Old Picture of Flint MI Plant>Chevy Cars & Trucks Being Assembled

[77 ChevySport]

Must have been a busy place back then; lot's of employment.

[77 ChevySport]

Hay Keith Seymore: Just curious>do you of any other GM plant that had "parallel assembly lines" like this?? Larry

[Keith Seymore]

None that come to mind.

St Louis built both passenger cars and truck (and Corvettes) but I believe they were separate facilities.

Oshawa also built both passenger cars and trucks, but I believe that was also separate facilities.

When I started at Flint they built Pickups on Line 1 (60 jobs per hour) and Blazer/Suburban on Line 2 (36 jobs per hour). We were the only plant producing GM SUVs at the time.

The area between the two final lines was called "the Main Aisle" and that's were all of the plant tours and public festivities took place.

For more Flint Assembly pics see:http://www.73-87.com/7387info/Assembly%20Line.htm

Scroll down for insightful commentary

K

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by 77 ChevySport

Must have been a busy place back then; lot's of employment.

Flint was a boom town back then. It was the actual birthplace of GM and the glory days were through the 60s and 70s. There was a mass migration from the south to the automotive jobs in the north; my family participated in that as well.

The wheels started coming off the wagon in the 1980s.

K

[bluex]

My plant (BMW) started out as a single line for cars, when they got into suv's they added another line just for them. In the early 2000's they went to a single line for both. Later we dropped cars all together and now just do SUV's

Originally Posted by Keith Seymore

Flint was a boom town back then. It was the actual birthplace of GM and the glory days were through the 60s and 70s. There was a mass migration from the south to the automotive jobs in the north; my family participated in that as well.

The wheels started coming off the wagon in the 1980s.

K

Now they are all coming back to the plants down here!

I'm almost certian my plant is 50% locals and 50% people from up north who have moved down here for work...

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by bluex

I'm almost certian my plant is 50% locals and 50% people from up north who have moved down here for work...

When I started every group had a "Tex" or "Arky"; everybody down at your place gonna be called "Mich"?

(lol)

[57NAPCO]

Originally Posted by bluex

My plant (BMW) started out as a single line for cars, when they got into suv's they added another line just for them. In the early 2000's they went to a single line for both. Later we dropped cars all together and now just do SUV’s

Off topic but your Spartanburg plant is fantastic !

We picked up my wife’s BMW there, drove the track, toured the plant and loved the the whole experience, first class all the way. So much so that we went back for the M school.

[bluex]

Originally Posted by Keith Seymore

When I started every group had a "Tex" or "Arky"; everybody down at your place gonna be called "Mich"?

(lol)

Nope we call them all Yankees

Originally Posted by 57NAPCO

Off topic but your Spartanburg plant is fantastic !

We picked up my wife’s BMW there, drove the track, toured the plant and loved the the whole experience, first class all the way. So much so that we went back for the M school.

Awesome I'm glad to hear you enjoyed it. The M classes are a blast for sure. Did they let you guys on the high speed portion? It must have been a few years ago at least. We have been on lock down the last few years as all our models are undergoing redesigns. You'll have to come back an see how much it's changed!

[SKT]

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Would be great to see a lot more of these pics!

.

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by SKT

.

Would be great to see a lot more of these pics!

.

I trust you looked at the link already mentioned above:

http://www.73-87.com/7387info/Assembly%20Line.htm

LIFE magazine visited the Tarrytown plant and took numerous photos, now posted on line. You could google "LIFE Magazine Tarrytown" - or - I can attach this link which has some narrative from one of my buddies that worked there:

http://www.singlefingerspeedshop.com...2&t=553&p=1860

K

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by 77 ChevySport

Hay Keith Seymore: Just curious>do you of any other GM plant that had "parallel assembly lines" like this?? Larry

I wasn't satisfied with my answer and wanted to verify with a series of charts that I created with a friend:

http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...d.php?t=614225

Unfortunately he passed away and the charts are locked up in his photobucket account.

I see in the thread that I printed a set of hardcopies for review. If I stumble across those I'll let you know if I find something different.

K

[v30crewcab]

where did your family move from Keith?

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by v30crewcab

where did your family move from Keith?

Southeast Missouri (the part that looks like a “Boot Heel”); my mom is from Kennett and my dad is from Senath. They moved north in 1955 .

I was working in Wentzville a couple years ago and it occurred to me: hey – why did my family moved to Michigan? Why didn’t they just go to St. Louis or Kansas City to work for GM?

(Lol)