Assembly Line Photos

[Desert_Eagle02]

I stumbled across these on Facebook, thought you guys might enjoy seeing them. They said they are from Oshawa Ontario Canada.

[mingoman]

Those are awesome! Thanks!

[Keith Seymore]

Nice. I've not seen those photos before.

K

[Mattchu60]

Thats cool - the whole front clip went on as a unit it appears - Amazing that no paint ever got scratched up - guys must have been really careful.

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by Mattchu60

Thats cool - the whole front clip went on as a unit it appears

It varied based on whatever is was en vogue at the time.

When I started in Flint, Line 1 pickups were built piecemeal (radiator support set loosely on the chassis, then LH fender, then RH fender, then hood) but Line 2 Blazer/Suburban was "buck build" as shown here. Same product, under the same roof; different process.

There were 7 full size truck plants building C/K pickups. The majority were "piecemeal" installations.

Originally Posted by Mattchu60

Amazing that no paint ever got scratched up - guys must have been really careful.

I dunno about that I will say, though, you want your best guys working that job.

K

[Keith Seymore]

Note that in the motor set photo the driveshaft is already installed to the rear axle.

The front of the shaft is held up with a rubber bungie cord; the yoke is slid up into the trans as the motor mounts are settled down into the frame.

The brake master cylinder is held in its final position (more or less) via a temporary slave bracket, and the brake system has already been evacuated, filled, tested and verified to be good by this point in the process.

K

[Mattchu60]

Keith, what would happen if for some reason paint were to be damaged with a panel install? Would the truck be pulled after assembly and it repaired, or have a panel replaced? or if its small enough would it simply just get a little touch up paint? I would imagine you don't want to be the guy that dings a panel.

[Keith Seymore]

Exactly.

If it was just a little chip they would touch it up with a brush just like you or I would, before it was driven off the end of the line. Bigger repairs would go to a stationary paint repair area where it would be bumped and sprayed, then placed on a short moving line to go through a bake oven.

Major damage would get replacement panels. If the damage is extensive, particularly early in the build process (like the cab shop) sometimes it is easier to just scrap the vehicle and start over.

My '74 Chevelle, built in Oshawa, of which I am the original owner, must have gotten hit and repaired in the plant. When I stripped the front clip down the first time for a repaint I found bondo in the wheel opening area on one fender.

K

[Wwes]

What was the work schedule like, breaks, bathroom breaks, lunch, etc?

Seems like a lot of moving pieces to be choreographed just perfectly.

What happened if the vehicle wouldn't start? Did they prefill the carb bowls with gasoline?

[ElGracho]

These are great pictures. Makes me think a bit about restoration. Some things would better to do like the factory did. Makes sense to do the front and rear suspension work without the front clip and bed installed. Same with engine work for the front clip.

[SKT]

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Wow, too cool!!

Any more of these pics?

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[77 ChevySport]

Wonder if there are any pictures out there that show how the Chevy Sport Stripes where put on?? This would be a picture to see! Larry

Attn.: Keith-Did you ever see this done when you worked there??

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by 77 ChevySport

Wonder if there are any pictures out there that show how the Chevy Sport Stripes where put on?? This would be a picture to see! Larry

Attn.: Keith-Did you ever see this done when you worked there??

No - ‘fraid not. That was before my time (or I don't recall).

K

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by Wwes

What was the work schedule like, breaks, bathroom breaks, lunch, etc?

Seems like a lot of moving pieces to be choreographed just perfectly.

What happened if the vehicle wouldn't start? Did they prefill the carb bowls with gasoline?

First shift started at 6am and ended at 2:30pm.*

The UAW was allowed a 6 minute break (paid) for every hour worked. Line 1 lunch was at 10:12 am (4.2 hours into the day) so the morning break was 25 minutes long. Lunch was ½ hour (unpaid). Afternoon break was at 1 pm and was 23 minutes. Line 2 lunch was at 10:54 am and the breaks were built around that. Second shift started at 4:30 pm, which allows time for the parking lot to clear between shifts. Typically third shift is for maintenance; there is not a third production shift unless you are building a really hot product.

Usually there was overtime, to make up for lost units (due to downtime) or to work repair. Final line might go "8.2" (eight hours and twelve minutes), with chassis, body and paint shops and other feeder lines going 9 hours to fill the system back up, including the various accumulators and body banks. Often after the line went down we would solicit volunteers to go "out back" and shuttle vehicles between the repair areas to work the backlog in the yard down. Overtime pays "time and a half", that is 1.5 times your normal rate with "double time" (double your normal rate) on Sundays or holidays.

