An apparatus for assembling an automotive body on an assembly line having a right-hand body subassembly line, a left-hand body subassembly line and an underbody subassembly line, for delivery to a pallet transport system for movement through a body framing subassembly line. The apparatus includes an overhead transport system for transporting automotive components along at least one of the subassembly lines and for conveying the automotive components along a pallet transport system on the body framing subassembly line. The overhead transport system includes a trolley movable along a single overhead rail, a carriage slidably movable relative to the trolley, and a plurality of antler nests. Each antler nest is individually engageable with the carriage. The apparatus also includes a lowerator for transferring components from the overhead transport system to a geometry fixture at a workstation along the subassembly line. The workstation along the subassembly line can include a plurality of geometry fixtures that are exchangeable at a ready position of the workstation.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a divisional application of U.S. Utility application Ser. No. 10/402,901 filed Mar. 28, 2003; now U.S. Pat. No. 6,827,197; Which is a divisional application of U.S. Utility application Ser. No. 09/767,931, filed Jan. 23, 2001, for a FLEXIBLE AUTOMOTIVE ASSEMBLY LINE AND METHOD, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,554,119; which was a continuation of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/180,607, filed Feb. 7, 2000, for a METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR FLEXIBLE BODY ASSEMBLY. U.S. Utility application Ser. No. 09/767,931 for a FLEXIBLE AUTOMOTIVE ASSEMBLY LINE AND METHOD was filed contemporaneously with two other applications, U.S. Utility application Ser. No. 09/767,929, for a INTERCHANGEABLE NESTS FOR SUPPORTING COMPONENTS ON A TRANSPORT SYSTEM, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,557,690 and U.S. Utility application Ser. No. 09/768,090, for a FLEXIBLE AUTOMOTIVE ASSEMBLY WORKSTATION AND METHOD, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,564,440.
