Our Trucks Doing What They Did - Vintage Photo Thread

[Russell Ashley]

Originally Posted by Keith Seymore

It probably has an oil residue from the stamping process or a cosmoline type preservative applied.

It would be greasy if you touched it.

K

Obviously there was not enough rust proofing. Spoken by a former TF owner.

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by _Ogre

that would be in the assembly shop, no grease or cosmo on any metal there.
next stop is the paint shop
unfortunately there's also no rust preventative, thus our trucks can be in pretty bad shape

Originally Posted by Russell Ashley

Obviously there was not enough rust proofing. Spoken by a former TF owner.

I apologize for playing this card, but I must respectfully disagree.

I spent 40 years putting Chevy and GMC pickups together. I have launched product in Flint (where I started my career in 1979), Janesville, Pontiac, St Louis and Oshawa. Plus Ft Wayne, Arlington, Silao, Mishawaka (H2), Hamtramck (Volt) and Wentzville (G van). Plus four GM pre-production shops (Pre Production Operations at the Tech Center, Chevy Central Office, the truck Validation Center in Pontiac, and one secret skunkworks).

The two of you are confusing the temporary corrosion protection which was used to prevent rust while the parts are being put together with the more comprehensive protection (ie, primer) which was intended to protect the vehicle in the field.

After the body is assembled the temporary greases and oils are washed off and the vehicle is prepared for paint. Back then the primer would have been sprayed, which would leave a lot of uncovered sheetmetal particularly in inaccessible areas inside layers or around corners, resulting in the performance you both experienced. My '74 Chevelle (built in Oshawa), which I have owned since new, has bare metal inside the trunk and under the package tray to this day.

The introduction of ELPO dip tanks in the late 1970s, with the addition of galvanized metal, greatly helped in this regard. In fact, in the H2 plant in Mishawaka, the bodys were "tumbled" end over end to ensure all the air gets out and all the areas are covered.







At one point in my professional life I had design/release responsibility for C/K pickup cab and box sheetmetal and G Van underbody structure. Somewhere I have pictures of G Van front of dash assemblies I had made in support of a prototype build in the Wentzville assembly plant (I spent all summer there that year), staged and waiting to be introduced into the assembly process (that's another story for another day). They had my handwriting on the firewall. Sadly, I couldn't find them quickly enough to post here and I fear I may have lost them when I had to turn my laptop in when I retired.

At any rate - those parts were greasy. It gets pretty smoky in there by the end of the day.

K