preprinted on the dealer's order form (except Special Order Cars).
* If the car is a dealer supply (Sales Bank) car, insure that this order information is correct.
* If a Special Order Car (S.O.C.) is to be built, (SuperBirds are S.O.C.) program in code "Y39" special building instructions on the broadcast sheet.
* Schedule the car's build date. Nightly meetings of Production Control personnel determine which cars will be built three days in advance, based on the in-stock supply of necessary parts.
* Assign a Production Sequence Number, used for tracking the car through the assembly process, and coordinating parts and sub-assemblies for the car.
* Assign a Vehicle Identification Number (V.I.N.) to the car.

The scheduling of production requires some explanation of a basic goal of an automotive assembly line. That is, cars were scheduled for assembly in the ultimate mixed up order. Models were mixed (Belvederes and Coronets), bodies were mixed (station wagons, sedans, etc.), engines-transmissions-options were mixed. Why?

There were two reasons for this mixing. Bearing in mind that the line never stopped moving (except for disasters!), almost one car per minute left the final assembly line as a finished machine. Therefore, there were very real limits on the available manpower and space to physically get the exact needed parts where needed, as needed. The second reason for mixing models and options was the actual assembly time required. Some options were very common, some rare. A person on the line may have been responsible for installing more than one item on each car. Several people were needed to install some items.

So, the last thing that Lynch Road assembly supervisors and workers wanted was a relatively small order of very special cars. Imagine the massive increase in the order shuffling system that was required to integrate a SuperBird sub-model that required many special parts! This was to be a run of about two-thousand cars, scheduled for late 1969, with a required completion date of January 1, 1970 (to meet the NASCAR homologation deadline).

Chrysler management decided to have Lynch Road build running, completed SuperBirds, minus the wing and the nose cone assemblies. The cars would then be transported to the nearby Clairpointe Pre-Production facility for completion. Most special SuperBird parts were to be supplied by the custom-specialty firm Creative Industries, which either made these parts or purchased them from outside vendors.

Well, now that we understand the basics of SuperBird production planning, let's get to work building one!

The Lynch Road Plant consists of six major areas of assembly, each of which functions as a nearly-independent mini-factory.

* Metal Shop = Body-in-White (BIW): assembly of complete bare body.
* Paint Shop: metal preparation, painting.
* Chassis Department: Engine "dress," mating of engine-transmission-rear end assemblies.
* Trim Line: Installation of body mechanical and electrical parts and sub-assemblies.
* Final Line: Glass, interior, final details.
* Car conditioning: Repair of completed vehicles, misc. tasks.

It will take two day's construction from Metal Shop to loading a running car on a transport truck! The very long assembly lines move slowly and steadily.

We will begin our tour in the Metal Shop, where a few codes on a fender tag and a broadcast sheet guide the production of a complete, bare metal body. These two all important "blueprints" for each car result from the work of the Production Scheduling Department.

Lynch Road in the 1970 model year builds ("frames") sixteen different body types:
R = Belvedere W = Coronet
Coupe
21 Hardtop
23 4-Door
Sedan 41 Wagons
45/46 Coupe
21 Hardtop
23 4-Door
Sedan 41 Wagons
45/46
Non A/C X X X X X X X X
With A/C X X X X X X X X

Assembly of the body shell begins by laying the sub-assembled passenger compartment floor and forward frame rails and the sub-assembled trunk floor and frame rails onto a moving floor-level "truck" fixture. To either side of this floor pan fixture are secured (a short distance later) massive, hanging, moving fixtures called "sidegates." They locate to the floor pan assemblies the body side components: lower sills, cowl sides, "A" pillars, roof rails, and quarter panels.

Body parts are manually welded. Several hundred huge, pincher-type spot welders and their many cooling lines hang from the ceiling in the Metal Shop, giving it the appearance of an industrial rain forest. The high heat of the welders is dissipated by piped-in water to each unit, and their bulk is made more maneuverable by using their transformers as counterbalances.

In essence, every part of the body that will be color-coated is permanently attached in Body-in-White. Mating surfaces are coated with a grey, zinc-rich weld-through primer prior to spot weld assembly (in corrosion-prone areas). To prevent rust-out of bolted-on mated areas like door hinges-to-cowl, and fenders-to-inner fenders, a dark green zinc chromate primer is manually brushed onto each of these mating surfaces before body assembly.

Whether a car has air-conditioning is vital to Metal Shop because the dash panel (firewall) is a much different stamping for air conditioned cars than non-air cars. What about other options that require special body holes and studs? Nearly every body hole required for these options is dimpled into the metal stamping. The Metal Shop line is very long, with ample time to use its many hole-drilling fixtures and weld-stud fixtures. This avoids the plant complexity of too many different stampings, (regarding ordering and storage), and it's cost effective.

If a run of special bodies is planned, as with the SuperBirds, Metal Shop builds up from the stamping plant a "bank" of the special parts before assembly of the cars begins. These special runs of cars are never sent en-masse down the assembly line, but are sent in small clumps. (SuperBird records on file today reflect exactly this procedure).

Hemi-powered cars merit special mention. Their rear frame reinforcement plates are welded on to the frame rails at the stamping plant, creating a special trunk floor sub-assembly to be stored and then used at Lynch Road. Approximately one Hemi-car per shift is assembled (two shifts per day; the third shift is for plant maintenance).

Before exiting the metal shop fabrication area, every body receives its very own premade fender tag. It is attached to the left inner fender by its forward screw only, then pulled up at its rear. This allows inspector's punches to be impressed on it later, and allows the primers and color coats to be applied under it. (This is not a universal practice on every car or at all plants; sometimes the tag is hung inside the car by a paper clip).

Another vital task of the Metal Shop is embossing "secret" portions of the VIN on at least two pieces of welded-on sheet metal of the car. This is accomplished with an air or hydraulic embossing tool containing numbers and letters, manually located and actuated by its operator.

Since we are building a SuperBird, the work of the Metal Shop is still not finished. Every special part to be welded on and/or color-coated must be installed in this area. Most of this work will be done in "repair holes," which are side-tracks off the main assembly line. The major parts to be welded in are the rear window plug, wing support plates under the quarter panels, trunk floor brace brackets, and the hood latch tray mounting bracket.

The major bolted-on parts are the modified 1970 Coronet hood and fenders. The front section replacement work on the hood is done at the Chrysler stamping plant, while the more minor fender modifications are done at Lynch Road in the Metal Shop. Many special holes are drilled in the body for the wing, the 1968-69 Charger vacuum headlight system, and the fender scoops. Some usual Road Runner holes are not drilled, such as those for the metal nameplates on the quarter panels.

When the special-body modifications are completed on the SuperBird, it rejoins all other completed bodies in a holding area at the end of Body-In-White. From here, cars are selected at random for insertion on the Paint Shop line. The Sequence Number of each car is sent ahead via computer to the Paint Shop.

Every car begins its trip through Paint Shop with a trip through a seven-part, full-body spray and partial immersion in a series of chemical applications.

