who is to blame

[Coupeguy2001]

for all of you guys out there grumbling about door and fender gaps on the task force trucks, I found the culprits.
here is a shot of the two guys putting the cabs together without measuring.
Notice that the cab they are working on does not have the top of the cab welded on, only the inner liner.

[Coupeguy2001]

Then there's this guy trying to figure out what went wrong. Looks like his stuff is pretty well aligned.

[joedoh]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irZelZxvElI#t=7.5s

[MARTINSR]

LOLOL, yep you caught them in the act!

I work on cars every day, late model cars and have been doing body work for 40 years, the change has been WILD!

When I stop to think how easy it is to bolt together a late model car, it is crazy easy!

I can get a 2012 car in my stall at noon. The complete front end is off, fenders, hood, hinges, everything. The doors are disassembled with handles, mouldings, glass out of them, There are no bumpers front or rear, the cars body is half taken apart. I can get that thing back together and on the wash rack to be delivered by 4:30! Everything aligned perfectly, door gaps that would take days to get on a '55 Chevy. It's crazy how different then are!

Brian

[iowaboynca]

love this archived stuff!
on a side note...
I think it was on Kevin Tetz's new gig that he walk through a car show/swap meeting showing how bad the gaps were on 70's cars, let alone 50's period cars and trucks.

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by Coupeguy2001

for all of you guys out there grumbling about door and fender gaps on the task force trucks, I finally found the culprits.
here is a shot of the two guys putting the cabs together without measuring.
Notice that the cab they are working on does not have the top of the cab welded on, only the inner liner.

In all seriousness - truck cabs are normally "framed" in a series of fixures, or "gates". After they are squared up they are moved on down the line to a "re-spot" operation where the (intentionally) missed gaps in the weld locations are filled in.

This looks like it might be "re-spot" operation.

Was there any documentation about which assembly plant is shown here?

K

[mr48chev]

You can see the differences by the major model changes over the years as far as fit and finish go. I've had AD, TF, Mid 60's early and then mid 70's trucks and the fit and finish improved with each design change. Get into the my son has (before he beat it to death) and the finish is ten times better than even my step father's 54 was in the early 60's.

Add to that we are tackling AD or TF trucks that took everything that people threw at them for 60 years plus that the elements did to them and trying to make them perfect.

[Hilljack51]

That's one of my biggest pet peeves, especially on a restored truck. If you're gonna take the time to restore a truck, at least make sure all of the gaps are right. Cool pics, thanks for sharing.

[Task Force Era]

This is sweet! Hahaha

[Coupeguy2001]

Kieth, I do not know which plant, I have a book that documents a lot of the trucks and some of the manufacturing operations.
Mostly they are GM advertising/sales photos.
These are just a couple in that book.

About 30 years ago, I bought the book at Golden state pickup parts when they were in Santa Barbara, CA. The owner of the place put together a book of pictures and various comments about 55-59 chevy trucks.

It was an impulse buy at $10, especially when I actually could have used the $10 in parts more.
I have enjoyed that book for it's pictures and data for years.

I was living in Burbank, CA at the time, and made the "long" 2 hour trip in my truck.
(307 cu. in. engine, 3 speed, and 4.11:1 rear) Believe me, that engine screaming under the hood at 60 mph with no sound deadening or carpet on the floorboards was LOUD. I think that was still the time when the national speed limit was 55. Don't remember exactly, but I think it lasted about 10 years.

I did that to remind myself what parts I needed and then after leaving the store, I knew I would start the thing up and go "oh yeah, I need one of those." Then go back and get that last thing.
I bought a new NOS steering wheel for $50 as the last thing I needed, and it is still on the truck. They had gotten 150 of them, and they had 22 left when I got mine.

At that time, they had a deal with a chrome shop to warrant every chrome piece they sold, for life.
I have gotten 3 grilles out of them and 2 front bumpers over the years till the business got sold.
Don't think they have that guarantee anymore.
They are now Golden State Parts in Carson City, Nevada. Obviously, the ownership isn't the same anymore.

[oilslicktg]

We should know how it was back in those day's "Hurry hurry , faster faster, it looks good, just get it done", Hell that sound like my Boss today.

[_Ogre]

Originally Posted by Hilljack51

That's one of my biggest pet peeves, especially on a restored truck. If you're gonna take the time to restore a truck, at least make sure all of the gaps are right. Cool pics, thanks for sharing.

the gaps on these trucks weren't right from the factory, they were good enough for a truck
technically if you restore a truck the gaps should be all over the place

the top pic was a laugh, i've worked installing conveyors in body shops all over the country
other than forklift drivers, it's all robots now in the body shop
humans screw everything down in final assembly

[OrrieG]

My gaps will be the same as when it came from the factory, no metal added or taken away.