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#1 |
go cyclones
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Ames, IA
Posts: 1,885
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Glove Box Deep Thoughts
So last night I needed to take me glove box apart to get to my radio and improve on how some of my wires are routed. While taking the cardboard insert out it dawned on me that somebody back in 1967 was hired to install these origami creations. Some recent high school grad was interviewed, in-processed and put to work almost 45 years ago with the sole purpose to install glove boxes. I began to ponder about what other crap jobs people started out on while building these rigs. I’m sure that putting in the HVAC lines and wires in the dash would have been a pain. Just think of all that newly stamped metal in the dash and how it would cut up your forearms as you try to weave it in place according to the assembly manual.
Take a step back in the manufacturing process and head over to where they formed all the metal for the frame and body. I’m sure a part of the stamping line wasn’t the safest place to work. I remember my first time in a larger factory and walking through an area with several 600 ton presses were set up in a line. One of the operators had a claw in place of his arm, an arm that he had lost on a similar press years ago. Or the foundry where the engines, transmissions, and transfer cases where cast. There was no OSHA back then, the only regulation back then were your foreman and his quotas. Sitting there in my passenger seat I just wondered where in the hierarchy of all the jobs and tasks required to assembly these trucks did the glove box installer rank. Because sitting there trying to remove that intractable piece of formed cardboard I was cussing up a storm. |
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#2 |
Special Order
![]() ![]() Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Mt Airy, MD
Posts: 85,859
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Re: Glove Box Deep Thoughts
I don't know,but I talked a good bit this weekend with a fellow who installed these windshields starting in '69. I learned some good stuff from him. Ponder on...
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"BUILDING A BETTER WAY TO SERVE THE USA"......67/72......"The New Breed" GMC '67 C1500 Wideside Super Custom SWB: 327/M22/3.42 posi.........."The '67" (project) GMC '72 K2500 Wideside Sierra Custom Camper: 350/TH350/4.10 Power-Lok..."The '72" (rolling) Tim "Don't call me a redneck. I'm a rough cut country gentleman" R.I.P. ~ East Side Low Life ~ El Jay ~ 72BLUZ ~ Fasteddie69 ~ Ron586 ~ 67ChevyRedneck ~ Grumpy Old Man ~ |
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#3 |
454 MAKES IT ROAR
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Essex, U.K
Posts: 2,701
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Re: Glove Box Deep Thoughts
I liked that story Wes, very descriptive....reading your ponderings had me transported back in time to the assembly line
![]() Now, did you get the thing done or you just sat there day dreaming...?? ![]()
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Nigel. An American living in a British body. 1971 Chevy Cheyenne 10 454 "In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act." - George Orwell "When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty" - Thomas Jefferson No more pain. 03.12.60 -- 12.28.10 http://www.youtube.com/Eightbanger Last edited by eightbanger; 08-11-2011 at 02:06 PM. |
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#4 |
Registered User
![]() Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Hermiston, OR
Posts: 947
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Re: Glove Box Deep Thoughts
Your post reminded me of a video I watched recently, enjoy.
"How to build a 1936 chevy". http://www.dump.com/2011/07/15/fasci...ly-line-video/
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Running in place gets you nowhere fast. -me 1968 GTO 4-spd covnvertible 1970 K-20 4-speed, factory AC. |
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#5 | |
go cyclones
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Ames, IA
Posts: 1,885
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Re: Glove Box Deep Thoughts
Quote:
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#6 |
Account Suspended
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: hingham ma
Posts: 1,721
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Re: Glove Box Deep Thoughts
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#7 |
VA72C10
![]() Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Midlothian, VA
Posts: 25,269
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Re: Glove Box Deep Thoughts
Great post and I love watching that video every time I see it. American ingenuity at its' finest....
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Looking for a 67-72 swb or blazer project in or around VA. ![]() |
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#8 | |
Registered User
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Center City, MN, USA
Posts: 3,254
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Re: Glove Box Deep Thoughts
Quote:
Did you notice how when the two assembly line workers installed the grill it took two of them and it looked quite heavy? Like the radiator was in there? Back in the late 80s we had a 1936 Packard in the shop I worked at. It was one of those restorations where the rich guy brings it here for mechanical work. There for body and paint. There for engine. There for tranny. Then brags about how "HE" restored it. Anyways we had to get the radiator out of the car. I was pretty sure they built the car around the radiator. This 1936 Chevy line proves it for the Chevrolets that year. I bet Packard did the same thing. We ended up calling a mechanic who worked for the owner's dad who owned the place back in the 50s. Without the 70+ year old former mechanic the owner of that car would be still "restoring" it.