1. Hot chemical cleaner to remove waxy die-drawing compound, dirt, joint-leading residue.
2. Hot rinse.
3. Another hot rinse.
4. Paint anchoring, metal etching and coating phosphate solution.
5. Cold rinse.
6. Conditioning solution.
7. Dip up to headlamp level in grey water-based primer. Before this has dried, outer body is hosed off to prevent paint ridges caused by this primer, which would show through the color coat.

The first six of these steps are the "Bondurite" cleaning and coating process. The final dip in primer is a Chrysler-invented step in corrosion protection, begun with the 1960 model year. Through all of these operations, the body is supported by large hooks, the forward of which pass through the windshield opening and attach to the dash panel area. The rear hooks attach in the wheel tub area. The hood and deck lid remain open to avoid large amounts of the chemicals becoming trapped in them. The many stamped-out large holes in the floor pans allow the chemicals to drain out. Passage through a dry-off oven dries the Chrysler Chemical Corp.-manufactured dip primer, and evaporates any water wash residue.

Now the SuperBird body requires another special step, the application of heat-curing "Plastisol" one-part filler around the rear window plug. Since the car will have a vinyl roof (purposely), only shaping and rough sanding of the joint area is necessary. This avoids the time-consuming (and toxic) joint-leading process that is performed at the roof-quarter joints on all cars without a vinyl roof.

Body sealers are now applied to all cars. A black, tar-like sealer is applied to all passenger compartment floor joints. This same always-soft material was used in the trunk compartment area until the wife of Chrysler President Lynn Townsend found that her luggage once was marred by it. That episode resulted in a corporate switch to the much more expensive, hard-drying Plastisol white sealer in the trunk! This sealer is also used in the joints around the rear window panel, and similar outer-body joints. Sound deadener is sprayed on the inside of the quarter panels as accessible from inside the trunk compartment, and to the inside of the door skins.

Now it is time to prime the body. All cars, regardless of body color, use a dark grey primer. Workers in the prime booth spray the door openings, and under/inside the hood/deck areas. Dummy, recycled 1/4" wire latches keep the doors, hood, and deck lid shut. Robot guns on curved tracks spray the sides, roof, hood, and deck lid outer body, their spraying actions programmed according to the car's body style. The insides of the car, and the underside receive only overspray.

Booth overspray is collected by water that flows downward all along the sides of the spray booth and over to its center, where it catches the paint particles in the downdraft through the open steel gridwork floor.

The "Upper Door Frame" (UDF) color is sprayed on any inside metal of the body shell that will not be covered by upholstery or metal finish panels. This colored paint is sprayed on before the primer overspray has dried.

Cars remain in the primer baking oven for approximately twenty-five minutes at 350-375 degrees. This high heat is intended also to cure the weld primers and vinyl plastisol sealers, which were applied with a gun to panel joints prior to being welded together.

The primer is wet-sanded at Lynch Road, using power disc hand-sanders, which have built-in water sprayers. Only the outside of the body is sanded. Following a wipe-off of primer residue, the body is cleaned with naphtha, then wiped with an alcohol-and-water solution. The UDF color is masked off by hand, with tape and masking paper.

Since our sample SuperBird is basically a 1970 Road Runner, its tail lamp bezels have been attached to the tail light panel with their purposely-long studs, while being spaced from the panel with one-inch sleeves. This allows the bezels to be painted with the car body, and allows painting of the tail-light panel contact areas, preventing rust. After the paint is baked, the sleeves are removed, and the bezels are permanently attached.

It is essential to note that a primary goal of assembly line painting of all cars is to have every part of the car that will be color-coated be permanently attached to the body before it enters the paint booth. This prevents the inevitable paint scratching of subsequent painted-parts assembly. Also, parts that are not to be color-coated are not installed on the car prior to entering the paint booth, thus avoiding masking off.

The front valance panels present a problem unique to SuperBirds. (They are the body panels that attach to the fenders forward of the wheels, and are later bolted to the nose cone supports [bumper brackets]). The valance panels can not be attached to the fender during painting because they would hang down at their underbelly end and get caught all along the assembly line. Yet, the valances are in an area of high rust potential, and must be color-coated.

The solution was to make them of galvanized steel, eliminating the need to run them through the Bondurite system. For color-coating, the valances are hung with short wires from the roof rails inside the passenger compartment, and painted there by the workers while the car was in the color paint booth. (This was a later standard practice on cars with bolted-on front or rear valance panels).

The SuperBirds' rear window lower "corner" pot metal trim pieces are another painting problem, because they cannot be attached to the body during color-coating. Painting of the underlying sheet metal is necessary to avoid rust, and the trim pieces are painted body color and flat back. So, they are supplied to Lynch Road already color-coated for each allowed SuperBird color.

The baking oven for the color coat has a temperature of about 250 degrees, and baking time is twenty to thirty minutes. If a car comes out of the oven with paint problems, (usually dirt, sags, or drips) it goes to a Paint Shop repair hole. There the finish in the problem area is correctly prepared, the surrounding area is masked off, color-coating is applied, and the car is sent to the repair area's oven.

Those rare cars (fleet cars, usually) that are to be two-toned (painted metal roof different than body color), are removed from the exit line of the baking oven. They are placed on the entrance line to the paint booth, where the lower body is masked off. In the paint booth the roof color is sprayed, then the car passes through a baking oven again.

No color coat is applied to the roof of cars that will receive a vinyl roof, greatly cutting the use of expensive finish paint. Vinyl roofs are installed in the Paint Shop after a car's exit from the baking oven. This includes our sample SuperBird, which passes through the adhesive spray booth, then gets its mandatory black vinyl roof, specially-cut to fit the semi-fastback rear window plug. They may also apply decorative stripes to other models, particularly if the stripes are installed before body fittings that cover portions of the stripes. Station wagon woodgrain decals are applied by Paint Shop workers.

Now is a good time to illustrate one of the assembly line problems caused by the special-ordered SuperBirds. Our tour guide through time, Engineer Gil, distinctly remembers one SuperBird that was painted a color not allowed for SuperBirds.

Every dealer announcement for the SuperBird, and every factory engineering document for the car states that it would be available in only seven colors:

* Blue Fire Metallic EB5
* Alpine White EW1
* Vitamin "C" Orange EK2
* Lemon Twist FY1
* Lime Light FJ5
* Tor-Red EV2
* Corporate Blue 999 (Ditzler DRA 12785)

This problem car got painted FK5; that's Burnt Orange Metallic. The car went as normal through the baking oven, had it's vinyl roof installed, and had quite a few of its mechanical parts installed. Someone caught the paint error on the line in the Trim Shop. The painters had read the fender tag incorrectly, or the Production Scheduling people coded its color incorrectly, or an "illegally-ordered" color slipped through from a dealer's order.

By now the car was much too far assembled to pull it off the Trim Line, re-insert if on the Paint Line, scuff sand its new paint, reshoot it a correct color, and run it through the high heat of the baking oven. And, the car was already built in the Metal Shop as a SuperBird, so it could not easily be converted to a regular Road Runner, which did allow Burnt Orange Metallic paint. It was finally decided by Product Planning to finish building the car as a SuperBird, and send the car to Clairpointe as usual, along with a can of orange paint, and a note explaining the problem! (If the broadcast sheet and fender tag paint codes did not match the FK5 color, this car received re-issued identification). Researchers have so far found three SuperBirds painted the "impossible" FK5!

