Windsor Casting Plant, (The Old Foundry) - TQE 1994 

This video has it all. Mullets, mustaches, Transitions lenses and synth music!!

This is how you actually make stuff. The first stage of losing it is to outsource production, the second fatal stage is to outsource design. After that you have nothing left.

“...Intend to carry on, long into the future.” Closed May 29, 2007. What a shame.

Thanks for your service! 351w!

Just imagine the number of new hires who had to watch this on their first day over the years

Love Windsor engines. I put some gt 40 heads on a 351 with 9.5 compression pistons and a Edelbrock rpm intake and cam. Then put that motor in a 86 thunderbird turbo coupe. What a fun fast street car.

Worked here in the late 70's on the break off floor and B line until the economy took a dump and was laid off. good ol plant #5. They also cast nickel steel blocks here for the NASCAR guys back in the day for guys like Bill Elliot and Junior Johnson.

Spend 5 minutes in a foundry. Walk out. You'll smell just like it . Tough ,hard, hot work to do. Have nothing but respect for the folks who worked there.

I worked in a foundry for ten years very hard work it wasn't modern in the 80's and hot made me a better person. Justsayin

I think the transition to aluminum blocks for almost everything doomed the plant. Aluminum is a totally different process. Windsor was incredibly optimized for cast iron products, but along with that, totally inflexible for different materials and processes. Too bad because they made some great engines - 289/302/351W plus all those V6’s. The retirees and veterans of the plant have a lot to be proud of.

Grew up in Windsor, Remington Park. Much of my family worked within the big three or machine shops supporting them. That city has changed a lot since and not for the better IMHO. I rebuild engines now so I get to play with Windsor cast and forged components often. Love seeing made in Canada and WCP on engine parts and machines. I own quite a few machines manufactured in Canada. Wish we took that kind of pride in our products once again. Make Canada great again!

I liked watching this. Worked in several foundrys in the 80s and 90s. Poured iron and then as an electrician for many years. They are all closed now.

Very interesting video. Glad this is preserved and available for viewing here. The engine for my old truck was made at this plant. Absolutely indestructible.

My late uncle was an engineering consultant for most of the Ford plants in Windsor. Those ventilation and filtration systems were his designs. his last job before he retired and was bought out by junior partners was the Ford Powerhouse off Cadillac St. he along with some other family connections got me an interview for the Foundry. as a green naive idiot I showed up in a suit for an engineering job but in those days (late 80's) you were told to wear a suit for any interview. the guy that interviewed me did not like me. in fact at 12:41 there he is! His name was Dick. I do admire the workers and what they had to deal with. A very hot dirty place but I know many took pride in their work. Not everyone could work there including me.

Ahhh the good old days. When corporations at least acted like they gave a shit about their employees.

Everyone today laughing at their mulletts back then. Everyone from back then laughing at our pay checks and standard of living today.

I worked in the Edison assembly plant and that’s where our 3.0 and 4.0 blocks came from for the Ranger and Mazda B series

And the place isn't even there anymore. "Eliminated to maintain sustainability and profitability"

Strongly committed to the quality of our environment - pullback shot of the cooling pond and slag heap - LOL.

The Windsor block was a damned good one

All these men spent the best part of their life manufacturing machines that have now rusted into scrap.

Amazing...I miss the 90's lol...👌🏾😁

Thank you guys I still love my 351 !

Awesome. Brings back memories of my days in the melting dept

Same fate for the Cleveland Casting Plant...

I was looking for this kind of video and miracle here it is

Had a weekend tour there once. Impressive.

Those were 351 Windsor blocks and V-6 Triton blocks. Both were phased out not long after this vid was shot. The Duratec V-6 and the 4.6 Modular came online in 1996 to 1998. Alot was sanitized in this video. You didn't get to see anything they're not proud of. These huge cast iron foundries were literally hell on earth.

a fitness center! after picking up 40,000 plus pounds everyday at chrysler, all I could think about was working out!

I just graduated high school when this came out 😯 pretty wild to see

Come for the castings, stay for the mullets!! 😂

@4:55 everyone is always so gentile the crankshaft lol

Got a 1991 Windsor 5.0 HO V8 in my garage, great engine

Just before NAFTA went on turbo-drive

Back in the day working in the foundry was the hot job to have.

I enjoyed this video. I’ve worked in chemical manufacturing but I would rather have worked in a place like this if I could.

This is Windsor, eh. That's not a mullet, its "hockey hair".

This video just screams 90's with the music and the transitions that look like slideshow presentations 😂😂

When foundries close industry closes with them.

I've made enough horsepower with Windsor engines to split the block smooth in half. Good thing the aftermarket took over. Thank you to the fine people in Wndsor for the years of fun and speeding tickets.

1:29 Bubbles outside of the trailer park!

rip 2007. This was recommended to me and thought about visiting in a few years with my Fox Mustang. Found out it was closed down years ago.

