I have been thinking about what a Spridget might look like if
produced today. I've been pondering this as I restore my '66 Sprite.
For example, the cockpit surround is held to the body with about 20
fasteners consisting of T-nuts, washers, lock washers and nuts. They
are difficult to install because there isn't much finger room so
install time would be considered long for an assembly line. Even the
surround consists of an aluminum extrusion with vinyl glued to the
extrusion (in the case of my '66). Quite labor intensive compared to
a piece of plastic and those omni present plastic push fasteners used
these days. Carpeting consisting of a dozen individual pieces - some
bound, some glued??? Carpet snaps ?? Our cars weren't designed "for
manufacturability" as they are today. I would guess that today the
many individual body stampings would be combined into fewer, but more
complex pieces. It would be fun to redo the Sprite design with an
emphasis on manufacturability just to see what savings in labor could
be realized. If you have wrestled with those #10 nuts and bolts in
places and positions that are almost impossible you know what I am
talking about!!
Tim Collins
1966 AH Sprite
Mid MI
http://www.flickr.com/photos/12702006@N07/
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