Back to the normal assembly line now! The work of the Paint Shop is now completed; the painted shells gather in the painted body bank before they are loaded in a mixed-up order of paint and body style onto the track for the next assembly line area at Lynch Road, the Trim Shop.

Here a wide variety of parts for the car will be installed except the interior, glass, window chrome, and final details. The Trim Line installs weather seals, all electrical wiring and its equipment, headlights, and the complete instrument panel. Here the engine-transmission-rear end will meet the body, the tires and wheels will be installed; a running car will be produced.

How is it possible for the thousands of parts for each car passing through Trim Line to be quickly selected for assembly to the correct car? A central feature of assembly line operation is having the exact needed part awaiting the exact intended car. Some parts are small, and are used on every car. They are dispensed from bins and buckets within easy reach. Large parts, such as engine and transmission are trucked in from their manufacturing and sub-assembly plants, and placed in plant storage areas.

A basic description of the role of broadcast sheets, also called "track sheets," in the assembly plant would now be helpful. Cars are sent from one stage (or department) of assembly to another department without any regard for keeping them in the numerical order of their Vehicle Identification Numbers. Yet, the sub-assembly personnel, as well as the car assembly workers, know in what order the cars will be arriving on the line well before the car actually gets there. That is because the broadcast sheets in their area are printed in the order in which the cars will actually arrive using the Sequence Number of each car for their department re-sequencing; i.e., each "new" department has its own Sequence Number. There is a broadcast sheet Addressograph Multigraph teletype at the start of all major departments. A highlighted broadcast sheet four times the normal size is taped to the front of the hood, which provides ready reference for assembly workers.

To understand how a major part moves from its sub-assembly plant to installation in a car, let's suppose the SuperBird we are building is to be Hemi-powered. We will follow the path of its engine.

The Marysville Engine Plant is located about fifty miles from the Lynch Road Assembly Plant. All Chrysler street Hemi-engines are assembled there. As is standard practice with most Chrysler engines, Hemis are assembled as complete basic engines, including exhaust manifolds, heat tubes, and even the negative battery cable. The coded assembly markings are stamped into the block's forward identification pad before the entire assembly is painted Hemi orange. The black valve covers are installed, then the spark plug tubes, plugs, wires, and the distributor. Oil and water are added to the engine, and a source of propane and air is fed into the intake manifold. The engine is test run and checked for leaks.

No Vehicle Identification Number is stamped onto the block's right lower pad because at this point the engine is generic; it could be installed in any body. For the same reason, the carburetors and the oil pressure sender unit are not installed-different cars use different parts. However, the engines are designated for manual or automatic transmission, depending on whether the pilot bushing is installed in the crankshaft.

Like all engines, Hemis are inserted into heavy steel racking that holds six engines to a rack. These are loaded with a forklift onto a Dodge-powered Corporate Transportation semi-trailer. Once transported to Lynch Road, the racks of engines are moved to a production line storage area. Forklifts stack these racks four to five levels high, creating a formidable-looking skyscraper of Hemis! When the Engine Dress staging area runs low on its immediate supply of Hemis, a forklift brings one rack-full. Much more frequent deliveries are required for 318 and 383 engines! The Engine Dress area is part of the Chassis Department, which is fed into the moving Trim Line. The idea is to have the completed assembly of K-member (with mounted steering, brakes, suspension, and engine) plus transmission-drive shaft-axle meet the waiting body.

Let's backtrack a bit, and look at the process of parts selection for the Engine Dress and Chassis Line areas. Here are the teletype printers that issue broadcast sheets well before the car arrives to meet the Chassis Line; in fact, these broadcasts are printed as soon as the car is loaded onto the Trim Line from the Paint Shop. Parts are always stocked on line on basis of production schedule - i.e., what mix of cars are being built. Parts are not "gathered" on receipt of a particular track sheet (hopefully anyway!).

This parts selection is simplified to reduce time and errors by marking the parts and sub-assemblies with partial part numbers, identification stickers, tags, and paint-dabbed color codes on the parts. The partial part numbers that appear in the upper portion of the broadcast sheet guide this entire selection process for each car. Workers in all plant areas also refer to large, hanging instructional posters, called "graphic illustrations" for correct car construction.

As soon as a generic Hemi engine is selected from the supply rack, the partial VIN of its intended car body is stamped by hand onto the right side pad cast there for this purpose. An inverted "Y"-shaped hook attached to a one-ton air-powered hoist grabs an engine by its exhaust manifolds. This transfers it to an oval track (called the merry-go-round), from which hang large "hooks" on which the engines are loaded.

A generic Hemi automatic or manual transmission is selected, and mated to the engine. It becomes specifically built for our SuperBird with the additions of stamping the car's VIN, and installing the shift linkage and speedometer pinion. The engine now receives every part to complete it except the air cleaner: carburetors, fuel lines, pulleys, power steering pump, fan, oil filter, and throttle linkage. A steel shroud is placed over the right Hemi valve cover to prevent it being scratched and dented during the tight clearances of installation.

Adjacent is the moving Chassis Line, which has been busy installing its correct parts for our SuperBird. Beginning with attaching the special Hemi K-member to a line fixture, the items installed on it include the steering box and all linkage, the complete front suspension, and brakes.

A few feet farther back on the line, the correct axle housing and differential has been installed in a fixture, and includes the rear springs and brakes. The K-member and axle are spaced apart on the line fixtures exactly as on the underbody of our SuperBird. Now the engine-transmission unit is lowered onto the K-member, the propeller shaft is installed, and this completed drivetrain disappears from view, proceeding under the plant floor.

All the while the engine and chassis are being built-up, the body shell is being built-up on the Trim Line. Workers on wheeled stools do underbody work first, installing the gas tank, fuel lines, and brake lines. Undercoating is then applied.

Shortly after this work is completed, the body lowers toward the floor and the Chassis Line rises from under the floor to meet it. The chassis assembly is installed together, upward into the car body. Attaching the entire K-member assembly is accomplished by installation of the large frame bolts. The upper A-arms are installed into their body receptacles, the transmission crossmember is bolted in, the rear spring ends are attached, and all lines and linkages are connected. The correct torsion bars are selected from crates containing five hundred bars each, as received from their manufacturing plant. This unibody chassis mating method is very similar to the old body-drop used with body and full-frame construction.

There is another area of the Chassis Line whose work is now installed on the car, the Tire and Wheel section. This area is elevated above the main floor of the plant. It also has a broadcast teletype printer. Responsibilities here include providing the Trim Line with mounted, matching, correct sets of tires, with the correct style of wheels. Tires are mounted on wheels with an automatic, high speed machine. It blows the correct amount of air into the tire very quickly between the bead and rim just before mounting is complete. Balancing follows.

Ready sets of four tires, plus the correct spare, are dropped down metal tubes to each side of the Trim Line installation point. Assembly line boredom combined with the desire for efficiency apparently has motivated workers here to learn how to land the spare tire of each and every car with one bounce into the trunk! They will find this trick tougher on the SuperBird; its deck lid opens a limited amount, to prevent it from hitting the fastback panel.

