Have you ever seen the original build sheets...both of them?

[factorystock]

Mine is a puzzle, now in a zip lock bag. Completely came apart in 100 pcs. At least I could read the build date 3-1-65 and dealer Cochran and Celli 12 St. Oakland CA. A little history on dealer. https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/103710653/

[gmcdeadhead]

why did they put them in the seat anyway?

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by gmcdeadhead

why did they put them in the seat anyway?

Well – let me try this again –

Originally Posted by Keith Seymore

I see this point has not been made yet, so I do want to clarify something:

The build sheets were not "provided", in the sense of being left intentionally as an Easter Egg for enthusiasts or service technicians to find.

They were supposed to be thrown away at the end of the line, along with any other ancillary paperwork, coffee cups, extra fasteners and debris. However, since many were inaccessible after the build was complete it was often easier to leave them where they lay and build the vehicle up around them. That's why you often find them with sealer sprayed over the top or with a screw shot through them. That's also why you can find the build sheets for two different vehicles in the same car or truck, the wrong build sheet in the vehicle in front or behind the one you thought you had, or no build sheet at all.

They were used any place where the component was built up remotely and conveyed to the main line in sequence. That's why you often find them inside the seats (seats were built up in a separate location, called "the cushion room", due to fire concerns), on top of the fuel tank, under the carpet, etc.

K

They didn’t “put them in the seat”, the operative words being "put" and “in”. More like "leave" and “on”, with the seat growing up organically around it (ie, "Why did they leave them on the seat anyway?).

These remote areas of the plant could be (physically) a mile away, or a couple hundred units ahead of where the component would be placed in the vehicle. As such, the guys in the cushion room, or the motor line, or the front end sheet metal build area, or the chassis line would have no idea what content to build up; in other words you couldn’t simply look at the vehicle and say “oh – I need a red one”*. Seats, in particular, had multiple trim levels, with or without extra cushioning, bench vs bucket, and cloth or vinyl covers in several different colors. The build sheet was provided to the assemblers as a reference so that they would know which parts (often being told by part number, or some portion of the part number, or a representative “broadcast code”) to install.

Often the build sheet would be hung in a specific place on the conveyor (like on a clipboard), or, sometimes would simply be placed on the product, like on top of the fuel tank or above the seat springs. As the product was assembled the components were layered above the previous parts (and the build sheet) until fully assembled. Viola! The build sheet is now an integral part of the seat.

The build sheet/manifests were printed in the "Print office" (...naturally...) and then were distributed throughout the plant prior to the production shift by a courier from the Insepction/Reliability office. You might note the paper was "tractor driven" by the little holes on the side and sheets connected together - it was distributed in this form to the necessary spots like the beginning of the engine line, transmission pick, start of body shop, start of the chassis line, crossmember build, axle line, seat build (ie "cushion room"), tire and wheel, etc. Those individuals would tear off the individual sheets and hang them on the carrier as they chose the correct component (based on the broadcast code) and that started the "build sheet" down the line (the build sheet that is often found in the vehicle today).

Additionally, there were some "special" operators that got a whole build manifest packet, left together, to assist them with their day. One example would be the guy that installed the M20 shift lever/boot. Prior to the shift he would sit at the picnic table, coffee and cigarette in hand, take his packet of build sheets and scan through every page, circling with his red crayon any "M20" equipped vehicles that were scheduled for the day. Based on this information he would build up the appropriate number of shift lever/boot/knob assemblies and hang them on his rack, and then seek out those vehicles by build sequence number to make his installation. Since he used hand tools he was not tied to a particular spot on the line via an air hose, so he could - and would -work as far up the line as he chose (all the way up to body drop). He also installed the U01 cab running lights: he needed to know which vehicles required his services (so he could be on the lookout for them) and he did so via the build manifest. Those packets were thrown away at the end of the day.

So - all in all - there were maybe 8 to 10 build sheets floating around in and on the vehicle during the build in the assembly plant. It is somewhat amazing we don't all find two or three in every vehicle.


*Incidentally, the assembler has to trust the build sheet/manifest completely, because they do not have the physical vehicle to refer to. If a mistake is made or the line gets out of sequence, it suddenly gets very obvious on the final line when you have to put a purple fender on a red truck, or a six lug wheel on a five lug axle. This is why it is so easy to build a truck that is a Chevy on one side and a GMC on the other.

In the pictures below you can see the build sheet hanging on the side of the engine, or above the engine cradle on the carrier. Imagine if the build sheet was left inside the engine, like they did with the seat!

The white square you see hanging on the front of the chassis is the build sheet, for easy reference. At the time of this last photo (start of 2013 model year) the Chevy Volt was GM's "moonshot" vehicle - and it was/is still built with a piece of paper hanging off the front: the build sheet.

[aotte1]

Keith,

Great information, thanks.

Les

[The Rocknrod]

I love reading the Factory Assembly Line stories.

[Keith Seymore]

Thanks guys; it’s hard to know how much to share so your comments are helpful.

You can see the build sheet hanging off of the front bumper of this pick up truck as it leaves the final line.

[factorystock]

Originally Posted by Keith Seymore

They didn’t “put them in the seat”, the operative words being "put" and “in”. More like "leave" and “on”, with the seat growing up organically around it (ie, "Why did they leave them on the seat anyway?).

Thanks for your input on the subject. It seems the bottom of the seat would be a convenient place to read the options going down the line, however most all build sheets we find 60-66 pickups are placed UPSIDE DOWN. Only logical reason I can think of is the cushion people didn't want to cover up such valuable info and flipped it over? I rather they put it into the glove box at that point, but that's water under the bridge.

[studeclunker]

Well gosh, thanks for starting this thread! I didn't know about all of this. Checked the glove box and the tag is still taped inside the door. Vin matches too. If my truck has the original seat, I wouldn't know. It matches the two-tone silver paint scheme. Or what's left does. No tag in the seat-back. Then again, not much in the way of the burlap left either, so no surprise.

Thanks for the info!