Some more great factory photos HPP
 

Rocky Rotella has a good engine article in this months HPP with some really nice factory photos-
http://www.highperformancepontiac.co...nes/index.html

Darnit...I meant to put this on "YOUR BEST PONTIAC STORIES" to go with the other GM factory stuff.....Moderator?

I saw that, too.

I thought it was a good article, but at the time I had just a couple of super nit-picky comments (Rocky -if you happen to see this I mean it in the most constructive way):

a) The caption for this picture reads "...a worker is putting the finishing touches, etc". Actually, this looks like a line supervisor to me, since he is wearing a necktie. Since he is doing some work, rather than an hourly employee, it means there is something wrong and he is desperately trying to get it fixed before it is too late (like before the engine leaves the last station and is conveyed over to the chassis). Given that background, you can kind of "feel" the tension in the photo and see the look of determination in his face.

http://image.highperformancepontiac....production.jpg

When you see "neckties" working on the line, it usually means there is something "bad wrong"....(lol)

Note: you can also see the build manifests tucked above the engine hanger, in the conveyor

b) This photo is shown as a representation of how engines might have been painted in the production environment. However, since it is shown on a display stand, I would suggest the details might be suspect. Display engines, usually placed in the lobby of the powertrain building or for shows, would receive much more care (and more artistic license) than a production engine. I would trust an engine shown in a shipping crate or production style rack as a reference for restoration - but not one on a finished display stand.

http://image.highperformancepontiac....production.jpg

My $.02, and again - great article, Rocky.

K

Looks like he got his mod squad style belt caught in the flywheel teeth....lol.

Notice the #1 spark plug wire is on the head bolt stud?
Probably trying to find tdc or seeing why it won't fire?

EDIT: the other engine is the same way, must be normal procedure.


I'd like to have one of those sheets on the hoist.

:)

Just read the blurb on that pic at HPP website.

I don't believe they made a Y8 SD in 73.
But then I also don't show a ZN in 74?

:confused:

Installing screw-in plug on the back of the block that's to the left of the cam hole.

LOL!!

Actually, that was a problem back then: either getting your necktie hung up in something, or - worse yet - long hair! We had a few guys get premature balding when a big patch of hair caught in some nearby tooling :oogle:

K

Yeah - me too!

K

Pesonal experience there Keith?

Get me a link to the thread you want this included in and I'll merge it for you.

Mike

Not me; I was a GMI engineering nerd, remember?

= short hair, pocket protector.

I wish I was as hip as the guy in the photo....

(lol) -

K

You've already done what I wanted Mike. I just wanted it in the same forum as the following thread....which now it is. Thanks! http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...olor+gm+photos

I read what it said on the website, but blowing it up, that first stamp looks like 72 YB.

The block shows 132 on the side - SD block.
(plus round port heads)

:eek:

Now the last engine I thought might be some other code than ZN.

:)

Does that cardboard slip (or envelope) stuffed behind the SD flywheel say "SPECIAL" ?

In 1972 at the Framingham GM B-O-P plant, all supervisors wore white shirts and ties.

All of them.

Just to add to that, they were company provided shirts, usually with a small logo (Chevy bowtie, in my case) on the pocket.

As the corporation became more liberal, the shirts became available in stylish period correct pastels, like blue, green, yellow and pink. I used to wear Dad's old shirts to high school, until I became a production supervisor and was able to order my own.

K

This one's for Keith! Not sure if you've seen this before, but here's a 1 minute video with what I believe may the last Cadillac ragtop produced back in 1976. Thought it may bring back some assembly line memories (or nightmares, not sure which!) http://www.smilieshq.com/smilies/happy0024.gif

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V890k...eature=related

Ram Air V & SD421!
 

Found this old photo last night while rummaging through some old files in PMD Engineering:D

Yep - that's how we made 'em!

K

Sidebar:

Whenever I use that phrase, I always think of this story:

I was sitting here thinking about some of the build conditions on my truck, and how they would never fly today, such as:

* Door gaps that vary as you walk your way around the periphery of the door
* Adhesive moldings that fall off
* "Skunk stripes" of body color that peek out from behind wheel opening moldings (when looking into the wheel housings)
* Exposed fasteners in the interior
* Exposed sheet metal (painted body color) in the interior

and etc - stuff like that.

Anyway, I thought to myself "...that's how we made 'em".

So - that's what made me think of this: back when I was at the assembly plant the UAW (the local union) was very militant. We were always butting heads over build quality and personnel issues and there was very much a "us vs them" mentality with the plant management.

