Cleveland Engine Plant No. 2 closes Friday
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Cleveland Engine Plant No. 2 closes Friday
From the story by The Plain Dealer:
The plant builds its last engine Friday, shutting down after 57 years of production. The 250 workers will transfer to the nearby Cleveland Engine Plant No. 1, which is adding a third production shift.
Opened in 1955, Engine Plant 2 made engines for Thunderbirds, Mustangs and a whole lot of pickups. At one point, it was making massive 9-liter engines for commercial vehicles. The 5-liter V-8 that Ford used on sportier Mustangs in the 90s came from the plant as well.
But none of those motors was as beloved as the Cleveland.
"It came out at the end of the muscle-car era, so it was kind of the last hurrah for" that part of car culture, said Dan Jones, a St. Louis aerospace engineer who has rebuilt nearly a dozen 351 Clevelands for car restorations.
Opened in 1955, Engine Plant 2 made engines for Thunderbirds, Mustangs and a whole lot of pickups. At one point, it was making massive 9-liter engines for commercial vehicles. The 5-liter V-8 that Ford used on sportier Mustangs in the 90s came from the plant as well.
But none of those motors was as beloved as the Cleveland.
"It came out at the end of the muscle-car era, so it was kind of the last hurrah for" that part of car culture, said Dan Jones, a St. Louis aerospace engineer who has rebuilt nearly a dozen 351 Clevelands for car restorations.
Mach 1 Member
Joined: April 23, 2011
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From: Pacific NW
I wonder if Ford has ever thought about letting middle management positions go? From what I've read, there's a ton of middlemen that stand in the way of quality and bottom line issues getting resolved in a timely fashion that seem to hinder The Blue Oval instead of making life easier? Just a thought; instead of cutting back an entire plant of employees, scale the middle management back and listen to important feedback from your consumer base. Maybe it's a union thing? 
Cobra R Member
Joined: December 11, 2011
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From: Mass
If you guys ever want to read a good book check out "Punching out:A year in a closing auto plant" by Paul Clemens. It's book about the Budd stamping plant on Detriot's east side, the first few chapter discuss many large plant closings and the huge amounts of closings going on.
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From: NE Ohio
I've been inside this plant back a year & a half doing some computer work on the floor.
It's about a million square feet in size, small compared to Ypsilanti at 7 million.
3.0 & 3.5 Duratecs were the product then.
The most interesting feature at CEP2 are the old engine test stands: about 25 arranged in a 3/4 circle with cradles for the V-8's and exhaust ducting going up to the ceiling in an unenclosed (!) area off toward Engineering. The fuel and coolant lines came out of the floor from a sub-level below. The noise & heat must have been something to behold !
The production 'tote board' was kinda cool too: One day Assembly was cranking out 165 engines an hour via the board above the line.
Finally, I'll miss the gentle metallic clinking noise the connecting rods made as they jostled together, hanging from a moving conveyor on the way to big end machining... tink,tink,tinkletink.
Ah well, CEP1 is alive & well and at the debutante ball.
/RZ
It's about a million square feet in size, small compared to Ypsilanti at 7 million.
3.0 & 3.5 Duratecs were the product then.
The most interesting feature at CEP2 are the old engine test stands: about 25 arranged in a 3/4 circle with cradles for the V-8's and exhaust ducting going up to the ceiling in an unenclosed (!) area off toward Engineering. The fuel and coolant lines came out of the floor from a sub-level below. The noise & heat must have been something to behold !
The production 'tote board' was kinda cool too: One day Assembly was cranking out 165 engines an hour via the board above the line.
Finally, I'll miss the gentle metallic clinking noise the connecting rods made as they jostled together, hanging from a moving conveyor on the way to big end machining... tink,tink,tinkletink.
Ah well, CEP1 is alive & well and at the debutante ball.
/RZ
Last edited by Richiezoom; May 10, 2012 at 07:18 PM.
Legacy TMS Member
Joined: September 6, 2011
Posts: 1,892
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From: Kansas City, MO
I wonder if Ford has ever thought about letting middle management positions go? From what I've read, there's a ton of middlemen that stand in the way of quality and bottom line issues getting resolved in a timely fashion that seem to hinder The Blue Oval instead of making life easier? Just a thought; instead of cutting back an entire plant of employees, scale the middle management back and listen to important feedback from your consumer base. Maybe it's a union thing?
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Joined: December 14, 2007
Posts: 19,953
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From: State of Jefferson Mountains USA
I've been inside this plant back a year & a half doing some computer work on the floor.
It's about a million square feet in size, small compared to Ypsilanti at 7 million.
3.0 & 3.5 Duratecs were the product then.
The most interesting feature at CEP2 are the old engine test stands: about 25 arranged in a 3/4 circle with cradles for the V-8's and exhaust ducting going up to the ceiling in an unenclosed (!) area off toward Engineering. The fuel and coolant lines came out of the floor from a sub-level below. The noise & heat must have been something to behold !
The production 'tote board' was kinda cool too: One day Assembly was cranking out 165 engines an hour via the board above the line.
Finally, I'll miss the gentle metallic clinking noise the connecting rods made as they jostled together, hanging from a moving conveyor on the way to big end machining... tink,tink,tinkletink.
Ah well, CEP1 is alive & well and at the debutante ball.
/RZ
It's about a million square feet in size, small compared to Ypsilanti at 7 million.
3.0 & 3.5 Duratecs were the product then.
The most interesting feature at CEP2 are the old engine test stands: about 25 arranged in a 3/4 circle with cradles for the V-8's and exhaust ducting going up to the ceiling in an unenclosed (!) area off toward Engineering. The fuel and coolant lines came out of the floor from a sub-level below. The noise & heat must have been something to behold !
The production 'tote board' was kinda cool too: One day Assembly was cranking out 165 engines an hour via the board above the line.
Finally, I'll miss the gentle metallic clinking noise the connecting rods made as they jostled together, hanging from a moving conveyor on the way to big end machining... tink,tink,tinkletink.
Ah well, CEP1 is alive & well and at the debutante ball.
/RZ
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