Once all the underneath work is done on the car, it drops onto a "flat top" moving assembly line, which resembles the tracks of a bulldozer. The car now sits on its own mounted wheels and tires, but it is guided along the line by the flat top. The front end is sitting very low because the torsion bars have not yet been adjusted. This allows easier engine compartment access.

Instrument panel sub-assembly is in a remote area of Lynch Road, and requires its own broadcast sheet. Whether a car will have air conditioning makes a big difference to instrument panel parts selection. Nearly each of the car's electrical options has an instrument panel control or light, all of which must be installed, together with the correct instrument cluster, all of the panel wiring, and the crash pad.

Another sub-assembly area of the plant Bondurites and color-coats the small, Lynch Road-made metal items like the instrument panel frame. This "Small Parts Painting Department" has its own broadcast sheet for parts selection and preparation. After Bonduriting, the small parts are not primered. Rather, they are color-coated electrostatically. An instrument panel frame is connected electrically to one polarity, while the paint gun and its paint is of the opposite polarity. Good paint adhesion results, but more important is the even coverage and paint savings.

Completed instrument panels are sent according to Sequence Number by overhead hooks to their installation point on the Trim Line. Sometimes a highlighted broadcast sheet is taped to the glovebox or is stuffed above it by the Instrument Panel Department workers. These sheets may remain in place on the instrument panel when the car leaves the factory.

On the Trim Line, the heater/air conditioner has already been attached to the dashpanel. All body wiring, lights, and electrical equipment is installed. The radiator, and all the drive line fluids are added from overhead-mounted hoses. By now we have reached the rear of the plant after traveling through the many turns of the Trim Line.

We now have a car that will run and drive. A worker carrying a simple wooden seat (hand-upholstered with scrap foam!) walks to our waiting SuperBird, places the seat on the driver's side floor, starts the engine, and drives off!

He is not going far, only to another part of the Trim/Chassis Department, called the "Rolls." Here are floor-mounted rollers onto which the car's rear wheels are driven. This allows considerable driveline testing, as well as providing a complete electrical check under a variety of running conditions. The object of this testing is to detect any noises, vibrations, leaks, shorts, or outright failures. If such are discovered, repair holes, manned by line workers with seniority, are able to fix any problem from minor to disastrous. Cars are never scrapped as being "unfixable" or "not worth fixing."

When roller testing and any repairs are completed, the car is driven another short distance in the plant, to the Final Line stage of assembly. This is the longest line of all, being 1980' in length, extending straight to the front of the plant.

Final Line work concentrates on body trim and the interior. An early task is installation of the headliner. For our sample SuperBird, it is a special-cut piece due to the added rear window area, and it is always black whether the remainder of the interior is black or white. (This is a singular exception to color coordination).

Next installed are the door latches, window seals, window regulators, and the glass. Before any upholstery is installed, every car passes through a water leak test booth, which is the length of three cars. Highly-pressured water is directed at the top, bottom, and sides of the car as it travels through the dark booth. An inspector riding inside the car looks for leaks, using a flashlight, and notes any problems on a heavy paper inspection form.

Charge-up of the air conditioning system is done on the Final Line. Four cars at a time can be charged, which is all automatically done. Each car is hooked to an overhead rail-mounted charging system, which is pulled along by the car itself as it travels down the line.

Upholstery panels for the doors and quarters, and the seat fabric and foam, are supplied by a Chrysler subsidiary, or by an outside vendor. Lynch Road assembles to the seat frame and spring assembly the padding and upholstery in a remote sub-assembly area. Here is yet another broadcast sheet printer. Often, this area's sheet is inserted behind the springs of the rear seat vertical cushion before the group of seats for that car is hooked to the Final Line installation area. The front seat(s) are covered with clear plastic.

Much of the length of Final Line has a center pit for under-car installation and adjustment. A major task is complete alignment of the front steering and suspension. There are many small tasks done on Final Line, such as installation of the air cleaner, window chrome trim, some mouldings-emblems-stripes, and all of the many instructional and legally required small decals, dispensed from overhead rolls. Several owner/operator instruction tags are attached to the driver's controls. The plastic-wrapped bumper jack is installed in the trunk and cars with standard-type wheels have their hubcaps placed in the trunk. The headlights are aimed with special instruments.

When a car reaches the end of the main part of the Final Line, and it requires minor optional items, the car goes onto short "repair" lines running the narrow direction of the plant, crosswise of the Final Line. This is the Car Conditioning Area. Here some of the decorative stripes, and painted-on stripes are applied. Any final repairs are made. A car that has randomly been selected for a full-car inspection may spend time here if anything was found amiss. This inspection will be evidenced by many more inspector's stamps and markings than found on the usual car, which will have received an inspection only at the end of each department through which it passes.

A very late, final sequencing task is application of the car's VIN-imprinted Monroney Label to the rear of the driver's door. As the car goes out the Lynch Road door, the final operation is spray-on protective waxing.

None of the SuperBirds are completed cars, for they are all missing their nose cone assembly and wing. These cars were driven onto semi-trailer car haulers for the five mile trip to the Clairpointe Pre-Production facility. Its purpose needs to be explained before we complete assembly of our car there. Its usual function was a training area for assembly of the next-year's models. It was complete with scaled down versions of every major area of an assembly plant, so that the new parts and new technologies could be tried under actual conditions before the "real" cars were assembled. (Clairpointe test cars completed are "pilot cars"). For example, in May of 1969, perhaps twenty of the soon-to-be-introduced E-bodies were completely built at Clairpointe. In late 1969, this facility was not in use because the 1970 models were already in full production (since August 1, 1969), and the 1971 model pilot assembly had not begun. Therefore, it was ideally suited for SuperBird final assembly; its close proximity to Lynch Road was an added bonus.

There actually was little assembly required when the cars arrived in no particular order from Lynch Road. The first car to arrive was RM23?0A149789, on October 17, 1969. It was completed and shipped out the same day. The last car to arrive was RM23U0A172609, which arrived on December 17, 1969, and was completed the next day. (SuperBird VINs themselves range from 149597 to 181274). Several cars were returned to Lynch Road for repairs, which must have meant major parts were wrong, such as a 1970 Road Runner front end mistakenly attached, or the car was seriously damaged in transit. Clairpointe normally could repair normal parts malfunctions itself.

Nose cones were received from Creative Industries fully assembled. All internal nose parts (except hardware) and the interior surfaces of the shell itself had been individually sprayed flat black over bare metal before any assembly. The outer surface of the nose shell was painted with light grey primer, before assembly of internal parts.

Almost all internal structural parts of SuperBird noses were borrowed from the Charger Daytona nose. Despite countless press articles about these cars, the only fiberglass parts of the nose cones were the headlight doors, which do interchange between Dodge and Plymouth. Both cars used the complete 1968-69 Charger vacuum headlight system. SuperBirds used nose parking lamps from the 1970 Fury (clear lens version). Both winged cars used the same small nose cone spoiler, the exact design of which merited more time than any other special part, due to cooling worries. The SuperBird's inward tilted wing uprights result in superior air flow compared to the Daytona's straight uprights. However, the SuperBird's compromised rear window area resulted in an overall slower car.

The primary Clairpointe concern with the nose cones was correct operation of the headlight doors, and proper parking lamp mounting. Precise federal safety rules had to be strictly followed after approval for these designs had been obtained.

