Every time we find something neat we proclaim it as one of the coolest things we have ever posted, but that’s no stretch when it comes to the film “Wishes On Wheels” a 1950s education movie shot by the Chrysler corporation. The film is campy for the first couple minutes but then moves into a narrated and incredibly thorough tour of a Chrysler plant. We see nearly every operation in the plant from how the orders come in, to the beginnings of a car with the frame being placed on the line, and then just about everything from there on out. A comprehensive tour of the engine line shows blocks being machined, cranks being forged, and the assembly of engines. This is totally freaking awesome.
This molten hot crank just came out of a massive press.
As we make our way around the plant, you’ll see body panels being stamped and welded, suspension pieces being installed, doors being hung, etc, all the while a cheerful narrator talks about what you’re watching and a delightful music track plays in the background.
The factory workers look like a cheerful lot which probably means that their foreman was in the background yelling at them to smile or they were getting some extra scratch to me on camera. Having recently read a couple of books about factory line workers in auto plants, we’re not sure that these people were as cherry on a day to day basis (without chemical help).
The very comprehensive nature of this video is what’s best about it. We’ve never seen footage of an engine line from this time period working. It is awesome to watch the huge tunnel broach just shave the cast iron blocks like they’re play dough. It is neat to see the holes drilled and threaded for the bolts that will anchor the main caps and seeing the blocks get honed eight holes at once is also enthralling. The video keeps moving and does not lag. We found ourselves stopping and backing up a couple of times to re-watch stuff or click it frame by frame. You’ll probably do it as well, especially watching the press forge the cranks in two massive whacks! BTW, the engines being built are Poly V8s.
Don’t skip a minute of this one, it is well worth your time. Judging by the view counter on the film when we found it, there have not been many “new” viewers of “Wishes on Wheels” for a while so we’re happy to introduce you to it. The last thing we were wondering was where a film like this would have been shown. Was it something that kids were shown to give them an idea about how cars were made? Were dealers showing this in their businesses? Would Chrysler have shipped it elsewhere?
Manufacturing cars is one of the great industrial acts that man has devised. There are so many parts, both moving and otherwise involved that the coordination is mind blowing and we’re talking about that in the context of today with wi-fi, bluetooth, smart phones, RFID tags, etc. Now crank the clock back 60 years and imagine doing it manually and having all of the stuff work out perfectly. This video shows how it was done….and you’ll love every second of it.
PRESS PLAY BELOW TO WATCH WISHES ON WHEELS, AN INCREDIBLE TOUR OF A 1950S CHRYSLER PLANT!
How long will it be until someone from “Chyrsler” is speaking in Italian with English subtitles? It’s just plain sad.
They were to be speaking in german…
Have a good long look at what once was the glory of Chrysler motors … and will never be again .
Now that FCA ( FIAT/Chrysler Motors ) is official … their new HQ is in …. the Netherlands ( Holland ) of all the freaking places …. with financial tax havens set up in the UK and Milan ( nada in the US .. officially ) … all you’ll be seeing in the future will be rebadged FIAT’s posing as JEEPs Chryslers etc .. and …. no doubt assuming Marchionne’s plans come to fruition and ObamaClaus’s TPP [ Trans Pacific Partnership ] gets shoved thru .. all built to a number in … Cambodia , Viet Nam , China , Thailand etc .
Ugh …. just typing that is depressing as all get out ..
Meh, they did it to themselves.
Chrysler officially died the day the first PT Cruiser rolled off the first sales lot.
since we have the highest corporate tax rates in the world is it surprising that they headquartered elsewhere?
That video was amazing, hard to beleive they were able to acomplish this and some of the technology used during that area.
those guys worked fast and hard too, most must have ended up deaf
All learned from the slaughter houses of meat packers.
I’ve seen the opening before but I’m pretty sure the cut I saw was missing the engine line.
This is a great film to show someone who doesn’t know what “forged” means. Way different from pouring metal into a mold!
A friend in HS had a really nice ’55 just like the one we were following thru the factory but it was a 2 door 3 speed manual. W’re talking ’64 or so. Monte always kept it spotless, tuned, and ready to go. He wasn’t much of a performance guy but I always loved that car.
Dan
Its because of advances like the Turbo Encabulator!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXW0bx_Ooq4
just a cool historical video 🙂
I loved the girl at the end with the gas hose as she trotted a long the line with the car to put gas in it 🙂
Just imagine doing that 8 hours a day !
smokers need not apply 🙂 remember you could smoke on the job and in the office then .
I was in awe of the massive machinery necessary to put the car together. Especially the engine machining. Also the special hand tools like the one that pushes the pistons in when they install them. Its a crying shame all that stuff is now scrap.
The amount of engineering that went into the machines ,and the thought that went into the assembly process is staggering.
We’re not capable of doing this today, and we’re not the better for it.
Happy workers? Damned right…they did hard work and went home with a paycheck. I’m astonished to think anyone believes what we have today is better.
Did you all notice there were no stupid warning signs and safety signs – you just knew to be careful.
your right, its called common sense.something missing in this day & age.
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