[YNOBIL]

Originally Posted by MikeNoun

I have a lot of production line pics on my site too. http://www.musclecarfilms.com/Pontiac_Production.html

Great site. I'm an auto assembly line groupie. Love touring plants (getting hard to find any tours these days). Still haven't found a photo of 1972 GTO's being built.

[John V.]

Definitely the fuel fill pipe. It kinda washes out against his shirt, but you can see the welded tab on it where it gets secured just below the inlet.

I believe in '58 (that is a '58, right?) that fuel pipe routed up to the back up lamp where the tab was secured to the body.

The end of it was pushed into a stubby adapter nipple on the tank with a separate seal to make it leak-tight.

I assume the gas tank and seal went in later down the line and the fill pipe mated up at that point.

[Keith Seymore]

Definitely a fuel fill pipe.

The pit guy is very fashionable. The guy that worked in the pit for me (pit repairman) wore one of those soft painter's hats. You do need a little protection to soften the blow (or keep the grease out of your hair) if you happen to bump your head.

He is using a drift pin to align the body to the frame. I watched that happen about 900,000 times. One truck every minute of every workday for about six years.

K

[Keith Seymore]

Those guys (and gals) are wimps! (lol) Look how far above the chassis they stopped with the body!

In my day the hoist operator would let the body essentially "free fall" - WHOOOSH! and then stop mere inches above the chassis (EEERRK!!). The other operators would then nonchalantly go about their business, just like they did it a hundred times every day (…which, of course, they did).

When I was a student I used to be the one to give tours down the final line. Guests would stand and watch the body drop operation for as long as you would let them.

K

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by Keith Seymore

The pit guy is very fashionable. The guy that worked in the pit for me (pit repairman) wore one of those soft painter's hats. You do need a little protection to soften the blow (or keep the grease out of your hair) if you happen to bump your head.

My repairman's name was Garfield. He was a tiny, slow talking black man and was one of the guys that would work every minute of overtime that you would give him.

During deer season in Michigan those of us who didn't go hunting were left to keep the plant running. We would work double shifts (16 hours of production, plus the time between shifts) and Garfield would work every one of those hours plus any additional repair time.

One time I looked down in the pit and he was sitting on his little step stool, just about to fall asleep. I hollered down there (as much to keep him awake as anything) "…Hey! Garfield! What does your wife think about you working all this overtime?".

"Oh" he said, without even opening his eyes: "She jus' say 'see ya latah honey - ahmm goin' shoppin!"

That's a pretty standard saying at our house, even to this day.

K

[YNOBIL]

Originally Posted by Keith Seymore

When I was a student I used to be the one to give tours down the final line. Guests would stand and watch the body drop operation for as long as you would let them.

K

I agree the "Body Drop" (back in the 60's it was called the marriage of body & frame) is the most exciting part of an assembly line tour. I'm looking forward to doing a "Body Drop" on my '67 GTO convert next year. When restoring a car I often copy the same assembly sequences the factory used when it was originally built.

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by YNOBIL

When restoring a car I often copy the same assembly sequences the factory used when it was originally built.

That's unusual for most people, since the factory processes are not necessarily intuitive, or the same way you would do it in your garage (i.e., setting a completely trimmed out body on the frame, painting the fenders in another area - or another town, evac and filling the brake system before body install, etc).

Are you going to put the "P O N" letters on and have someone else come over to install the "T I A C"?



K

[YNOBIL]

Originally Posted by Keith Seymore

That's unusual for most people, since the factory processes are not necessarily intuitive, or the same way you would do it in your garage (i.e., setting a completely trimmed out body on the frame, painting the fenders in another area - or another town, evac and filling the brake system before body install, etc).



K

You're right, some processes aren't practical for building a car in your garage. But I will have a complete rolling chassis before dropping the body shell back on the frame. Also I will assemble the instrument cluster and wire harness to the bezel and install it as a unit just like the factory did.

[YNOBIL]

Originally Posted by Keith Seymore

Are you going to put the "P O N" letters on and have someone else come over to install the "T I A C"?



