(Message Deleted by Poster)

[mike cobine]

A Small Christmas Gift - a few guys to fix it

Need some help with your restoration? Bet these guys know it.

[mike cobine]

A Small Christmas Gift - a few more guys to fix it

Of course, notice those two on the far right.

[mike cobine]

A Small Christmas Gift - who needs a showroom

Just walk down the line and pick.

[Dale S.]

Re: Thanks Mike *NM*

[Roy B.]

Re: A Small Christmas Gift

We! SACE was there just before they tore it down , top pic. Met with five original guys that worked in there as kids, told use stories and I have to say, they thought NCRS don't understand many things they did and on the later C1's ,the biggee was about color, back then they painted a hand full of 55's non-dealer available colors like( gray green and so on) only if it was in the GM line of truck colors. The reason they gave was that then GM could not give the 55's away so they would color some of them any color to sell them.
( that may be the 15 colors not counted for by GM records) The guy Nolan is talking with (a painter then) said NCRS is=( I cant say it here) .He remembered one 55 going out with no color as ordered and later in the C2 model some also when out with no paint..
Below we were giving brick out to members to have a piece of the plant.Yes that's me taking pic.

[Joel A.]

Re: A Small Christmas Gift - a few more guys to fi

The two on the far right? Future NCRS judges!!!

Thanx for all these pics, Mike!

[mike cobine]

Re: A Small Christmas Present

Tony, you might have the answer to this for me. When we would go in, it was usually around 7 or 8 I think in the evening. There would be people working, and the line was moving, but we seemed to jump around from section to section erratically. At any given spot, we seemed to be where they were taking a break or were gone.

Did the shift have irregular breaks so that not all were off at the same time? I wouldn't think they would have people stop just for us to come through. (Right, stop production for visitors!) Yet as you can see in the pictures, few can be seen working.

We could watch the cars being assembled from an aisle over, but when we would be right next to the line, people would be gone, as you can see from the group walking along the cars on the line.

Since obviously pictures weren't allowed, there weren't many from areas that had people. It is a shame, since it was a great opportunity to document the process for restoration later if they had been allowed. From the crooked ones and under-developed ones, you can see it was take as I could rather than careful shots.

I never figured out why not. After all, it wasn't like they are some national security secret. When the new ones were coming through, I could see it, but the rest of the time, they were just cars that most of America had already seen for several months.

[Rick S.]

Re: A Small Christmas Gift

Mike,
Thanks for your Christmas Presents!!

Merry Christmas,
Rick

[Terry M.]

Re: A Small Christmas Present

"I never figured out why not. After all, it wasn't like they are some national security secret. When the new ones were coming through, I could see it, but the rest of the time, they were just cars that most of America had already seen for several months."

Mike, The official story now days is that they have "industrial processes" that they want to protect from the competition. They may have had the same point of view years ago as well. Today they also mention employee privacy as a reason for not allowing pictures in the plant.

[Michael H.]

Re: A Small Christmas Present

Terry,

You're exactly right. The reason cameras were not allowed in the plant was because many of the methods and procedures of assembly were protected.

Also, many of the procedures used in the St Louis plant were a bit crude, not something that GM wanted the world to see.

[Anthony F.]

[John H.]

Re: A Small Christmas Present

Tony -

When I was the Viper Plant Manager (1995-2001), we allowed tour groups/owners to take pictures, and I allowed the VCA (Viper Club of America) to come in each year and videotape each operation in order to document the build process and parts for reference for future restorations.

Also, occasionally (by special request from owners) would send a disposable camera down the line in the broadcast sleeve on the rad support, and each station team would take it out and take a picture of their operation. The camera would go with the car in the glove box, and the owner could then take it to a drugstore for processing and get photos back of HIS car being built. My Finance guy always grumbled about buying them, but I just told him to buy the damn cameras and don't worry about it.

9/11 changed all that - now there are no cameras, no video allowed, and tour participants have to check their cell phones before entering the plant floor if they have cameras in them.

[Anthony F.]