Intro from an old Assembly Plant guy

[rod86]

wow keith, what a post.. welcome from australia, you probly seen my truck get built and now its on the other side of the planet...

[3r!c84]

wow what a job!....=]
do you have any pics of the line of trucks being built?

[78 Big10 454]

Keith: Welcome from smoky SoCal. Very impressive resume. You'll be an asset to us all.

[bigblock73]

Keith, welcome to the board. Loved reading your introduction, the photos are cool too!

You may have seen these...heck, you may even be in one of the pics..but here are some pics GM sent me a couple years ago. Might bring back memories!

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

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by bigblock73

Keith, welcome to the board. Loved reading your introduction, the photos are cool too!

You may have seen these...heck, you may even be in one of the pics..but here are some pics GM sent me a couple years ago. Might bring back memories!

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

BB73 - Those are some great photos!

I didn't see anybody I knew, but they do bring back some memories. I'll share some thoughts you all might find interesting if I may:

Photo 1: Line 1 motor set (b&w). You can tell it's Line 1 (the pickup line) because of the V6 engine, which was not available in Blazer/Suburban, and because of the side-saddle fuel tank (also unique to pickup). This was a very "physically intense" and critical job, so you wanted some strong boys who were willing to show up every day for that job.

You can see racks and racks of various material in the background; also note the brake master cylinder which is "slaved" in an upright position. The brakes were already evacuated, filled and tested by this point.

Photo 2: Line 1 motor set (color). Looks like a similar photo of the same location, but from the other side of the line. The yellow "chute" in the upper left is where the engines would come down from the overhead accumulator fed by the "motor line".

Photo 3: Motor line (color). This is not the start of the motor line but a location where the engines are coming down after crossing an aisle. The motors arrive in racks, with just the base engine present. After choosing the appropriate engine, the operator hangs it on the conveyor where the transmission, accessory drive, exhaust take downs, air cleaner, etc are installed as required. I don't recall for sure if carburetors/tbi units were already installed, but I do recall that spark plugs and wires were on there as received.

Photo 4: Frame line (color): You'll notice at this stage the frames are moving sideways (toward the camera). I should mention frames were received as individual side rails and crossmembers and then riveted together (on a "pedestal") as required. [Some of you might remember Ben Hamper, the author known as "The Rivethead". This is the area that he worked in]. After the frame is squared up it is hung on the chains that you see, upside down, to facilitate the installation of the front and rear suspension and axles. After those are installed it is rolled over, using a chain hoist (you want to give that operation some space, because the frames will dance around a bit when they slam over) and work on the topside progresses. You might notice in these pictures that the drive shaft is already installed and is supported at the front by a bungee cord. The operator will guide the shaft into the end of the trans at motor set.

[Keith Seymore]

Body shop (pics 5, 6 & 7): this is the "Line 2" body shop (Blazer, Suburban), located at the north end of the plant on the second floor. You can tell, not only because of the cab floor as shown, but because Line 2 was a very "manual" operation. Material was clamped in place in these big fixtures and then the individual operators would reach in there with their weld guns and hit the individual spots. They got very good at making the sparks fly in any direction at will and could easily melt holes in your stylish polyester pants or cardigan sweaters (lol).

The Line 1 cab shop, by comparison, was highly automated. Formed sheets of steel (fabricated individual parts) were fed into one end and finished, completed pickup cabs popped out the other. Cabs were built at over 70 jobs per hour (to feed the main/final line, which typically ran at 60 jobs per hour - that's one complete truck every minute). I should mention Line 2 was much slower, at 30 - 36 jobs per hour, and at a ratio of 1 Blazer followed by 2 Suburbans.

The Line 1 cab shop was located at the extreme south end of the plant, on the first floor, and had an "accumulator", or body bank, which could allow the paint and trim lines to run up to 8 hours in the event of a shut down in the cab shop (which was often).

[75gmc454]

That is a great story man. Welcome.

I think it would be nothing better than watching your own truck on the assembly line.

I see your truck has some unusual options. I have never heard of that trans option. I knew ford had a trans like that, because I have one, but not Chevrolet. (notice Chevy is capitalized). I have never seen one in a truck.
Also your truck has the tachometer. It is only the second truck that model I have seen with a tach. Nice. I love those 87's with the fuel injection. I am looking at one now to fix up.

We like all of those assembly plant stories.

Would love to hear about some of the more unusual options you saw go by while you were working on the 79-87 trucks.
--Clint

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by 75gmc454

That is a great story man. Welcome.

I think it would be nothing better than watching your own truck on the assembly line.

I see your truck has some unusual options. I have never heard of that trans option. I knew ford had a trans like that, because I have one, but not Chevrolet. (notice Chevy is capitalized). I have never seen one in a truck.
Also your truck has the tachometer. It is only the second truck that model I have seen with a tach. Nice. I love those 87's with the fuel injection. I am looking at one now to fix up.

We like all of those assembly plant stories.

Would love to hear about some of the more unusual options you saw go by while you were working on the 79-87 trucks.
--Clint

Re: option content - makes perfect sense to me, once you see where I was coming from. Dad had always ordered "base" trucks (ie, manual windows, stick shift, no air, vinyl floor covering, etc) so that's where I was heading with mine....until I found out I was moving to Arizona. Then it seemed like a good idea to have air!

I do recall there was some trickery with getting the tach. It was actually not available with my trans option, due to a bookkeeping error, but was available on the column mounted stick shift jobs. As a result, I knew it would fit and function, so I procurred one after the fact and retrofit it in myself. I noticed over the weekend when I had the cluster out that my wiring job, from 22 years ago, was still looking pretty good.

