[johnta1]

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



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

[Greg Reid]

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

[My442]

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

All of them.

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by My442

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

[MikeNoun]

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.youtube.com/watch?v=V890k...eature=related

[HotCat_63]

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

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by HotCat_63

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

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

[MikeNoun]

Originally Posted by HotCat_63

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

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.

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by MikeNoun

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.youtube.com/watch?v=V890k...eature=related

Yep - that's how we made 'em!

K

[Keith Seymore]

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".