My dad will love this video! This is the most educational video I’ve ever seen!😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍

The new modern facility has a 26000 sq.ft. "safe space" for employees with hurt feelings complete with teddy bears ,toasted cheese sandwich's and hot coco

Those blocks they make there are pretty much indestructible. A Ford bottom end failure is almost unheard of.

Yep -and now trees are growing through what used to be those factories ....

Look how far computers have come in 25 years!

Beautiful 🥰✌️✌️✌️

I think those were 3.8L V6 and 5.0L motors before the Triton motors.

1:15 I couldn't imagine the wait time to pull up a file on that thing.

“It’s a history we’re proud of, and one we intend to carry on with long into the future” 😂

Ahh the windsor engine.

6:25 is he flipping off the camera?

At 12:57 NO PROBLEM HERE

I could feel my mullet growing faster while watching this.

The engines in my boat....were made in this plant...1978 Ford 351W.. Yes I know...I have old stuff..

I worked in a factory that made sand cores for a gm foundry. Man that was probably the worst job I ever had. 120⁰ + in there everyday all day for minimum wage. Slave labor.

My old man’s 83 f150 he purchased new, had a 351 Windsor. He sold the truck in 2005 with 780,000km. No issues ever, just regular maintenance. Still ran perfectly when he sold it, nice and smooth. Also with the original farmer 4 speed manual that was bullet proof.

Definitely state of the art.

Windsor was pretty good but I prefer Cleveland. 😉

Across the Detroit River from me. Looks like they did quality work...and what did it earn them...a closing ?

Dude at 13:53 rockin the Canadian Tuxedo eh! 🇨🇦

The engine in my 97 f150 came from this place.

We lived not too far away from the plant, on the right day your cars would have dust/sand on them, you could smell the plant too. No one cared, it's were everyone worked. It's all gone now.

I know why the algorithm brought me here, in the Hoonicorn videos they keep saying Windsor engine!

Omg, I'm a moron. Ford 351 Windsor. Never connected the dots.

That dudes hair is AMAZING 13:50

It's cool when they use actual industry terms...6:21 Bubbles Tickles the belly of the SPC computer...

At 1:15 I like seeing what looks like a game of solitaire.

11:12 that feller doesn't look like hes too much fun....

Are those engines in foxbody now ?

Where is this operation today? PRC?

0:53 Model M keyboard spotted ⌨️

I could never work in a factory!

1:30 is that bubbles from trailer park boys? Lmao

ken block used a windsor block in the hoonicorn. nuff said. rip 43

Thing’s that speed dreams are made of. Thanks

So were 302’s built here as well?

I prefer forged cranks!

I know this is hot hard work ,my step dad did this and I had two uncle's did this for GM

I have a newfound respect for Ford

explains the black sand in the early ford engines casts.

Henry Ford would turn over in his grave if he saw what happened to his company.

Justin Trudeau should work in a foundry for one day to find out what real life is all about.

One of those IBM PS2 computers looks like one I scrapped to get it off the local county tax rolls. The computer and software cost 6200 new. So the tax assessor got 2.2 percent each year for owning a 286 computer. So the late 80s PS2 beast cost 136.4 each year in local taxes when new. Even when it was technically obsolete in the mid 90s the tax man sees an IBM so says it has a long lifetime like a ball typewriter. So the local taxman also taxes tooling and machinery too. So often entire industries older machinery is packed up and set overseas to get it off the tax rolls. If you are a new business local politicians wave a magical wand so doesn't pay taxes for 10 years on machinery. Then when 10 years are up sometimes it gets sent overseas or another state waves a magic wand and the tooling is moved there. One machine we had was on the tax rolls worth 55k and they said it had a 99 year depreciation. So locally we had to pay 1210 a year on taxes for something that did not have much profit to support it since about obsolete. So you spend weekends cutting it apart to get it off the tax rolls. Manufacturing is attacked by some in the USA. One should not have to destroy tooling to get it off the tax rolls. Or send it overseas.

This plant closed in 2007! Too bad, but I'm not surprised.

The new 6.8 Mustang/F150 engine will be made here.

This week I'll be installing my 351w after a rebuild and a fresh coat of paint. Pretty neat seeing the manufacturing side of the almost long and forgotten side of the blue collar worker as China is picking up where we left off

You humans are proper smart 🖖

I like how they have way more technology today. Yet their products are so much worse! Spectacular fail!!!!

Some bad processes here - cast iron cranks dropped on the deck with the scrap. Who thought that was OK?

wow even these cheesy songs in this are tagged. rofl what a time to be alive

Who was it that dumped ask that led into the rivers.

At 1:04 it looks like they're watching Ford Jeopardy on TV

Now show us the Cleveland casting👍

Geez ford; did you really include a scenic shot of gm’s headquarters ?

I need a crank for my 3.0l

So that’s where my 351 came from 🤔😎

Bubbles used to work at Ford?

Who would have thought the windsor would be making near 3000hp these days. Such a shame its all gone.