[Keith Seymore]

Since I worked for GM for almost 40 years, in product design and a dozen different vehicle assembly plants, let me see if I can help your understanding a bit:

Originally Posted by gtobird

The rearends for 1st Gen cars were not installed when they were painted. While I can appreciate the picture above, that's for a full frame car.

Doesn't matter. I'm trying to show you that the concept is the same.

Even though the 'bird is a unibody construction, the front suspension and rear suspension are processed in vehicle position by using the "tow-veyer", which allows you to install the brake lines ahead of body marriage and maintains the correct spacing through the process. That technique was used on early unibody vehicles like the Corvair and is still in use today building unibody vehicles.

You can get a visualization of that in the photo that you have referenced (which I am familiar with - the author of the link I am about to provide is in the photo).

You might also note in the photo that there is a Chevrolet B body on the line directly in front of the subject red bird. That's a full frame vehicle, further proof that the process was exactly the same since they were going down the same line.

Originally Posted by gtobird

So, you might ask, were the brake backing plates on when the rearend was painted? Again, I don't know for certain. I think, yes they were on the rearend before it got painted black and therefore received the same partial coverage, but I have no absolute proof.

Rear brake backing plates (and brake assemblies) absolutely were installed on the rear axle. The rear axle was received as an assembly, drum to drum. The appropriate axle was picked off the rack based on the build sheet and placed on the axle subassembly line, brake lines installed, drive shaft selected, and then conveyed to the main line in sequence.

I would suggest you get familiar with this website, if you are not already. It's written for Camaro, but Norwood built Firebirds as well. Although there will be some plant-to-plant variation it's probably the best and most detailed summary I've ever seen.

http://www.camaros.org/assemblyprocess.shtml

K