Factory Production Time Schedules

[Kevin G.]

I'm trying to find out how exactly how long a car spent being built at the factory. Are these schedules in print anywhere, or can anyone here remember exactly how long it took to build say a 1971 Corvette, from start to finish? To be more specific, after all the parts were delivered from all outside suppliers. Simply, from the time the order hit the floor or production paperwork filing?

TIA

[Paul O.]

Re: Factory Production Time Schedules

Kevin

A lot of this would start with what day of the week the process started. In general from what I have observed a car starting production on a Monday in most cases would typically completed sometime during the day Wendsday. But there are to many factors that could change these dates. Therefore it is still hard to say for a fact how many days a car would on the production line. Others may have a better timeline then me.

[Tom R.]

Re: Factory Production Time Schedules

I'm trying to find out how exactly how long a car spent being built at the factory. Are these schedules in print anywhere, or can anyone here remember exactly how long it took to build say a 1971 Corvette, from start to finish?

Can't disagree with Paul at all. Consider for example a Corvette that was slated first up Tuesday morning...easily rolling out early with no apparent body issues by Wednesday. However, one not started until late Tuesday PM, would dribble across that production finish line Thursday some time. Or even Friday starts that did not complete until Monday. And then those units that were recycled through the body repair line either in the body shop or even in final inspection. Lots of opportunities for time added to final transport to the shipping parking lot. This changed from early C3 (1968-1972) and late C3 went production went from some 22k units (early 1970s) to 50k units by the late 1970s. By the time 1978 Pace Cars were rolling thorugh the factory, 110 units per day (approx) were being built.

To be more specific, after all the parts were delivered from all outside suppliers. Simply, from the time the order hit the floor or production paperwork filing?

Paperwork would have been complete before unit assembly began.

I suspect part procurement was not as sensitive as it became when assembly moved to Bowling Green in 1981 and all the attention to JIT (just in time). In fact, the word that emerged out of the JIT process was "constrained" when part availability held up the production start date of a particular series of units. For example, my 2000 Z51 millenium yellow torch red yellow interior convertible was constrained due to paint...as I recall. In other words...it wasn't built for several weeks.