[edram454]

Originally Posted by Hog

I agree, of course the build date, is what GM assigns as it's build date. My "speculation" is to when GM considered the car "built".
I was test driving LT1 cars, the GM discount was substantial off of the sticker.
The cars at the factory I worked had a "rider" that was taped to the open hood. It was a pice of paper with its options list etc. It also had it's build date. This was the 90's when I worked there. I just looked at some Bowling Green videos and a lot of the systems are very similar.

Later on in life I worked at a heavy truck plant, each truck was built custom and teh chassis rode around on roller carts just like the C6 ZR1 did. A cart for each axle, so if the truck had 3 axles, it got three carts

I would lift the frame rails off of a truck from Mexico and then set them into the production sequence. The guys in the "jig" would lift the frame rails and install crossmembers, they buoilt the chassis upside down and if equipped used a HUCK gun to lighten te frame together. These Hucks require a torch to remove, they were an upgrade over a bolt truck.
then the axle guys would drop down the axles front and rear and bolt them in place using gravity to drop the axles down, instead of fighting gravity and lifting them up from underneath.

The chassis was on stands and progressed laterally, then 2 cranes grbbed each end picked the chassis up and then after strapping the driveshaft so it didnt slap around, they flipped the chaissis 180° then they lowered the chassis onto the roller carts, the pins on teh carts were kicked down and then the chassis proceeds down the line in a motion as if it were driving.
Our TAC time was 11 minutes, a Class 8 heavy truck came off the line every 11 minutes. After chassis paint, the rad, engine/trans was lowered in within the 11 minutes. Each truck was chassis dynoed. When I 1st started we built 2 trucks a night, this progressed as new hires were brought in and we got up to 44 trucks in an 8 hour shift. The plant even had a test track. I enjoyed that place, but the workers ended up boxing up their own jobs and shipped them to Mexico. Great feeling.

Thanks for the insight. I know many things must go on in an assembly line and at times mistakes are made I suppose. Very sad to hear about jobs going abroad.

ed ramos #3028