Wings and noses were painted in lacquer before installation on the car. The Clairpointe baking oven could not be used to bake enamel paint because the nose cones had to be fully assembled before color-coating. Sometimes the lacquer-colored nose and wing did not precisely match the enamel-colored body of the car! The nose spoiler was painted body color while off the nose.

All of the decorative decals on the car were installed at Clairpointe. The assembly guidebook prescribes these combinations concerning the wing decals and the "Plymouth" quarter panel lettering:

White decals: EB5-EV2-999
Black decals: EW1-EK2-FY1-FJ5

The nose decals were always matt black, using DiNoc material (slightly textured). Only the left headlight door received a miniature version of a wing decal.

The final items installed on the SuperBird were the trunk-mounted front frame rail jack and handle, special jack instruction decal under the deck lid, the loose-shipped nose spoiler, license plate bracket, and the cardboard template to mount it. For those states requiring front plates, it was to be mounted on top of the nose shell, between the headlight doors!

Perhaps a postscript is justified here. While about one-half of the approximately two-thousand SuperBirds found immediate buyers, many of the remainder were almost unsellable. It was possible to buy a dealer-new SuperBird in some locations two or more years after their production. Many were converted into Road Runners by weary dealers. Some of this sad problem was undoubtedly due to the limited demand for so impractical a car. But in large part it was due to insurance rates so expensive that some companies instructed their agents to "write for a quotation."

Selling SuperBirds proved to be of little difficulty for performance-wise dealers, however. First Avenue Plymouth, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, sold fifteen, more than any other dealer.

BROADCAST SHEET NOTE: In our tour of Lynch Road, we encountered broadcast sheets from at least every major area of production. There was no legal reason to include with the completed car any of the sheets. In fact, in later years they were actively eliminated because the paper was not in compliance with government standards of cloth fire resistance.

LYNCH ROAD TODAY: By leveling the Hamtramck Plant, then leaving Lynch Road, Chrysler ceased to build cars in Detroit itself. City government pressured Chrysler to sell Lynch Road to the city for one dollar in about 1984, as compensation for large employee layoffs. Today, the plant still stands, and is used by several small businesses and city government for storage and light manufacturing.

RESEARCH ASSISTANCE: Galen Govier, Nigel Mills, and Jim Radke provided valuable knowledge based on their many years of Chrysler product research.

End

Chrysler Group to Invest in its St. Louis South Assembly Plant

Chrysler Group to Invest in its St. Louis South Assembly Plant to Accommodate Increased Stow 'n Go™ Production for Chrysler and Dodge Minivans
$113 Million Capital Investment Planned for Tooling, Facility and Process Changes

Auburn Hills, Mich., Jun 07, 2004 -Due to the popularity of Chrysler Group's 2005 Chrysler and Dodge Minivans with the Stow 'n Go TM seating and storage system, the company today announced plans to invest $113 million at its St. Louis (Missouri) South Assembly Plant to accommodate increased Stow 'n Go production. The investment will be put towards the tooling, facility and process changes needed to add flexibility, enabling the plant to build short-wheelbase, long-wheelbase and Stow 'n Go minivans on the same production line. Previously, Chrysler Group only manufactured Chrysler and Dodge minivans with Stow 'n Go at its Windsor (Ontario) Assembly Plant.

"Today's announcement reinforces the company's commitment to our minivan heritage and our manufacturing facilities, creating greater flexibility in our product offerings and the way in which they are built every day," stated Frank Ewasyshyn, Chrysler Group Executive Vice President, Manufacturing. "We also show through our actions that supporting our existing plants in urban America is fundamental to achieving our long-term corporate objectives."

Consumer reaction in early market research clinics for the 2005 Chrysler and Dodge minivans was a home run. Prior to launch, Chrysler Group conducted an extensive survey to gauge response to the exclusive Stow 'n Go seating and storage system, comparing it to every competitor in the market. Overall, Stow 'n Go scored six times higher than Honda Odyssey and Toyota Sienna.

"We're seeing the same positive reaction from our dealers and customers that were echoed in our research clinics," stated Ann Fandozzi, Chrysler Group Director of Family Vehicle Marketing and Product Planning. "Stow 'n Go represents over 70 percent of all 2005 model year orders to date, and is growing. The added production at St. Louis South is an assurance that we can meet our customers' needs and get them into the best minivans on the road today."

According to Jim Nihls, Plant Manager for St. Louis South Assembly Plant, employees have worked diligently in the past year to improve the plant's performance in all key areas of plant operations, preparing the facility for the upcoming changes required to launch Stow 'n Go production. "I'm proud of the progress our employees have made at the plant last year. The trend continues in 2004 as well, contributing to the quality of the minivans that St. Louis South builds daily."

All equipment, facility and process changes begin immediately, while the plant continues to run existing minivan production. Downtime will be minimized, with an expected rolling launch of Stow 'n Go in early 2005.

One major addition in the Body Shop will be a new robotic line that will construct the long-wheelbase minivan's underbody, in order to accommodate seats folding into the floor. The plant will also add tub installation, which is used to store the second- and third-row seats and other items when the seats are in an upright position. Chrysler Group launched the world's first automotive tub installation cell earlier this year at Windsor Assembly.

St. Louis South Assembly Plant is located in Fenton, Missouri, employing approximately 3,600 employees. Fenton is also the site of Chrysler Group's St. Louis (Missouri) North Assembly Plant, home of the Dodge Ram pickup truck.

Chrysler to cut 13,000 jobs, idle 1 assembly plant


By: TOM KRISHER - Associated Press | Posted: Thursday, February 15, 2007 12:00 am


AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - For 13,000 Chrysler workers, Feb. 14 will now be known as the Valentine's Day massacre.

On Wednesday, Chrysler announced its long-awaited restructuring, which included a 16 percent reduction in its work force, shift reductions, a plant closing and a surprise hint that the plan could lead to a DaimlerChrysler divorce.

The Chrysler plan calls for closing the company's Newark, Del., assembly plant, and reducing shifts at plants in Warren, Mich., and St. Louis. A parts distribution center near Cleveland also will be closed, and reductions could occur at other plants that make components for those facilities.

Chrysler blamed the wrenching restructuring on poor sales after a shift in consumer taste from SUVs and trucks to more fuel-efficient vehicles. Workers blamed management.

"It's a shame that Chrysler didn't give us something better. That's not our fault," said Victor Harris, 56, who works in the paint shop at the Newark plant and has been employed there for 35 years.

Aside from the job cuts, Chrysler's German parent, DaimlerChrysler AG, said it is looking at all options to revive its fortunes, including partners for the troubled Chrysler. Its chairman wouldn't rule out a possible sale of the U.S. operation.

With Chrysler's job losses, the domestic auto industry has eliminated or proposed cutting 132,000 manufacturing jobs at 64 U.S. plants since May 2005, said Sean McAlinden, chief economist and vice president of research at the nonprofit Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor.

The devastation was partially offset by foreign brands expanding their manufacturing operations in the U.S. During that same period, foreign brands, such as Japan's Toyota Motor Corp., and their suppliers have created 30,000 to 40,000 factory jobs in the U.S. That should rise to 50,000 to 60,000 by 2009, McAlinden said.

