Pinto Car Club of America

 Wow, cars made in 1972 (could be 1973 model cars). Milpitas assembly plant (near Oakland where my car spent 34 years of its life). 

After hearing these drug taking malcontents talk about what they did to these cars (likely my car - I saw a lot of white wagons in the video) makes me glad that the Turbo project is really having me go over every inch of the car.
Tom

We build them better than the factory did! That's nothing really, you should see the videos of the East German Trabant car factory!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRX7E0yZxh0

That is quite amusing.  In one sense I'm surprised they actually put that much attention into the detail.  On the other hand it demonstrates what a flimsy car it is.

One summer I work on an assembly line making aircraft parts.  One item was the lift for Figher canopies. They had to have brakes on the motor to hold the canopy open.  The design was so poor that the motor/brakes had to be "broken-in" on a test bed.  We would build six of them and cycle them over night.  The next day five would have burned the motors because the brakes locked.

And, oh..., it was this 20 year old kid that suggested they put circuit breakers on the motors to keep them from burning up over night.  My line boss comes back a few hours later with breakers on the test bed.  It amazed me that with all the engineers they had that the design wasn't better or that breakers were never thought of.

It was similar to these Trabants. It was a fine line between not enough brake to hold the canopy open and too much that caused drag and burned up the motor.  It took all kind of "tricks" to get them through test.  I'm glad I only lasted the summer. Even my limited 20 year old conscience could not have taken much more.  Anytime I get on  a plane I still pause thinking back to how some of the stuff might have been put together.
Tom

I drove around in dozens of these when I visited Hungary in the early 80's.  The other car there was the Lada, the body panels were actually made of compressed paper.  It looked like metal, but it was indeed highly compressed paper.  I bet they burn nice.

I would like to get a copy of that video in full screen size.  I love to watch the cars being built, but I turned the sound off so I did not have to hear all those malcontents whine and complain;  gees- if the job is so horrible, quit and find something easier!
  Were can I find that vid in a larger size?
mike