My Roush Vehicle Facility tour.
28156 Plymouth Rd. Livonia, MI 48150
Ok, what an AWESOME experience. I toured the Roush Vehicle Facility. Well, two actually. The Vehicle and the
Engine Facility.
I'll tell you what. This is my first of hopefully many tours. My everyday job title is "Robot Programmer". I'm definitely not a reporter or writer. I was NOT prepared properly for this tour. I had paper but didn't use it. So immediately after the tours I headed to Kickers in Livonia, MI for some food, beer, and to write down everything I could remember.
I have to say thanks to JOHN CLARK of Roush Performance Products. He is a Communications and Motorsports Manager. John has been my "liason" so to speak, from Roush. He has been very helpful and I believe he is a valuable person to the Roush Industry. John is the one who gave me the tour of the Roush Vehicle Facility building. And let me tell you, this guy is full of knowledge about Roush. I saw some amazing things, and it's the slow season. But maybe it's amazing to me because I am a car NUT!! If you have any questions you can call the 800 number. An available tech will be able to help you. 1-800-59-ROUSH
Ok, now on to some interesting information.
The cars start here. They are waiting to be washed before they begin their transformation.
After being washed they are moved into a bay where a Roush Technician works on the vehicle from start to finish. This way quality and care is at its best.
This car here is being transformed into a Stage 3 Roush Mustang. Techs can complete a full transformation in a day if all parts needed are ready and available. Wow, that is amazing. It takes me that long to change my oil!!! (maybe it's because i drink a beer, then pull the drain plug, drink a beer, put plug back in, drink a beer... see my pattern?)
The suspension is designed to each specific model. The 427R has fully adjustable suspension. This is for the serious (or weekend warrior) racer.
The pic below is a 427 Trak Pak getting some work done to it. This was their media car. It has seen alot of tracks and drive time. And looking at the underneath I could tell this isn't a trailer queen.
Alright, as I said, this was the slow time. So I didn't have much for photos. But here are a few other pics I took at the Roush Vehicle Facility. I hope to return when the '09 models are in production and get some more photos of the techs in action. Put your cursor on the photo for a short description.
Here are some more interesting facts of the Roush Facility.
ROUSH VEHICLE FACILITY.. - Plymouth Rd. just west of Inkster- building was Fisher Body before.
- P51 is the first and only car to have the internals pulled.
- 427R most popular vehicle ordered
- building #50 is the vehicle facility and is 1.2 million sq.ft.
- now have around 60+ some buildings but not all in use anymore
- slow season, getting ready to roll into the 09 models.
- basically a rollover for '09, no changes
- techs are pretty diversified, can work on a mustang, and then pull a truck in and work on it
- new mechanics start with stage 1 kits, and progress with time and experience
- P51 Roushcharger only available on the P51.
- Roushcharger on P51, up to 700 hp with tinkering from the aftermarket tuners!!
- area for leather interior.. interiors pulled, re-upholstered, then checked for quality before reinstalling
- even though Roush himself inspects a new product, parts and vehicles are still rechecked for quality before shipping.
- plaque with the name of the car builder in the engine compartment
- uniformed construction among all builders
- 40 technician bays
- they have a Propane Vehicle department which builds fleet vehicles
- 100 cars or so waiting, normally several hundred outside waiting
- Trak Pak car has adjustable coil over shocks, fully adjustable suspension set up
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