As a result, "somebody" (...I don't know who...) got the idea that we should have a plant "mascot". They went so far as to design and build this giant caped "cat" costume, like a superhero, complete with a huge fuzzy plastic head. The idea was that this cat would make appearances down on the assembly line, visiting and shaking hands with the workers, generally doing zany things to lift our morale and thereby improve product quality. His image would appear on our stationary and cartoon pictures were painted on the walls in the audit area, cafeteria, and other areas where the hourly employees congregate.

They even had a contest to "name" the Quality cat, with the winner earning some highly desirable gift or activity (...I'm sure it was a day of paid vacation...). When all the results were in the winning name was chosen....




....wait for it....








"Howie Makem".


:D

Ok - so now we have this giant cat costume; we need somebody to wear it.

One of the ladies in the Specifications department was chosen. She was a crusty, tough old bird (...in fact, that was her name: "Birdie"). In hindsight she was probably a pretty good choice, because I'm sure she could hold her own in a bar fight. She wasn't very happy about being chosen to be "Howie Makem".

Besides Birdie's attitude problem there were some issues with the cat suit itself. One was that it was incredibly hot inside the suit, a situation that only exacerbated the heat in the plant during the notoriously humid Michigan summer months. The huge head was also an issue, making it difficult to maneuver in close quarters. But the biggest problem was that the head prevented the wearer from seeing out - they had to cut some small "eye holes" in the neck in order to provide some semblance of outward visibility. In the end, because of the safety implications, even that wasn't enough and we had to assign an escort, leading Howie by the hand through the plant.

As you might expect, the line workers were not all that enthused. I think they thought they were being "talked down to" (...wouldn't you, being accosted by a giant cat wearing a superhero cape?...) and Howie was generally greeted with cat calls (no pun intended), obscenities and inquiries about his/her gender. The escort had to perform double duty, both as a seeing eye guide and bodyguard.

It all came back to me this morning. What a vivid memory: Birdie and her escort walking through the plant, hand in hand, her sweltering in the giant cat suit, greeting the line workers on one side and spewing profanities like a sailor on the other...

K

:focus:

Hotcat, are you funnin' with us? Those are some modern looking engine stands....

:confused:

Thanks for the laugh Keith, After spending the weekend in the truck I needed that!

Mike

http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...3&d=1265578914

Holy crap! Looks like they're emerging from the doorway for a fashion show. For those non-car people out there, this is like seeing Bar Rafaeli and Angelina Jolie walking into your living room wearing bikinis. http://www.smilieshq.com/smilies/confused0044.gif

John, I answered a post in the '74 section on this picture and remembered this thread. I believe the second engine is actually a ZW 455/4 bbl/unit distributor California engine.

Sorry I didn't see this earlier. Thanks for the info guys, we now know more about the assembly line!

The shot on the HPP website is much smaller than the actual photo and it was clearly "ZN" in the larger shot. The only ZN I could find in any reference was a 400 in 1973.

You know it's funny that out of all the photos in that article, the only one that gets any attention at all is that one of the SD.

OK then. I had to pull out the '73 Service Manual on this one as the later '73 engines don't list the ZN. As you can see, it lists the Y8 as being a SD engine. But that was probably scrapped when they had to redesign for new emission standards and renamed it XD.

Sorry, HFR, I didn't see this post when I posted that pic in the other one.

I think we still have a lot to learn about how things worked back then.

:)

Love the photos. It appears the engines in this photo are late 50s Pontiac or maybe even GMC's with the small water pumps and stick bellhousings. You can make out the clutch plate and disc springs in one photo...great stuff

I'll bet the Y8/ZN photo is from early 73 production or pre-production, or whenever they started building the SD-455. Could this be one of the first SD-455s off the line? The engine is not completely dressed yet. Looks like the guy is wrestling with the unique SD distributor, so it's probably right after distributors were put in. Perhaps a staged shot since I assume the union wouldn't let management touch stuff unless it was pre-production, an emergency, and/or a staged publicity shot.

Note the lack of bar code stickers on the engine valve cover labels. I had always assumed bar-coded engine stickers started at the beginning of the 1973 production year, but obviously not. The manifest sheet you can make out
"455 Super Duty-Auto 1973"
The engine assembly number
12°
4 BBL L-S-2
"270" for the carb 7043270
"432" for the idle stop solenoid 1997432
"175-A" perhaps for the EGR valve 7040175
and a few of the other numbers.
Anyone spot a date?

Does "IAL" on the flywheel tage hide the word special?
http://www.pontiacpower.org/images/73sd455crop2.jpg

What are the chalk markings indicating on the second photo that Rocky 389 posted? Each cylinder has an alphabet.

Probably piston size. The bores were measured and then the appropriately sized piston (coded by an alpha character) was selected and installed.