K

For the benefit of those who don't know me. Back in 1967 I worked at the Ford Assembly plant in Chicago. One of my jobs was installing trunk locks on Galaxie's. I also attached the letters "R & D' to the trunk lid. The guy before me put on the "F & O".

[aukc]

Originally Posted by YNOBIL

For the benefit of those who don't know me. Back in 1967 I worked at the Ford Assembly plant in Chicago. One of my jobs was installing trunk locks on Galaxie's. I also attached the letters "R & D' to the trunk lid. The guy before me put on the "F & O".

back in the day I would see '67 Fords, and would wonder why the F & O
had fallen off the trunk lid, but the R & D were still attached, now I know

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by YNOBIL

For the benefit of those who don't know me. Back in 1967 I worked at the Ford Assembly plant in Chicago. One of my jobs was installing trunk locks on Galaxie's. I also attached the letters "R & D' to the trunk lid. The guy before me put on the "F & O".

I told Bill it's a good thing he didn't work at Studebaker. He'd be exhausted at the end of the day!

(lol)

K

[YNOBIL]

Washing my '67 GTO April 1968



Me at Army Basic Training Fort Leonard Wood, MO. Oct 1968, in front of my sister's '67 LeMans (she took delivery one month after I got my GTO). Both cars were from Kole Pontiac; Oak Lawn, IL.

[Keith Seymore]

Bill - you haven't aged a day since then...



K

[Rocky Rotella]

Originally Posted by 70Steve

Stumbled onto this photo of the La Vinta 70 GTO Show Car. I think this is only the fifth colour shot I've seen of it.

Where'd you happen to find that one?

[John V.]

Article from HPP says the La Vinta whereabouts are unknown.

I don't recognize the hall where the earlier pic was posted.

The pic in the HPP article was taken at the 1970 Chicago Auto Show. Link here:

http://www.highperformancepontiac.co.../photo_01.html

Attached are photos somebody posted that I found on the web. Obviously personal photos from a guy who saw it in person at the Chicago Auto Show.

[Alvin]

Originally Posted by John V.

Article from HPP says the La Vinta whereabouts are unknown.

I don't recognize the hall where the earlier pic was posted.

The pic in the HPP article was taken at the 1970 Chicago Auto Show. Link here:

http://www.highperformancepontiac.co.../photo_01.html

Attached are photos somebody posted that I found on the web. Obviously personal photos from a guy who saw it in person at the Chicago Auto Show.

Thxs JV - direct link to photo here http://image.highperformancepontiac....o-la-vinta.jpg

Note the 1st design (prototype?) Honey wheels

[Gordon Church]

Originally Posted by John V.

Article from HPP says the La Vinta whereabouts are unknown.

I don't recognize the hall where the earlier pic was posted.

The pic in the HPP article was taken at the 1970 Chicago Auto Show. Link here:

http://www.highperformancepontiac.co.../photo_01.html

Attached are photos somebody posted that I found on the web. Obviously personal photos from a guy who saw it in person at the Chicago Auto Show.

Just noticed the endura "bumps" are blacked out on this 70

[Greg Reid]

Originally Posted by YNOBIL

Washing my '67 GTO April 1968
Me at Army Basic Training Fort Leonard Wood, MO. Oct 1968, in front of my sister's '67 LeMans (she took delivery one month after I got my GTO). Both cars were from Kole Pontiac; Oak Lawn, IL.

Look how the 14" tires of the time filled the wheelwells back then. Wish those were still readily available.

[GT182]

Mike, that photo of the Pontiac Solstice on your website is from the GM Boxwood Plant in Wilmington, DE. If you want to add the location to the photo.

[71GP76TA]

Originally Posted by John V.

Article from HPP says the La Vinta whereabouts are unknown.

I don't recognize the hall where the earlier pic was posted.

The pic in the HPP article was taken at the 1970 Chicago Auto Show. Link here:

http://www.highperformancepontiac.co.../photo_01.html

Attached are photos somebody posted that I found on the web. Obviously personal photos from a guy who saw it in person at the Chicago Auto Show.

Kinda like the TLB car.... Judge trim without saying "The Judge".. just "GTO"