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'70 cab, '71 chassis, 383, TH350, NP205. '71 Malibu convertible '72 Malibu hard top Center City, MN |
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#9 |
Registered User
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Olympia, WA
Posts: 736
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Re: Glove Box Deep Thoughts
The machines and assembly line that move it....wow! And thats back before my father! In risk of getting slapped on the wrist....I think Boeing and the Dreamliner project should watch this! Great video....and yes...ponder on!
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#10 | |
Registered User
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Center City, MN, USA
Posts: 3,254
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Re: Glove Box Deep Thoughts
Quote:
My grandfather lost his farm along with everybody else in the great depression. He then moved his family up to St. Paul. After high school my dad was lucky enough to land a job at the St. Paul Ford Assembly plant. With nothing but a high school diploma in his pocket he was assigned to hanging rear ends in the car with another guy. According to my dad this other guy smelled really bad. When my dad asked him about it the guy said he could take three showers a day and still smell like that. Remember back then a guy could get a job like that, keep his nose clean, and have a nice life and good retirement benefits. But would you want to work with a smelly guy for 40 years? A couple weeks working like that had my dad looking at trade school real hard. With his trade school electricians training behind him he moved to the electrical department at the Ford plant where he stayed - except for a tour of Korea - with the company for 42 years. Watching that video and thinking of automobile assembly line jobs made me remember that story. When I see a video like the 1936 Chevy line I think of all those paychecks going out to the surrounding community. Think of all those houses that weren't in foreclosure. Think of all those college educations for all those children. Think about that the next time you buy a Toyota or Honda or foreign brand car or foreign made part.
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'70 cab, '71 chassis, 383, TH350, NP205. '71 Malibu convertible '72 Malibu hard top Center City, MN |
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#11 | |
454 MAKES IT ROAR
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Essex, U.K
Posts: 2,701
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Re: Glove Box Deep Thoughts
Quote:
This video is fasinating on so many levels, heck WWII hadn't even happened when this was made.
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Nigel. An American living in a British body. 1971 Chevy Cheyenne 10 454 "In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act." - George Orwell "When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty" - Thomas Jefferson No more pain. 03.12.60 -- 12.28.10 http://www.youtube.com/Eightbanger |
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#12 | |
Registered User
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Weare,NH
Posts: 1,592
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Re: Glove Box Deep Thoughts
Quote:
Also many components in new GM or Ford vehicles are made outside this country, in Mexico or Canada or somewhere else, just like the "foreign" branded car. Think about that. |
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#13 |
454 MAKES IT ROAR
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Essex, U.K
Posts: 2,701
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Re: Glove Box Deep Thoughts
That's the real punch in the mouth...they've even got you building their s**t.
__________________
Nigel. An American living in a British body. 1971 Chevy Cheyenne 10 454 "In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act." - George Orwell "When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty" - Thomas Jefferson No more pain. 03.12.60 -- 12.28.10 http://www.youtube.com/Eightbanger |
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#14 | |
Registered User
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Center City, MN, USA
Posts: 3,254
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Re: Glove Box Deep Thoughts
Quote:
I also wondered if that particular plant made airplanes or tanks or jeeps 5 years after those '36 Chevys rolled off the end of the line. I'll have to ask my dad but I think St. Paul made tanks.
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'70 cab, '71 chassis, 383, TH350, NP205. '71 Malibu convertible '72 Malibu hard top Center City, MN |
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#15 |
~Rest In Peace~
Join Date: May 2005
Location: CALIFORNIA NOR CAL
Posts: 9,707
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Re: Glove Box Deep Thoughts
a few years later the women were doing the work for ww2 on planes and cars and ammo.
shipping yards
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is it fast ? it has a lighting bolt donut? B___H please, I can remove 90% of your so called "beauty" with a kleenex |
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#16 |
Registered User
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: newbury park california
Posts: 1,038
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Re: Glove Box Deep Thoughts
My wife's dad used to run a buffer at a gm plant that weighed 90 pounds all day and he was just out of high school then went to ww2 as a waste gunner on a b17 and walked around his whole life with metal in his lower legs from the flack that they flew through on the way to and from germany! These men did their jobs and very seldom talked about it. Just a very solid generation of people. Who we loose at a rate of 1,300 per month. read that fact a year or two ago and it makes me very sad and very proud. the vid was great to see thank you very much for posting it. cheers, Pat
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#17 | |
Simple? What's simple?
