And so it begins.....Ford stripping everything out.

[OzriderXR8]

Sad to say Ford in Geelong are now ripping stuff out and breaking it up into the big metal recycling trucks.

They've been doing it all week.

[GASWAGON]

^^^ Sad!

[pursuit57]

We all hoped it MAY have turned around with something on a smaller scale or unique & announced post shutdown....and keep the Ford Aust flag flying, but this strip out has made it real now...

[OzriderXR8]

Maybe they'll only shut part of it down?

[pursuit57]

Originally Posted by OzriderXR8

Maybe they'll only shut part of it down?

What's the saying...never say never ? can only hope.

[simon varley]

suppliers have been offloading their plant on the auction sites for months now. most are only getting scrap value

[XD 351 Ute]

.......... :( It really is over...........

Ed.

[vztrt]

Originally Posted by OzriderXR8

Maybe they'll only shut part of it down?

They're still doing engieering down there.

[GCRXR6]

No issue scrapping the old plant. If.....if Ford were to return to building in Australia again, you can be certain they would require a whole new plant anyway.

[wackyv8]

got any photo's , for us people that aren't near Geelong? and also for future referance.

[Bossxr8]

There really is nothing to see.

[MrEL]

Originally Posted by Bossxr8

There really is nothing to see.

Yet more carry on over nothing?

[sbutler]

So what happens with all the press's?? someone should buy them & keep the stock of FG/X & Terre body panels up??

[Revolver]

Originally Posted by sbutler

So what happens with all the press's?? someone should buy them & keep the stock of FG/X & Terre body panels up??

Do you have any idea what the presses & dies are worth??

[XR6_power]

I guess this is the reality of the closure folks. Ford were always going to decommission the two sites, and that means rip everything out. This is it, she's all over, as much as it pains me to say it. All we have are the cars that are leftover and the memories...

[OzriderXR8]

Originally Posted by wackyv8

got any photo's , for us people that aren't near Geelong? and also for future referance.

Not much to see, it's all in the carpark behind a fence, just big piles of racks and stuff being broken up for scrap.

[pursuit57]

Originally Posted by sbutler

So what happens with all the press's?? someone should buy them & keep the stock of FG/X & Terre body panels up??

If not done already, Ford will certainly be negotiating a deal for outsourcing the contract for supply for all panels and other parts through Ford spare parts division.
This may or may not involve sale of some of the press/die setup's.

The plant may be gone but main parts distribution will always need to be there - and in addition all the aftermarket suppliers will ramp up there versions of OEM items as done for years anyway.

[Bossxr8]

Originally Posted by MrEL

Yet more carry on over nothing?

Pretty much.

[pursuit57]

Probably so, but only answering the blokes question....

[Bonn]

One way of looking at it is that a lot of the cars that machinery built will be out there, getting looked after and being revered by motoring enthusiasts forever. In 2100, you're great great grandkids will be walking into Rare Spares for an FG 'Miami' bonnet, or an FPV badge......
I helped build 4 of those presses, in 1986-87, at Bliss Welded Produicts. We built 4 of 1000T hydraulic presses for stamping panels.

[blk6t]

Is there a period in which car manufacturers need to keep spare parts??

[OzJavelin]

Here's an option that's been tried on Ford manufacturing plants before:
https://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/...t-ford-secret/

..few realize some of the most iconic Fords came from where people now buy Grand Theft Auto.

Ford’s San Jose Plant is now a shopping center known as The Great Mall. It was the birthplace of the Skyliner hardtop convertible, entry-level Edsels, and the three generations of Mustangs (including all of the 1965-67 cars that would become Shelby GTs). And today this former factory still has a secret hidden within its retail walls.

:(

[XR6_power]

Originally Posted by blk6t

Is there a period in which car manufacturers need to keep spare parts??

In about mid 2014, a few months after purchasing my new FG 2 XR6, I received a letter from Bob Graziano, that stated that Ford Australia will continue to offer parts and service backup till 2026....so I guess either Ford intend to continue manufacturing parts, and/or they will keep some suppliers going....

[roddy1960]

Originally Posted by blk6t

Is there a period in which car manufacturers need to keep spare parts??

G'day , I was told once or twice it's 10 years but not set in concrete according to what some AFF members say.
My AUll is now 15 years old , consumables no issues at all yet but I have no idea in regard to body panels , major components..the old bugger keeps going and going.....and going.. Cheers Rod

[nstg8a]

I think it's worded something like 'seven years where practical'. Many parts go awol within a few years.

[aussie muscle]

Originally Posted by GCRXR6

No issue scrapping the old plant. If.....if Ford were to return to building in Australia again, you can be certain they would require a whole new plant anyway.

So when the south china sea thing escalates to a war in the pacific and australia can't get any cars from o/seas, suddenly there will be a push for an 'all australian car for australia' and they'll ask the Americans to consider building a factory down here. Then we'll get the 2048-215-Fx

[XR6_power]

Originally Posted by aussie muscle

So when the south china sea thing escalates to a war in the pacific and australia can't get any cars from o/seas, suddenly there will be a push for an 'all australian car for australia' and they'll ask the Americans to consider building a factory down here. Then we'll get the 2048-215-Fx

We may not even need a war in the South China Sea. It seems our politicians are hellbent on modelling themselves on Donald Trump, and he wants to bring back protectionism for US manufacturing. If the same policy for protectionism came into being here, it would be "hello" to manufacturing here again....

[bai6t]

I will gladly vote for the person that wants to bring back manufacturing back to our shores!!

[OzriderXR8]

Ultimately our market is still too small, even if we doubled the price of imports we still couldn't sustain manufacturing in the OZ car market. We are an expensive country for manufacturing.

If we went the US path of making the big manufacturers set up factories in Oz they would probably walk away or as we've seen in the past, demand huge government subsidies.

How much would you be prepared to pay for a car just so it was Australian made?

[Vormund]

I would have thought that since we are still designing cars here that keeping at least some of the factory would make sense, for production testing.