Intro from an old Assembly Plant guy

[Keith Seymore]

Today marks the start of my 33rd year with General Motors; It was 33 years ago today I walked through the doors at Chevrolet Flint Assembly and the rest, as they say, is history (...except the stuff that hasn't happened yet. That wouldn't be history - lol).

So - I celebrated by going to a Pontiac car show yesterday. Beautiful weather and lots of nice cars.

First time in many years that it did not rain during this event. I had been waiting to do this, so it was my first opportunity to display the GTO hooked to the Grand Prix by using the old towbar. My brother in law also brought the Lemans convertible down making it the first time all the family Pontiacs had been in the same place since dad passed away.





Link to the full compliment of car show photos is here:

http://forums.performanceyears.com/f...d.php?t=700643

K

[wyattglock]

Congratulations!

[Car'n'Guitars]

Very neat.

[wyattglock]

Sorry to hear about your friend. Sounds like he was a good man, God knows we need more of them.
The pics of your truck at the dealership are very cool!
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[beamn7]

Very sorry for the loss of your Friend Keith. Very Very nice that his wishes were carried out for him. I think that would choke almost any of us up....

[1985-GMC]

Sorry to hear about your friend. I like his request, very cool.

[V30 mongo]

Two questions to someone who might know..... On most K/V30's I have looked at there is a hole in the front cross member, drivers side. I enlarged this hole to run the PTO shaft fowards to power front mounted winch. Also, the transfer case cross mount has this "arch' in it's construction. Were these features placed there for PTO shaft clearance or for a diffrent purpose?

[86454k30]

The hole in the front crossmember was where the oil cooler lines that were an option on these trucks. I don't believe the "S" style crossmember had a purpose.

[Telecasterjoey]

Thanks for the hitch info Keith! I'm on a mission to build one!
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[JAA]

Keith, I am sorry it has taken me this long to get to this thread. It is great to read all these stories and to see the work you have put in on your truck. I am a member of performance years forum as well, so as soon as I saw this thread, I knew it would a good read. I haven't been on performance years in a while, since I sold my Trans Am. It's good to see you over here sharing your knowledge. After reading all of this, it seems to me, after you retire, you need to write a book! "The Memoirs of an Old Assembly Plant Guy" (And yes you can steal my idea for the title. )

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by JAA

Keith, I am sorry it has taken me this long to get to this thread. It is great to read all these stories and to see the work you have put in on your truck. I am a member of performance years forum as well, so as soon as I saw this thread, I knew it would a good read. I haven't been on performance years in a while, since I sold my Trans Am. It's good to see you over here sharing your knowledge. After reading all of this, it seems to me, after you retire, you need to write a book! "The Memoirs of an Old Assembly Plant Guy" (And yes you can steal my idea for the title. )

Thank you; for a title I'm actually leaning towards "Some Assembly Required"...

(lol)

K

[Squareforceone]

Well happy birthday to red and your son Joseph

[Hulk Will Smash]

Happy birthday to your truck and your son (my boy's b-day was Sunday)!

Quick question... We're these trucks designed with "crumple zones" like modern cars?

I've noticed a couple of things when these trucks get wadded up... Lots of damage and less injuries. Back in 1990, I hit a dodge box van that blew a stop sign at about 50 with my first square ('77 C20 crew) and absolutely destroyed both trucks but walked away without a scratch. All the recent wreck threads got me thinking about it again.
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[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by Hulk Will Smash

Happy birthday to your truck and your son (my boy's b-day was Sunday)!

Quick question... We're these trucks designed with "crumple zones" like modern cars?

I've noticed a couple of things when these trucks get wadded up... Lots of damage and less injuries. Back in 1990, I hit a dodge box van that blew a stop sign at about 50 with my first square ('77 C20 crew) and absolutely destroyed both trucks but walked away without a scratch. All the recent wreck threads got me thinking about it again.
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Not so much. The front frame horns and bumpers and bracketry are all pretty rigid. We spent a lot of time on the GMT800 and the 2003 mid cycle enhancement to get those bumpers and frames to crush in a linear fashion but not on the R/V trucks.

The only caveat would be the "fuse" in the hinge, which when coupled with the bolt at the base of the windshield allows the hood to bend in the middle. I don't recall if there are comparable zones in the front fenders.

K

[Hulk Will Smash]

Thanks! Seemed like pretty progressive thinking for the late 60s and early 70s if so. I'll take it as dumb luck and knock on wood again!
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[tylervalo]

You bought up in another thread that the vent windows made noise even when new, what other issues or problems did these truck have brand new that would never be allowed today?

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by tylervalo

You bought up in another thread that the vent windows made noise even when new, what other issues or problems did these truck have brand new that would never be allowed today?