Chrysler announced its plan at its Auburn Hills headquarters, saying it hoped the move would return its U.S. operations to profitability by next year. Like the other domestic automakers - Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp. - DaimlerChrysler's earnings have been hit hard by rising labor costs and slumping sales as consumers have turned to foreign models. For years, the so-called Big Three pinned their fortunes on higher-priced sport utility vehicles and trucks, but that strategy soured when gas prices climbed to near $3 a gallon.

Under the Chrysler plan, 11,000 production workers - 9,000 in the U.S. and 2,000 in Canada - will lose their jobs over the next three years, and 2,000 salaried jobs also will be cut - 1,000 this year and 1,000 in 2008.

"Today's action by DaimlerChrysler is devastating news for thousands of workers, their families and their communities," United Auto Workers President Ron Gettelfinger and Vice President General Holiefield said in a joint statement. "While Chrysler Group's recent losses are not the fault of UAW members, they will suffer because of the reductions announced today."

"We believe that this represents a solid plan to return to profitability and lay the groundwork for a solid future," Chrysler CEO Tom LaSorda said at a news conference.

DaimlerChrysler Chairman Dieter Zetsche, asked repeatedly about a potential sale or partners for Chrysler, refused to comment.

"I cannot and will not go into any further detail about the announcement we made today," he said during a news conference.

"In this regard we do not exclude any option in order to find the best solution for both the Chrysler Group and DaimlerChrysler," Zetsche said.

Zetsche acknowledged feeling pressure about Chrysler, which the company said was a drag on its parent's earnings. But as recently as last year, Chrysler was helping to prop up Mercedes, which only recently recovered from lagging quality and profits.

Jeremy Anwyl, president of the Edmunds.com automotive information Web site, said potential buyers for Chrysler would be limited because of the price tag. He speculated that the company would be attractive to a Chinese automaker because it has a dealership network that could distribute China-built cars in the U.S. Chrysler Group and China's Chery Automobile Co. late last year agreed on a plan for the Chinese manufacturer to build small cars to be sold worldwide.

Nissan Motor Co. and Renault SA also could be suitors because Chrysler is strong in products such as minivans and trucks where Nissan is relatively weak, Anwyl said.

And several private equity groups recently have poured billions into troubled auto parts makers.

"There's so much money in terms of the private equity funds across all industries right now," Anwyl said. But if such a purchase took place, the firms would have to demonstrate quick results, something unlikely with Chrysler, Anwyl said.

Gerald Meyers, a former auto executive who teaches at the University of Michigan, said DaimlerChrysler's work to develop and integrate common vehicle platforms and components suggests the divorce would be unlikely.

"Once you've scrambled those eggs, it's really murder trying to separate them. I think Zetsche's decided to tough it out and try to make his plan work," Meyers said.

Jim Press, who runs Toyota Motor Corp.'s North American operations, said Wednesday the company had no interest in any Chrysler assets, though he noted Toyota would always consider an alliance if it presented a "win-win" for both sides. He cited his company's longtime joint manufacturing venture with General Motors in Fremont, Calif.

Bank of America analyst Ronald Tadross said he "would not be surprised if there is good interest in Chrysler. We see Chrysler as a decent business, at least relative to the other U.S. domestic manufacturers."

Chrysler said Wednesday that its fourth-quarter earnings plunged on weaker demand at the Chrysler unit, where sales fell 7 percent. DaimlerChrysler's profit fell to $761 million, or 74 cents per share, as revenue slipped to $53.7 billion.

DaimlerChrysler earned $4.26 billion, or $4.17 per share, in 2006 compared with 2005 earnings of $3.76 billion, or $3.70 per share.

LaSorda said the company expects to lose money again in 2007, but less on an operating basis than in 2006. He also said the company expects to take a $1.3 billion charge this year for restructuring expenses.

The job cuts at Chrysler will reduce by 400,000 the number of vehicles that operations can produce each year.

The Delaware plant, which makes the slow-selling Dodge Durango and Chrysler Aspen mid-sized sport utility vehicles, employs about 2,100 workers. Chrysler plans to close it in 2009, with a shift reduction this year.

Dean Almuwalld, who works in painting on the Newark plant's assembly line and has worked at the plant for 13 years, learned its future from news reports.

"I'll take a transfer," the 33-year-old said as he walked into the local United Auto Workers hall. Almuwalld said he has relatives in Detroit. "I've got family there, so I'm ready to go."

The Warren truck plant, with 3,313 hourly employees, makes the Dodge Ram and Dakota pickups, which saw sales decline last year. Chrysler plans to eliminate a shift there this year.

Harbert Jones said he likely would keep his job at the Warren plant. Still, he said, these are "terrible times" for his fellow Chrysler workers.

The other plant to lose a shift is the St. Louis South assembly plant, which makes Chrysler and Dodge minivans. It has 2,850 workers and will lose the shift in 2008.

The Cleveland-area parts distribution center, which employs 95, will close sometime this year, Chrysler said.

LaSorda said after the plant cuts, Chrysler will be using 100 percent of its factory capacity going into 2008.

He also said the company will double production of four-cylinder engines at its new Dundee, Mich., plant, and it also plans to build a new V-6 engine at a plant location to be announced later.

DaimlerChrysler shares rose $5.33, or 8.3 percent, to close at $69.78 on the New York Stock Exchange.

AP Business Writers Matt Moore in Barcelona, Spain, Randall Chase in Newark, Del., and James Prichard in Grand Rapids, and Associated Press Writers Jeff Karoub in Warren and Ken Thomas in Washington contributed to this report.

Read more: http://www.nctimes.com/business/chrysler...l#ixzz1hVbgCWaI

Chrysler to idle one St. Louis plant, cut shift at another
St. Louis Business Journal by Diana Barr
Date: Monday, June 30, 2008, 2:57pm CDT

Chrysler LLC plans to close its St. Louis South assembly plant indefinitely, effective Oct. 31, and reduce operations at its St. Louis North assembly plant from two shifts to one as of Sept. 2.

Both of the plants are located in Fenton, Mo., in St. Louis County. Fenton Mayor Dennis Hancock confirmed the news Monday afternoon, shortly after Chrysler executives advised the city about the changes and a report appeared in the Wall Street Journal.

Hancock said that Chrysler officials told him the shutdowns were due to the slowdown in the market, and that the moves will affect a total of 2,400 employees.

The St. Louis South plant makes the Dodge Caravan and Chrysler Town & Country minivans, which are also produced at a plant in Windsor, Ontario.

Chrysler had announced in February 2007 it would eliminate the South plant's second shift as part of a three-year nationwide restructuring plan calling for a 16 percent work force reduction by 2009 in an effort to save $4.5 billion. Chrysler confirmed last November that the move would eliminate about 1,078 workers. About 1,500 workers remained at the South plant after the second shift was cut.

The St. Louis North assembly plant, which employs about 2,300, produces Dodge Ram trucks in two shifts.

Hancock said Fenton's next step is to try to digest the news and what it means for the city. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to the 2,400 people affected," he said. "We hope this is short term and that people will start making purchases" of new cars.