K

[boatpuller]

welcome aboard keith.i look forward to your insight on these trucks.i own one that i always wondered "what the heck were they thinking?"...a 2wd,short box diesel with a two piece driveline.somebody thought it was going to sell.but,as we know it didn't.good luck with your 87.

[f.monroe]

Wecome to the board from Tx . I read every word and I am a model for ADD. Great read and a neat story . Your trucks are definitely unique with the combos you ordered them with . Being an insider and knowing what was available sure helps . I would love to be able to watch a vehicle I ordered being built on the line . You had the opportunity to go a step farther by having a hand in on the build itself .
It sounds like you have a respect and admiration for the job and the employer . Lets hope that the company can pull through the times ahead and you can add to the story of your career with a hand in more GM vehicles .

Thanks for being a part of the thing that we here on this board all admire.
Frank

[keith61760]

Welcome to the boards! That is definitely a cool story and unique experiences. I would love to have met someone who built my 77. I have met Boeing Super Hornet builders and it has made the jets I work on more interesting.

[JohnC]

Welcome Keith. Like everyone said your story is amazing, and I really enjoyed reading it. It's great to get first hand knowledge of our trucks. Can't wait to read more of your posts, and follow your progress on your current truck. Hope you feel at home here, becuase we are glad you are here.

[thinair]

Welcome to the board!

[SBTork]

Thank you for sharing your stories, they're welcome here anytime. As I was reading down in the story and looking at pictures, I thought that an '87 scottsdale with that MY6 manual transmission and a/c was a rather oddly optioned truck, like something I would build if given the chance. I think it's really cool that you're re-doing it and plan on driving it. Im in the GM Parts business so it's nice to see a GM plant "higher up" roaming around this message board. Anyhow welcome to the site and look forward to getting asked a lot of questions.

[Tony@AirRideTech]

Keith....... welcome to the board man! I have two questions for you...

1..... any more of those manual overdrive trannies laying around ?

2..... Do you know who the asshole was that screwed my dash down in my 86 crewcab dually and put the center screw right through the center of the main wiring harness? ha ha ha ha ha ha ha...

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by Tony@AirRideTech

Keith....... welcome to the board man! I have two questions for you...

1..... any more of those manual overdrive trannies laying around ?

2..... Do you know who the asshole was that screwed my dash down in my 86 crewcab dually and put the center screw right through the center of the main wiring harness? ha ha ha ha ha ha ha...

1) Nope.

2) Again, nope - although the same thing happened on my '65 GTO, if that makes you feel any better

K

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by Tony@AirRideTech

Do you know who the asshole was...

One more quick thought and then I'll quit: it occurs to me that I don't remember any of the "real names" of the guys that worked for me, only their shop nicknames.

There was "Radar", and "Banana" (...it suited him...) and "Mouse" and every group had at least one "Red" (including my own brother in law).

It made for some interesting conversations, especially as we get older:

"Hey, did you hear Harold so-and-so passed away?"

Me: "No, I don't think I knew a Harold so-and-so".

"Sure you did; he worked back in repair for 35 years".

Me: "No, that's not ringing a bell..."

"Sure, we called him 'Mouse'. Mouse passed away".

Me (gasping): "MOUSE! Mouse passed away??!! I didn't even know he was sick!!"

[Desert1957]

Keith,
Welcome to this Forum , I also have recently discovered a great group here as well, Loved your intro and pics. Keep up the post , Great reads...

Desert

[Misled]

OK, I just know I'm not the only one here picturing my own truck being built......my daughter thinks I'm crazy.....she said what are you reading so intently?!?!?!?

[Keith Seymore]

Pretty good weekend: Got the rest of the rally wheels painted and installed; pulled the speedo cable and lubed it, fixed the LH turn signal (which had stopped cancelling) - and - cleaned up the steering wheel and painted the steering column!






Oh - got all the lights burning, too (one back up lamp, both front side markers and both rear side markers were burned out).

[KIILew]

I have been away from this forum for ages, so I decided to come back for a visit...and this is the post I find!!

Unbelievable!!!

Awesome to read everything you have written, Keith...and it is fantastic to meet you online! That goes for the other "industry guys" who chimed in, too!

I will be thinking of and gathering together all of the various assembly questions I have always wanted to ask, LOL.

Welcome! And keep us posted about your truck's progress!

Ken Lewis

P.S. I enjoyed your commentary on the two-tone paint applications. I have a 1974 GMC C1500 Sierra which still wears (barely) its original Deluxe two-tone rosedale red and frost white paint job. Over the last 30+ years, I have watched the red primary color fade away, and I long ago concluded that the base coat color was the secondary frost white. Thanks for confirming my suspicion! I also find it interesting that on both this truck and my '79 Big 10 (also with the Deluxe two-tone), the sliver of sheetmetal just under the rear window and above the cab-back applique is painted the primary color. Barely noticeable, because the area is so small, but I always have wondered why this was so. (As I reside in Washington state, these two trucks hail not from Flint, but from Fremont, CA.)

[Keith Seymore]

I can't believe I forgot my truck's birthday!



Happy (belated) 24th birthday, Red!

[1967ChevyC50Flatbed]

Hey Keith enjoyed reading your post about your GM career but do you have any connections to 1978 chevy sport stripes my truck was originally midnight black with gold stripe design haha
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[ChaseDale3and8]

Wow! What an amazing story and introduction! This has to be the best post that I have ever read since I have been here! I can't even imagine how awesome it would be to follow your own truck down the assembly line as it was being built! Good luck with your project and be sure to post up pictures as you make progress on it. ...Joe

[oldwagon]

Keith, luv reading history like that! Also enjoyed the other GM products in the pics. The trailer behind your truck is really great!

Welcome to the board!