Ford Australia has built its last ever engines in Geelong today ahead of the closure of the Broadmeadows car assembly line on October 7

IT’S the end of an era for the city of Geelong today. Ford has assembled its last engines at the historic factory in a special celebration behind closed doors.

Photos of the last six-cylinder engine and last V8 engine made in Geelong have appeared on social media ahead of the closure of the car assembly line next week. Picture: Supplied.

THE historic Ford factory in Geelong — the US car giant’s first manufacturing site in Australia — has assembled its last engines today in a special celebration behind closed doors.

The last ever six-cylinder and V8 engines were finished this afternoon ahead of the shutdown of the Broadmeadows car assembly line on 7 October 2016.

The final Ford engines mark the end of an era for Australia’s oldest car maker; the Geelong factory has been operating since 1925.

The Geelong site made cars and engines until 1959 before switching to solely an engine-building and metal-stamping facility.

Ford Australia would not confirm the event, but photos on social media clearly show these are the last engines to be made in Geelong.

The first engine built at Geelong for the Ford Falcon, 29 April 1960. Picture: Supplied.

Approximately 200 workers attended the send off, but they will remain on the payroll until the last day of vehicle production.

Ford will transport Geelong workers to join their counterparts at Broadmeadows for the final send off next week.

A statement from Ford said: “We finish production on October 7 (but) there will be milestones along the way. We are going to recognise the final day of production with all our employees on October 7.”

The Ford engine factory in Geelong built its last engine on 26 September 2016 ahead of the Broadmeadows car assembly line closure on October 7. Picture: Joshua Dowling.

Ford Australia historians have no idea exactly how many engines were produced at the site, but the tally exceeds at least 4.5 million given that is how many Falcon sedans, wagons and utes — and Territory SUVs — were fitted with Geelong-built engines since the 1960s.

The facility has been making engines since 1925 but Ford has lost track of how many were made prior to Falcon production in 1960.

This reporter is on Twitter: @JoshuaDowling