"It's obvious that with $4-a-gallon gasoline and a general slowdown in the economy that this is going to happen," he said.

Hancock said that if there's anything to take heart in, it's the fact that the company spent about $500 million to install flex manufacturing equipment in the South plant last year, enabling the plant to switch to production of other vehicles. "We'd hope that as other vehicles go into production, the plant here will be given serious consideration," he said. A similar amount was scheduled to be spent this summer at the North plant, Hancock said, and he hasn't been advised that there will be a change in that schedule.

Aided by $32 million in state incentives, The Chrysler Group announced in December 2005 that it would invest up to $1 billion at its two assembly plants in Fenton over several years.

That was before then-named DaimlerChrysler AG of Germany closed in August 2007 on its $7.4 billion sale of Chrysler Group to Cerberus Capital Management LP , forming Auburn Hills, Mich.-based Chrysler LLC

Final Minivan Completed At Chrysler Plant
Thu, 10/30/2008 - 5:40am
Angela Tablac, AP Writer


FENTON, Mo. (AP) -- For about 1,500 workers at Chrysler's South Assembly Plant in Fenton, the grim reality finally hit when a 2009 Dodge Grand Caravan rolled off the assembly line early Wednesday afternoon -- and another didn't follow.

The white Grand Caravan was the last vehicle built before production idled, marking the beginning of an uncertain future for the plant's work force and the 49-year-old plant as well. For the workers, the plant's shutdown means not only the loss of high-paying jobs, but a sense of closeness with one another that won't be easy to replace.

"It was pretty emotional out there today," said United Auto Workers Local 110 President Joe Shields, whose local represents workers at the minivan facility. "It's like losing your family."

Four months ago, slumping sales forced Chrysler to announce it would idle indefinitely the minivan plant by the end of October and lay off its workers, who build the Grand Caravan, Caravan cargo van and an export version of the Chrysler Town & Country.

Since then, Chrysler's fortunes have fallen even further as the economy worsened. The sales slump deepened, and the automaker reportedly has been considering a merger with General Motors Corp. Chrysler still says it has no plans to restart production at the Fenton minivan plant. Now, the number of local Chrysler assembly jobs left drops to about 1,100, all in the neighboring pickup plant.

Hours after the Grand Caravan left the line, the prospect of lost jobs weighed heavily on workers.

These were jobs that provided good paychecks, paid for children's colleges and offered security.

"It's something where you knew the next day would come, and you'd have a job," said James Funke, 42, of High Ridge, a trim worker employed by Chrysler for nearly 14 years.

Laid-off workers will get state unemployment and supplemental unemployment benefits provided by Chrysler for up to 48 weeks. Once they've exhausted these benefits, workers will return to Chrysler's payroll and enter the "Jobs Bank" program for up to two years. There they will wait for work or a chance to transfer to another Chrysler plant.

Under the most recent UAW labor contract, Chrysler workers can receive up to four offers to transfer, according to a union official. On the final offer, workers either must accept or are dropped from the payroll.

Trim worker Tyron Cross, 56, of St. Louis, hopes he can continue to work for the automaker until 2014, when he'll have 20 years of service and be eligible for a larger retirement package. He has worked at Fenton for almost 14 years.

Still, many workers don't want to wait around. They're looking for another job -- or even career.

Some will take either retirement or severance offers, which Chrysler spokesman Ed Saenz said will be made next month.

Eureka resident Steve Ridenhour, 39, plans to return to school. Ridenhour, a 15-year Chrysler worker, said he wants to earn an associate's degree in building maintenance and find another job outside the auto industry.

"I've got a family. I've got a mortgage," he said.

And Funke said he plans to start his own business, a coin shop to be called High Ridge Coin.

But in this struggling economy, finding comparable work won't be easy.

"It's tough for an autoworker to transition to another industry and be able to make up the wages and benefits they were making in the auto industry," said Russ Signorino, a labor market analyst with United Way of Greater St. Louis.

The assembly plant workers aren't the only ones hurt by the plant idling.

Based on the "multiplier effect," every one auto plant job creates another two indirect jobs, ranging from catering to auto suppliers, Signorino said. An additional 1 1/2 jobs — in restaurants and other businesses close to the plant -- also depend on the spending by the autoworkers and suppliers.

So when auto assembly jobs are lost, the other jobs are in jeopardy unless those businesses find different clients, Signorino said.

Integram-St. Louis Seating, a facility in Pacific that builds minivan seats, and Dakkota Integrated Systems, which makes dashboards and door panels at a plant in west St. Louis County, haven't been able to recoup the loss of the minivan business. Both facilities are laying off workers, said Darin Gilley, president of UAW Local 1760, which represents workers at both supplier plants.

The St. Louis area has lost a steady stream of auto industry jobs in the last 30 years.

Auto employment totaled nearly 30,000 in the late 1970s, dropped to 15,000 in 1996 and fell even more to 7,300 a year ago, Signorino said.

Last year, the minivan plant operated on two production shifts. But Chrysler already had plans to cut one of the shifts because minivan sales were falling.

Sales soon sank further. At the end of 2007, combined sales of the Dodge Grand Caravan and Chrysler Town & Country were down 15 percent from a year ago. That came after a 9 percent decline in 2006, according to Automotive News data.

When one shift was eliminated at the start of this year, about 1,080 workers were laid off. At the end of June, Chrysler said it would cut the remaining shift, idle the plant and consolidate all minivan production to a Canadian plant in Windsor, Ontario.

Chrysler has said the Windsor plant is its primary minivan operation, and the Fenton plant has been used for overflow when minivan demand was high. Fenton has been building minivans since 1987.

Since that announcement, workers have lobbied to stave off the plant's shutdown.

Their most elaborate effort was a trip in August to Auburn Hills, Mich. About 500 people, mostly minivan plant workers, rallied outside Chrysler's headquarters. Many wore red or white T-shirts emblazoned with the slogan "Build them where you sell them."

Shields said workers still haven't given up hope for restarting production at the plant. The union set up an online petition to rally community support and lobby for the minivan plant.

What could be hopeful, officials said, is the plant's flexible manufacturing capability. A year ago, Chrysler spent heavily to retool the minivan plant. The plant now can produce multiple vehicles off the same production line.

"We're going to keep going," said Lew Moye, Local 110's shop chairman. "Chrysler is supposed to have seven new vehicles in the pipeline (by 2010), and they have not chosen where they are going to build (them). ... This plant is capable of tooling up for these vehicles."

However, Chrysler's Saenz said the automaker didn't foresee just how strained the auto industry would become this year. It had to make tough decisions that included the idling.

Under the current union contract, Chrysler can only idle -- not close -- the plant. It would have to negotiate a closure with the UAW in 2011, when the current contract expires.

For now, Saenz said, "we don't have any plans to bring new vehicles into the plant."

And analysts have been skeptical that the plant will ever reopen. Chrysler still has excess production capacity, said Haig Stoddard, an auto industry analyst for IHS Global Insight.

"If (Chrysler) put another product in there, all they would be doing is closing another plant elsewhere," he said.

And a merger between Chrysler and GM or another automaker would likely lead to cuts in the number of makes and models, plant closures and layoffs, according to analysts.