Line 1 rate was 60 jobs/hour - that's one complete vehicle off the line every minute. Line 2 rate was 36 jobs/hour, partly because of the added complexity/content of building an SUV, partly due to market demand. Model mix on Line 2 was two Suburbans followed by one Blazer. Approximately every ninth vehicle was a GMC with the other eight being Chevrolet nameplated vehicles. Typical line rates in other plants fell somewhere between these two, with 45 an hour being a favorite for the van plants.

Lunch was unpaid, as I mentioned, but I had the discretion to pay the ½ hour as overtime if I deemed it necessary. I could pay a repairman to work the line back if we had just had a series of mistakes, or could pay my quality man to clean something up or do something out of the ordinary. I had some guys that I couldn’t get to work more than three days a week, and I had some guys that would kill a man on my behalf if I paid them that half hour overtime through lunch. It was essentially "free money" since it was 1.5 times their normal rate without adding any length to their work day.

There were two ways to do the break: “mass relief”, meaning the line shuts down and everybody goes at the same time, or “tag relief”, in which there is a team of workers trained to do every job where (“tag” – you’re it) they tap you and you go on break by yourself. When you get back they move to the next person. Naturally, there are pros and cons to each but it is primarily dicated by support staffs like the cafeteria, or number of available rest rooms, etc - or - if they need to keep that line running to support market demand. You can imagine the load on the cafeteria, water fountains, vending machines and bath rooms when 3000 people are all set free at once.

If you really have to go right now then either one of the relief men or the quality man can give you a quick break. If you really really need to go right now then I could cover for a couple jobs. I could do every job in my department, sometimes two at once, and many of the line workers could do their buddy’s job and cover for them. There is a pretty rigid social structure "in the shop" and the guys police this themselves, so you do not want to abuse this relationship.

The choreography is not too big a deal, since everything is locked together and starts and stops at the same time, like teeth on a gear. Just don’t jump a tooth – that’s a problem. Building the first few vehicles at the beginning of the model year, filling the system - that's hard. The next million or so are not so hard, provided everything stays in order.

Vehicles that don’t start (“deadheads”) were pushed off to a stationary repair stall just past the end of the line. We had two small tractors (tugs, which we called “mules”) which had rubber mounted to the front so you could push the vehicles off without damage and typically without shutting the line down. Vehicles were filled with 3 gallons of gasoline, and I don’t recall that they were primed first; just crank and crank until they fire. Once we went to fuel injection in 1987 then that was a non issue. Three gallons was deemed sufficient to get the vehicle through repair, shipping and to the dealership. We did have a few vehicles that needed so much shuttling between repair stations that we ran them out of gas.

K

*I'd like to have a little chat with whomever thought that was a good idea. Admittedly it was nice to be done by early afternoon, especially in the summer, but 6am comes really early, especially in the winter.

[Greenlee]

Keith,

I always enjoy the behind the scenes information you provide. It sounds like kind of a fun place to work, but I guess it might have sucked if you had to do it every day.

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by SKT

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Wow, too cool!!

Any more of these pics?

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These are from my alma mater: Chevrolet Flint Assembly -

http://www.73-87.com/7387info/Assembly%20Line.htm

Scroll down for insightful commentary.

K

[Goats86]

Small block 400 was very common in North Texas around 76-78. I twisted wrenches for a local Chevy dealership then.

[gmachinz]

Keith-do you have any knowledge regarding the CUCV military K20s? I’d be curious to know prior to the line, where did the assembly of the frame/suspension/brakes take place? And how about the exterior trim moldings, tailgate bands, etc? Have you ever thought about writing a book or a series of books on restoring these trucks using your knowledge and contacts?

[Keith Seymore]

Yes - we built the CUCV's in Flint, down the same line as the regular products. Every 12th vehicle was a CUCV when we were building those.

They were a little tricky (naturally) due to the added content. I had a diminutive lady that installed the batteries on the LH side of the line. She was supposed to do the battery in the CUCV but couldn't reach. After a while she wouldn't even try; My left side repair man (or me) ended up installing every one of those batteries until she could be moved to a different job more consistent with her strengths and limitations.

Also - the camo paint jobs on those - are standardized. They had the pattern hanging in the paint booth as a reference while spraying the various colors (green, tan) freehand.

Axle trim took place back in the axle bay, just like the commercial products. Front and rear axles were received at the rear of the plant (complete from hub to hub) and hung on a conveyor, in sequence. Axles were trimmed out by adding brake lines, shocks and selecting the appropriate drive shaft (per the build manifest) and hanging them on the same carrier.

We had a library of "wrong" tires on hand at the tire installation point. That way if axles got out of sequence, or a wrong axle installed, the corresponding wrong tire/wheel could be installed to keep the line running and the vehicle would be repaired out back.