K

The kid in that first photo looks like he is about 12 years old.

:D

K

Well, that was my first thought...but then I figured, heck, they're brand new engines....They couldn't get the bores the same size?

Nope. Not back then; plus you are talking ten thousands of an inch.

They did eventually get to the point were they did not have to hand select specific pistons.

K

That's interesting. I never knew or even thought about that.

I agree. In fact, I said as much in post #3 of this thread:

Thanks for blowing up the picture of the manifest, by the way. For some reason I couldn't see it (had a red X) until just now, and it is quite helpful.

K

Now, relative to "union wouldn't let management touch stuff": makes me think of a story, if I may. In fact, this will show how "militant" the union was at my home plant, Chevrolet Flint Assembly -

At the time of this story, I was a supervisor on the Line 2 (Blazer, Suburban) Chassis line. Among other things we hooked up the brake lines, evacuated and filled the brake system, tested the brakes and did any last repairs before sending the chassis over to "motor set".

It had been quite a day, probably like any other, which means frenzied frenetic activity on your feet for 8 or 10 hours, and then, once everybody else goes home you get to stay late and do the paperwork, inventory and get ready for the next shift. All of my workers had gone and I was kind of wandering aimlessly, trying to get my head back on straight. I noticed the repair bench was kind of a mess; Without really thinking, I started picking up exhaust hangers and brackets and was hanging them back on the appropriate pegs when, quite suddenly and out of nowhere, the Shop Committeeman pops out from behind the bench.

"WHATINTHEHELLDOYOUTHINKYOU'RE DOING!!" he starts screaming, spit flying from his reddened face. "YOU BLAH BLAH UNION WORK BLAH BLAH I OUGHTA BLAH BLAH" reading me the riot act. Truth be told, I sorta tuned him out, for one thing because I was so tired but for another thing because his response was so far over the top that it just wasn't even registering. I'm sure I tried to explain that I was just doing what seemed like what a normal human being would do and...whatever... and, after an uncomfortably long time somehow he finished up and left. I don't even recall my response but I probably just shook my head and went on about my business and forgot about it.....



...until....


...





...the next day. I was up in the front of the building, where the offices are, in the Personnel area. As you might guess, that's also where the Labor Relations office is and - no big surprise - this guy was in there chewing on one of the salaried workers. I didn't think he saw me but as I came in the door without even taking a breath he wheeled around and, with great fanfare, pointed directly at me and very loudly says "...and HIM!! HIM!! I CAUGHT HIM 'VIOLATING' DOWN ON THE CHASSIS LINE LAST NIGHT!!"

"Violating"?! What kind of word is that, I thought. To this day I still think it makes it sound like I was sodomizing sheep on the assembly line! :gag:



Geez. I was just a kid, maybe 19 or 20 or so, supervising probably 25 or 30 hourly employees. Even now I still just shake my head in wonder.
:rolleyes:

K

Keith, I was a supervisor in a union industry (not automotive) in my 20's and the same kind of activity went on. I spent 5 minutes hauling one load (I was bored) with our brand new front-end loader (because it was fun to drive) and was warned by the union to stop it or else a grievance would be filed because I was violating the contract. I told them "I was evaluating the performance of the new equipment" and that was the end of it. The good thing about the union contract was that all the rules were spelled out. Any problems with an employee or job function, all you had to do was check the contract.

It would be interesting if a date could be associated with that photo.

Did "LARGE" on the manifest indicated a large dia distributor?

[QUOTE=Keith Seymore;3895365]I saw that, too.

I thought it was a good article, but at the time I had just a couple of super nit-picky comments (Rocky -if you happen to see this I mean it in the most constructive way):

a) The caption for this picture reads "...a worker is putting the finishing touches, etc". Actually, this looks like a line supervisor to me, since he is wearing a necktie. Since he is doing some work, rather than an hourly employee, it means there is something wrong and he is desperately trying to get it fixed before it is too late (like before the engine leaves the last station and is conveyed over to the chassis). Given that background, you can kind of "feel" the tension in the photo and see the look of determination in his face.

http://image.highperformancepontiac....production.jpg

When you see "neckties" working on the line, it usually means there is something "bad wrong"....(lol)

He's quickly intalling the "hidden" oil gally plug, some Chev guys were on the line that day...lol.

Looks like a staged photo. My wife works at a plant & they did something like that recently where an engineer who did the design work was in the photo, but didn't do the actual hands on assembly. Could be something like that?

Looks like a YS engine with round port heads. What engine would that be? Can't make out the letters on second one

'73 Y8 (Look at the paper on hoist) is a '73 455 Super Duty.