Funny you should ask that, because I was just reviewing in my head the "mental list" of things we knew ahead of time that we would need to repair for show trucks or media vehicles:

a) Fix wind noise (vent window and any other)
b) Vector and balance tire and wheel assemblies
c) System balance driveline
d) Fit doors in the opening, as well as fender to door fits and hood fits (as well as adjust closing efforts)
e) Smooth and polish the paint to eliminate or minimize orange peel
f) Anything else we discovered while riding/driving the vehicles

Sadly - I think we would probably still have to do most of those, with the exception of fit/finish (and probably wind noise). The tooling was so old on our trucks, and the fixturing so primitive, that the fits we allowed back then would never fly today.

K

[tylervalo]

Originally Posted by Keith Seymore

Funny you should ask that, because I was just reviewing in my head the "mental list" of things we knew ahead of time that we would need to repair for show trucks or media vehicles:

a) Fix wind noise (vent window and any other)
b) Vector and balance tire and wheel assemblies
c) System balance driveline
d) Fit doors in the opening, as well as fender to door fits and hood fits (as well as adjust closing efforts)
e) Smooth and polish the paint to eliminate or minimize orange peel
f) Anything else we discovered while riding/driving the vehicles

Sadly - I think we would probably still have to do most of those, with the exception of fit/finish (and probably wind noise). The tooling was so old on our trucks, and the fixturing so primitive, that the fits we allowed back then would never fly today.

K

I think those flaws just add to the truck, plus the built in advantage of being able to say "it was like that from the factory" whenever someone asked about a flaw
I have always notice the a-pillar to fender gap just doesn't look right on some trucks.
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[oldtek]

Originally Posted by Keith Seymore

Funny you should ask that, because I was just reviewing in my head the "mental list" of things we knew ahead of time that we would need to repair for show trucks or media vehicles:

a) Fix wind noise (vent window and any other)
b) Vector and balance tire and wheel assemblies
c) System balance driveline
d) Fit doors in the opening, as well as fender to door fits and hood fits (as well as adjust closing efforts)
e) Smooth and polish the paint to eliminate or minimize orange peel
f) Anything else we discovered while riding/driving the vehicles

Sadly - I think we would probably still have to do most of those, with the exception of fit/finish (and probably wind noise). The tooling was so old on our trucks, and the fixturing so primitive, that the fits we allowed back then would never fly today.

K

How old?

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by oldtek

How old?

Well, in a word: "ancient".

Keep in mind this truck was conceived and designed in the late 60's/early 70's, so the actual component design and assembly tooling/fixtures/processes are all technology from that time frame.

Also - it was an era when passenger car design changed significantly every year (trucks every 4 years or so), so to build the same parts from 1973 - 1987 (or 1991) was beyond anyone's wildest imaginations.

In fact, when we quit making the C/K/R/V Suburban we were still using a wooden forming tool (a "temporary" tool!) to make some of the sheetmetal parts in the rear of the body.

K

[J Knight]

Hey Keith, I hope you dont mind me asking this in your thread but both of my wheel tubs in my bed have these plugs in them that apear to be factory. I also have these exact same plugs in the floor pans under the carpet that I noticed when I redid my interior, in the floor pic there are 2 of them by the console bracket. Do you know what these are put in the wheel tubs for? Ive never seen them there before. (82 Chevy)

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by J Knight

Hey Keith, I hope you dont mind me asking this in your thread but both of my wheel tubs in my bed have these plugs in them that apear to be factory. I also have these exact same plugs in the floor pans under the carpet that I noticed when I redid my interior, in the floor pic there are 2 of them by the console bracket. Do you know what these are put in the wheel tubs for? Ive never seen them there before. (82 Chevy)

I'm not sure why they would be in the wheel tubs (my '87 does not have them).

Usually they are to plug an access hole, the hole being there for tooling access, spray wand for anti rust spray application, or an ELPO drain hole.

None of those reasons really apply to the wheel tub, though.

K

[J Knight]

Originally Posted by Keith Seymore

I'm not sure why they would be in the wheel tubs (my '87 does not have them).

Usually they are to plug an access hole, the hole being there for tooling access, spray wand for anti rust spray application, or an ELPO drain hole.

None of those reasons really apply to the wheel tub, though.

K

Thanks for the reply, I've seen hundreds of these trucks and I'm sure you've seen thousands but never once til now have I seen these plugs on the wheel tubs. The only thing I can think of is possibly the PO might have had a camper on the back at one time and had the holes for draining something then stuck those plugs in when it was removed. Other than that I don't have a clue.
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[Walts_restoration]

Originally Posted by J Knight

Thanks for the reply, I've seen hundreds of these trucks and I'm sure you've seen thousands but never once til now have I seen these plugs on the wheel tubs. The only thing I can think of is possibly the PO might have had a camper on the back at one time and had the holes for draining something then stuck those plugs in when it was removed. Other than that I don't have a clue.
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My 83 has these on the bed. I have seen one other truck I think that had them.

[J Knight]

Originally Posted by Walts_restoration

My 83 has these on the bed. I have seen one other truck I think that had them.

I was begining to think a PO put them in. Still puzzled as to why they are there though.