By Andrew Ganz
Thursday, Oct 30th, 2008 @ 9:32 am

The last minivan to be produced at Chrysler ’s St. Louis South assembly plant in Fenton, Missouri, rolled off the line at 12:40 pm yesterday. Effective immediately, the St. Louis South plant is out of commission – and with its closure, 1,700 auto workers are without jobs. Chrysler will continue production at the nearby St. Louis North assembly plant, which produces the Dodge Ram .
Chrysler’s Town & Country and Dodge Caravan minivans will continue to be produced in Canada, however.

The last with paint.

Whats that number?

Auto Workers protest Chrysler van plant closure
St. Louis Business Journal by Kelsey Volkmann
Date: Wednesday, September 10, 2008, 5:47pm CDT

About 600 union Auto Workers rallied Wednesday afternoon outside Chrysler LLC ’s minivan plant with the hope of stopping the indefinite idling of operations scheduled for Oct. 31.

“This membership has done everything this company has asked us to do,” said Chuck Brodell, a United Auto Workers Local 110 officer, as the rally wrapped up.

“We build a quality van. We made it more efficient and we lowered costs. What more does the company want us to do?”

The St. Louis South plant makes the Dodge Caravan and Chrysler Town & Country minivans, which also are produced at a plant in Windsor, Ontario. The automobile industry has suffered amid rising gas prices that have drivers flocking to more fuel-efficient cars.

St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay, St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley, and aides of U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., and U.S. Rep. Russ Carnahan, D-Mo., attended Wednesday’s protest.

“There were 1.6 million vans sold in the U.S. in the last four years versus 240,000 in Canada,” said Brodell, who has worked at the plant for 13 years. “We should be building them in America not in Canada.”

In June, Chrysler LLC revealed its plans to close the St. Louis South assembly plant indefinitely and reduce operations at its St. Louis North assembly plant, also in Fenton, from two shifts to one, affecting a total of 2,400 employees. The shift-cutting at the North assembly plant, which makes Dodge Ram trucks, occurred earlier this month.

By Order of the United States Bankruptcy Court, Old Carco Liquidating Trust, the owner of assets formerly held by Chrysler LLC
Old Carco Liquidating Trust f/k/a Chrysler
St. Louis Assembly Plant Hilco Industrial Webcast / Onsite Auction

CNC Robots, Sheet Metal Fabrication, Toolroom, Automotive Service Equipment, Welding & Material Handling



Sale Date
Thursday, July 29, 2010 beginning at 10:00 AM CT
Add event to Outlook Calendar

Location
Hilton St. Louis Frontenac 1335 South Lindbergh at Highway 40
St. Louis MO
63131
Find Location

Preview Information
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
9:00 AM - 4:00 PM CT

Preview Location
St. Louis North Assembly Plant (off Mraz Drive)
1050 Dodge Drive
Fenton
MO 63026

Download the pdf of the Brochure
Old Carco Liquidating Trust f/k/a Chrysler<br>St. Louis Assembly Plant
For further information on sale location and featured items.

The auction was held July 28 2010.

County, Chrysler sorting out Fenton plant demolition


By Tim Logan | Posted: Tuesday, August 3, 2010 12:30 pm |

5 Million square feet for sale at former Chrysler Plant in Fenton
MARCH 17 2010 - The sign posted on the side of the former Chrysler plant in Fenton boasts 5 million square feet for sale.

County seeking study to re-use Chrysler plant

Related Documents

County Health Dept. letter

Fenton - What's left here of Chrysler kicked up some dirt last week when it moved ahead quickly with plans to demolish its now-abandoned South Assembly Plant in Fenton.Too quickly for County health inspectors.

Now those inspectors are telling the automaker's bankruptcy court subsidiary to cool its heels and take a full measure of the environmental impact of that demolition.

The County Health Department Monday formally denied a request to tear down the 2.6 million square foot South plant, saying the site must first undergo a "thorough asbestos abatement inspection." The County gave contractors hired for the job until Aug 9 to submit new plans for the teardown.

"We're working with them now," said Health Department spokesman Craig Lefebvre on Monday afternoon.

An official with Capstone Advisory Group, the restructuring firm that's managing Chrysler's bankrupt assets - including the Fenton plant - declined to comment.

Either way, it appears the half-century-old South Plant's days are numbered.

"Our interest is not in stopping the project," Lefebvre said. "Our interest is in making sure it follows local, state and federal law."

When the site first went on the market this spring, both the South and North plants were being offered intact. A sign out frong offered 5 million square feet of industrial space for sale.

At some point since, Capstone made a decision to demolish the older South Plant. Denny Coleman, executive director of the St. Louis County Economic Council, said he first heard of that plan about a month ago, in a meeting with Capstone. They want to knock down the South plant and sell its metal to fund heating and maintenance on the newer North plant.

"Our understanding is that they wanted to use the scrap value of the property, which they believe will net them some money, to help carry the property through next winter," Coleman said. "They evidently have some pretty high carrying costs on the north building to keep the sprinkler system heated through winter so it doesn't freeze."

Both Coleman and Fenton Mayor Dennis Hancock said they understand that Capstone has some potential buyers who are interested in the plant. Hancock suggested that the demolition may be part of preparations to sell it to someone.

"We fully expect there's going to be a new owner sooner rather than later," he said.

Hancock said Capstone's contractors secured all the necessary permits from Fenton, but the County Health Department also has a say, and it wasn't quite satisfied.

Asbestos crews apparently planned to clean the building in sections, knocking down each after they'd moved on to the next one. Last week, they started ripping out side walls to open the factory to more light so they could see better. The County Health Department told them that was a violation.

Health Department officials said they would rather crews know where all the asbestos is located before demolition begins. The company has identified some area that certainly contain certain pollutants but has not yet done a complete study of the building, Lefebvre said.

"You need to fully identify a site for asbestos before you work on it," he said. "Otherwise there's no way to know where else there might be asbestos."

And even bigger.

A closer look.

Another shot of the big sign.

At the start of the Asbestos abatement they removed sections of the outer skin to allow in light. The plant was dead, no electric or water.

The dis-assembly of the south assembly plant was to begin.

Before the too much of the plant was disassembled I wanted to get some pictures, with the water tower as a point of reference.

With the news that it was to be demolished started to go down and take pictures...

The first trip taken with my trusty daily driver, also built here back in December of 65'.

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This is a validation/test track that was used for the Dodge Rams that were built at the adjacent North Plant.

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Its amazing how quickly things have decayed...this is a overview from the ramp leading back to the outer service road.

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This was taken while headed to the front office building. Back when the open house was held we drove thru that gate and turned left to get inside the plant

The front office was really looking rough...

Pic of the office building with my 66'

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The employees long gone and customs nowhere in sight...just us.

A look inside...

After leaving the front office drove along the outer service drive to get these...

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My very patient wife...I remember that day was very hot and the ol' black vinyl was sizzling.

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After seeing all of that and knowing soon it would all be gone thought it'd be cool to try and have a reunion of sorts down there.

So I harnessed the power of Moparts and posted that we should all meet down there and bring our cars "home" one last time the following Sunday, August 8th 2009

After all, there was nothing but room on Mraz Ln.

Next batch of posts from me will be the reunion pics!

Here they are...

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