When did Ford start using metric?

[P. A. Schilke]

So to my understanding it was in the mid 1980's that the big 3 started to use metric. It was a slow phase in process but it did happen and i think fully complete by the mid 1990's.

Also SAE doesnt mean American. It stands for Society of Automotive Engineers

Hi Chris,

It was late 1970s. The 1981 Ram Program (F Series freshening) was designed in Metric starting in about 1978.... It took a while for powertrain to go metric. I had to go out an buy a few 18mm combination wrenches as Ford Chassis decided that was the size bolt head the chassis engineers decided to use... 17mm and 11/16" fit 19mm and ¾" fit....not 18mm, unique....Sheesh!

Think that Chrysler Corp Ram Pickup is a coincidence? Icocca was fired while the RAM program was starting up. Chrysler says coincidence...but none of us believed it....

best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired

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[krisrayner]

Well, ford has been using metric for a long while now. All American companies have. Ford chevy dodge kind of a mixed bag of metric and American measurements. Vw uses torx ? so.....just keep spare 10mm sockets around

First vehicles I worked on that had torx was some late ‘80s GM products. Now they’re everywhere including construction hardware. Watch out for the external torx on BMW and Mercedes that are aluminum bolts. Those are fun.

What amazes me most is how long it took domestic manufacturing to completely commit to metric. Well into the ‘90s you’d find metric and SAE on vehicles. Legacy (small block Chevy, Ford Windsor) engines using SAE, but everything that was attached to it was metric.
And still all the attempts at metric wheel sizing have fallen short. We measure tire width in MM and wheel size in Inches.

 

[Frenchy]

First vehicles I worked on that had torx was some late ‘80s GM products. Now they’re everywhere including construction hardware. Watch out for the external torx on BMW and Mercedes that are aluminum bolts. Those are fun.

What amazes me most is how long it took domestic manufacturing to completely commit to metric. Well into the ‘90s you’d find metric and SAE on vehicles. Legacy (small block Chevy, Ford Windsor) engines using SAE, but everything that was attached to it was metric.
And still all the attempts at metric wheel sizing have fallen short. We measure tire width in MM and wheel size in Inches.

Lol Ford and GM both have External Torx bolts!!

 

[krisrayner]

Here’s a fun podcast that dealt with the Metric system.


As to why the US took so long to to adopt, we’ll just blame the French ?

 

[12Bravo20]

Lol Ford and GM both have External Torx bolts!!

Harley does similar on their motorcycles. I have cheated and used a 12 point 1mm socket to remove the front brake calipers on HD motorcycles.

And yes the mixture of both metric and SAE was always aggravating. My 1978 Dodge Omni was that way as was my 1996 Dodge Neon and my 1997 Ford F150.

 

[Jason B]

Many 'Made in America' vehicles have parts made 'not in America'. And
'Made in America' can really mean 'final assembly' in America.

 

[krisrayner]

Lol Ford and GM both have External Torx bolts!!

Specifically I was referring to the aluminum torque to yield bolts. Single use, soft, and easy to break. Mostly used in applications that use special aluminum alloys that can react to steel bolts over time.

 

[NickTheEnforcer]

Just get with the times...metric rules.

all are world sourced. my 09 Ram is literally half std half metric.
if you want to blame anyone blame Carter..he promised we'd join the world in metric during his one term as POTUS '76 to 80. guess what? Failed.

 

[VAMike]

Also SAE doesnt mean American. It stands for Society of Automotive Engineers

I'm not sure what distinction you're trying to make. SAE was founded in the US by American industrialists, and even the British were going metric by the time SAE was positioning itself as international. When Henry Ford was the VP and SAE was talking about standardizing fasteners, they were American fasteners for American manufacturers, defined in USCS units.

 

[Strokerduster]

Spark plugs have been metric ( 14mm/18mm) since the 20"s....

 

[Langwilliams]

Many auto suppliers supply to all the car companies....I assume they were metric so it made sense for the rest of the bolts to follow.

I remember 45 years ago in school being told we had to learn the metric system because by the time we graduated in 6 years everything was going to be metric...all the street signs, grocery store sizes, so far only the 2 liters have fallen victim....so it could be worse

 

[Strokerduster]

.

 

[Charley]

my 1971 Pinto with the 1.6 L engine and tranny had metric fasteners.

 

[P. A. Schilke]

my 1971 Pinto with the 1.6 L engine and tranny had metric fasteners.

I built my first race car and used the 1.6L Kent engine for my base engine, twisting to 8500 rpm and compression ratio of 14:1. Kent is in England and all the fasteners were not metric but english. Now the 2.0L was from Germany and did use metric fasteners. Sure you Pimple was not a 2.0L?

I used the 1.6L is my weight was 1650 where as the 2.0L pimple was about 400 lbs heavier. I made my racecar fast by lighter weight and better handling on the Goodyear Racing Slicks...

best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired

 

[Three Ponies]

I have SAE, metric and Witworth in my rollaway. I have issues.

I had 5 different FOX bodies and also wrenched a lot on a friend’s ‘78 Fairmont. Fastener sizes drove me nuts (?).

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