![]() Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Southeast CT
Posts: 1,472
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Re: Glove Box Deep Thoughts
Quote:
Plus, statistically, only something like 35% of the cost of a car actually goes to pay for the parts and labor. The balance goes to the corporation. At the end of the day, I feel better driving a Chevrolet that was assembled in Mexico, because the better half of the money I spent stays right here at home. That "US Built" Honda or Toyota is still paying for some CEO's salary in Japan. :2cents:
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CURRENT '50 GMC 100 shortbed Gen IV 4.8 LS - 4L65E (Secret truck, Shhh!!!) Build '63 Buick Wildcat Coupe 401ci Nailhead (Very much in pieces) Photos '66 Impala SS convertible 327-QJet-glide (4 speed swap one of these days...) Photos '69 CST/10 4x4 SWB Stepper 350 2bbl - NV4500/NP241C (Broken Truck!) '72 Sierra Grande 2WD LWB fleetside 350-TH350 Refresh '99 K2500 Silverado RCLB 5.7 Vortec - NV4500/NP241C (Daily) '99 K2500 Suburban 7.4 Vortec - NV4500/NP246 (still working out the bugs) SOLD '71 Custom/10 2WD LWB fleetside - '72 GMC K/3500 Dually (Sold to redryder) |
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#18 |
Account Suspended
![]() Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Southern UT
Posts: 906
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Re: Glove Box Deep Thoughts
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#19 |
RAT1968 '68 Cab/'71 Parts
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: Coarsegold, CA
Posts: 2,375
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Re: Glove Box Deep Thoughts
The vid made me, too, ponder.
I thought about the ballet that those guys moved out on the line. Each worker depending on one another to get all their respective jobs done. I thought about the intense minds that the people who designed those machines must have had.....and how THEY must have had an artful method of working with the designers to make changes to those machines every time the end-product changed. It made me proud that we, as Americans, had honest livings to be made with our hands AND minds....and I know it made the folks that were sweating brimming with pride to both be on the team, and to deliver quality. The "Old Guy" in me says that when we started measuring everything with dollar bills instead of integrity and loyalty....well, things started to be different. Send the kids off to college and they come back wanting to wear a white shirt and tie and drive an Italian sports car..... I got a fix for the whole thing: 1) Bring back the manufacturing sector. 2) Buy American. Seem too simple? Yup. It is.
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M17 Coarsegold, CA RAT's shiny now. But always a rat. |
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#20 | |
454 MAKES IT ROAR
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Essex, U.K
Posts: 2,701
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Re: Glove Box Deep Thoughts
Quote:
__________________
Nigel. An American living in a British body. 1971 Chevy Cheyenne 10 454 "In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act." - George Orwell "When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty" - Thomas Jefferson No more pain. 03.12.60 -- 12.28.10 http://www.youtube.com/Eightbanger |
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#21 |
Registered User
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: The land of fruits and nuts
Posts: 193
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Re: Glove Box Deep Thoughts
This all reminds me of the best book EVER. It is by John Jerome, and it is titled "Truck." If Hemingway worked on cars, he would have written this book--it is that good. It is a book full of philosophical meanderings, glove box ponderings and life philosophizing.
How can you argue with a book that starts, "Hauling cow-**** one load at a time is terribly inefficient. I need a truck." After that, he undergoes the adventure of restoring a truck. Buy it from Amazon: ![]()
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Have mercy, I'm recovering from my 4x4 addiction. ![]() |
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#22 |
Registered User
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: south dakota
Posts: 1,893
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Re: Glove Box Deep Thoughts
great thread and video of assembly line. ......
and I do not think True competion from Toyota,Honda and others ever hurt US automakers. it only made them better. jmo
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eat,work,spend,sleep,repeat. Last edited by prairewolf; 08-14-2011 at 06:45 AM. Reason: spelling |
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#23 |
Registered User
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Garland,TX
Posts: 431
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Re: Glove Box Deep Thoughts
I remember going to the Arlington GM plant for a tour 8 years ago. All I could think of was how inefficiently their assembly line set-ups were. I remember wondering how a company could stay afloat with so much wasted labor. I saw one lady who's sole purpose was to make a few connections on the interior harness, there was these other two guys who did some sort of quality check on an almost complete truck. Whatever these two guys did was so useless that had time to play Madden on their PS2 in between vehicles...
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#24 | |
454 MAKES IT ROAR
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Essex, U.K
Posts: 2,701
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Re: Glove Box Deep Thoughts
Quote:
__________________
Nigel. An American living in a British body. 1971 Chevy Cheyenne 10 454 "In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act." - George Orwell "When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty" - Thomas Jefferson No more pain. 03.12.60 -- 12.28.10 http://www.youtube.com/Eightbanger |
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#25 | |
Registered User
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Weare,NH
Posts: 1,592
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Re: Glove Box Deep Thoughts
Quote:
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