Same with the frames. Frames were built up in the plant by adding the frame rails to a "pedestal line", which moved the material but also functioned as an assembly squaring fixture. Crossmembers were built up and added to these rails on the pedestal, along with body mount brackets, spring brackets and any other components that got riveted to the rail. After the frames were viable they were suspended by chains, upside down, until the springs and axles were secured. At that point they were flipped right side up to continue the rest of the process. The CUCV frames were fed into this flow just like everything else.

Prior to 1981 the mechanically attached trim (including the tailgate band) was added in the various trim shops (front end sheetmetal subassembly build, and cab/box trim on the main trim line). In 1981, when the adhesive side trim was introduced, it was installed on the final line using aluminum fixtures in an attempt to get it all on straight. It took a little while to dial in the right process of alcohol wipe, heat and pressure in order to get the moldings to stay on. For a while there you could see those adhesive moldings stuck along the roadway and on the guard rails up and down I-75 and I-69.


I've been told multiple times I should write a book but always related to the funny stories and anecdotes. A restoration guide is a little different nuance than has been mentioned before.

K

[Ski-me]

Thanks Keith....very cool.

I don't know a ton about the CUCV's but were they outfitted with 3/4 ton running gear? Specifically the Blazer? Compared to the standardly equipped 1/2 ton running gear?

Frame strength the same?

I believe they were 24V (where second battery was noted above).

[kipps]

Keith,

I don't quite understand your last comment about the tug in the picture. Had someone just abandoned it at the end of their shift, and it's now in the way for the next shift?

How much did the assembly workers get shifted around to keep the job interesting? By time he retires, would a fellow have worked nearly every aspect of assembly, or would he have spent the whole 30 years installing door handles?

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by kipps

Keith,

I don't quite understand your last comment about the tug in the picture. Had someone just abandoned it at the end of their shift, and it's now in the way for the next shift?

No - in the photo above the tug is sitting next to the line (between the pickup line and the main aisle) and is staged and ready to go if and when needed.

Originally Posted by kipps

How much did the assembly workers get shifted around to keep the job interesting? By time he retires, would a fellow have worked nearly every aspect of assembly, or would he have spent the whole 30 years installing door handles?

Pretty much everything was/is seniority based.

When we start up a new line, or a new shift in an existing plant, management has the ability to place workers where they think they will be a good fit. After that, if a worker wants to put in for a different job, or a better job with the commensurate pay increase, he can apply and if he has more seniority than the other person he can get that job.

Some folks were happy were they were, even if it was a tough job. My fender set guys tended to stay in that spot for a long time (which is good). Other folks would try to move to a repair job, or quality man, or even a driver out back, to try to get away from being tied directly to the assembly line.

K

[TKCR]

I always enjoy reading these posts about the assembly line, and of course the pics too. I can relate to the assembly line work, since I also work in an auto factory. I only have 10 months to go before retirement, at that time I will have been there for 30 years. Assembly line work takes a toll on the body.

I have to say, I get the biggest kick out of the tugger pic. GM had this back all those years ago. Where I work, which I can't say, due to confidentiality concerns. Up until about 10 years ago, we had to physically push the "no starts" off the line.

My Dad worked for GM, Fisher Body in Columbus Ohio. Worked there for 35 yrs. so I guess you can say that automobiles runs in our blood. One of his jobs, was making the tailgate band for the trucks. I never knew this, until I bought my 86 Chevy. The first time he came to see it, is when he told me about some of the parts he made for the trucks. Now I am most proud of the tailgate band I have.

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by TKCR

My Dad worked for GM, Fisher Body in Columbus Ohio. Worked there for 35 yrs. so I guess you can say that automobiles runs in our blood. One of his jobs, was making the tailgate band for the trucks. I never knew this, until I bought my 86 Chevy. The first time he came to see it, is when he told me about some of the parts he made for the trucks. Now I am most proud of the tailgate band I have.

My dad worked at Chevrolet Flint Manufacturing (Pressed Metal Division) so he made valve covers, oil pans, air cleaners, radiator supports, fuel tanks, etc for cars and trucks. He was there for 26 years before moving into a Central Office engineering position for his last 6 years.

By submitting ideas through the Suggestion Program he made enough money off of the '65/66 truck grilles to pay cash for our new '69 GMC stepside.

K

[Greenlee]

Originally Posted by Ski-me

Thanks Keith....very cool.

I don't know a ton about the CUCV's but were they outfitted with 3/4 ton running gear? Specifically the Blazer? Compared to the standardly equipped 1/2 ton running gear?

Frame strength the same?

I believe they were 24V (where second battery was noted above).

Having owned a few of these, I believe all the Blazer’s were 1/2 ton and the pickups are 1 ton. That’s what makes the CUCV pickups so desirable. I have a buddy who put the 1 ton running gear under a Blazer and that thing is a beast!