C8 Corvette at Bowling Green

[Dan D.]

This is a 45 minute video from the Bowling Green assembly plant (and museum).

Too much BS-ing and not enough C8-ing, but still very good.

From Road and Track.

https://apple.news/AZfR1ZquaTD6XJ4EcNTGh8Q

Dannnn

[Mark E.]

Re: C8 Corvette at Bowling Green

Thanks for sharing Dannn. Interesting video, and to your point, a bit too much talking head time. Is there a video showing the step-by-step C8 assembly process?

The video showed me that C8 panels are painted first, then assembled to the car. And that LT6 bearings have a sacrificial layer for break-in. Cool stuff.

This reminds me of a past factory tour- an awesome experience.

I was there Memorial Day weekend 1991 for their 10th anniversary celebration. For the occasion, the plant loaded up ZR-1s on the line; about 1 out of 5 cars on final assembly were ZR-1! Two moments in particular stand out in memory: To show their pride with LT5, workers placed a nickel on edge on the plenum and demonstrated that it stayed in place during initial start up. Inspired, I acquired a ZR-1 eight years later when finances allowed. The tour guide also pointed out the batch of new LT1 engines along the wall waiting for 1992 production.

Have tours started back up?

[Terry M.]

Re: C8 Corvette at Bowling Green

Yes Mark; Tours of Corvette Assembly have started. They are conducted through the Corvette Museum. Right now they are booking tours for May.

https://10514.blackbaudhosting.com/10514/page.aspx?pid=196&tab=2&txobjid=36067957-ff5d-44df-985c-5c68945a2cb2

If you are a member of the Museum first log in to the Museum site.

[Mark E.]

Re: C8 Corvette at Bowling Green

Yes Mark; Tours of Corvette Assembly have started. They are conducted through the Corvette Museum. Right now they are booking tours for May.

https://10514.blackbaudhosting.com/10514/page.aspx?pid=196&tab=2&txobjid=36067957-ff5d-44df-985c-5c68945a2cb2

If you are a member of the Museum first log in to the Museum site.

Booked until May! It's been awhile (22 years ago was last time) but I just drove up for the three tours I've taken.

[Mark F.]

Re: C8 Corvette at Bowling Green

Dannnn,Mark

[Dan D.]

Re: C8 Corvette at Bowling Green

Mark, Mark, & Terry, (and all);

I'm thinking that the limited amount of video of the car and assembly line may be by design, to limit the 'propriety' nature of how the cars are really built. Don't know, but I do know those two 'talkers' were bad.

I was there in 2015 and again in 2016. General vacation to Chattanooga, Tenn. with a stop over at Bowling Green and the factory tour in 2015.

That experience 'talked' me into buying a new Corvette. So the next year, 2016, my wife and I did the build experience and the museum delivery, the whole nine yards.

The most memorable experience of my life. My wife passed a couple of years ago, but I still have, and always will have, the car. Eventually my son will get the car, and if I know him, he will never sell it.

A few comments about the build. Our first view was the bare body coming down a ramp from the paint shop, early in the morning. The build sheet was taped to the front of the body. All inside stuff and under the hood was black-out, and the body color was on the rocker panels and rear dog legs. Not much else of color was on the car at that time.

Fast forwarding, the front fenders and hood were installed near the end of the build. The fenders and hood were not installed until all the under hood and engine stuff was done, and that required 2 operators, and I think two of the 3 minute shifts. On the line each operator has 3 minutes to complete their job. That time does not change. If they want to build more or less cars that day, then they work longer or shorter hours.

Was told everything was painted at the same time. The fenders and small stuff was sent its way on a separate conveyor system, and somehow arrived at the right time and for the right car. Don't know how they phased that, but it worked perfectly.

They built the same color cars in 25 or 30 unit 'batches' as they called it. Sometimes they did double batches, 50 or 60 cars the same color. That would help the color phasing system.

The whole experience was an incredible feat of Production Engineering. It amasses me how they did it - it had to be a huge amount of work.

As I watched the video, much of it looked just like I remember it, but also a large amount looked different, as the mid engine C8 is a much different animal.

The separate room for the Z06 engine build looks the same as I remember it. I'm surprised they showed that much of the engine build. I would think that would be very propitiatory. Everything else is. No photos allowed. Everyone had to leave their cameras (and women their purses) in a locked locker.

Terry says the tour is back on now. It was off during the C8 change over and for some time afterward. I would recommend everyone do this tour, it was an incredible experience and so much fun. But I also would warn everyone that it is addictive and you may end up wanting one! At that time the cost of the tour was $10 for the 1-1/2 hour guided tour. Best $20 I ever spent. The car was, of course, much more money.

Too many words. I should write an op-ed sometime about both of our vacations. A lot more than I have said here.

Dann

[Terry M.]

Re: C8 Corvette at Bowling Green

The Corvette Museum is now managing the tours, and those docents are trained Museum employees (they may be interns rather than employees, I would have to check their exact status, if that is important). In the past the docents were interns mostly from Western Kentucky University. Some of those interns were not "car people" and it was easy for us "car people" to have some "fun" with them asking questions that they couldn't answer. I suppose that was all part of their learning experience. I still find that fun with the marketing people Chevrolet hired to present the C8 on the road. You can criticize me doing that if you want. Anyway the tour will be much better now than it was.

There is a large backlog of people who have taken Museum Delivery during the time there were no tours of the plant (3years) who are owed a tour of the plant. The link I posted above is intended mostly for them and I couldn't find it just going through the Museum site. That may be due to my lack of searching skills or it is deliberately made hard to find so those owed tours can be accommodated first. I don't know. I hope I don't get in trouble for posting it, but I got it third hand with no restrictions attached. And yes, the tours are booked up until May and when the June bookings become available those will go fast as well -- better weather.

Mark F, the paint system you describe is about what St Louis was. What they have now is three generations forward from that. Unlike before the recent 500 Million dollar investment in the Assembly Plant (and before the pandemic) this tour is set up to show part of the paint lines. When I saw it in 2020 our tour was guided by the paint manager. I paid $500 for that tour and was happy to do it, but I am a little off-center. That was a fund raiser for the museum and offered to lifetime members only. At that time almost all the parts of the car (except those parts that were painted by the vendor -- Mirrors and fascias & etc) were painted on racks that held them in the orientation they would be on the car. They were proud that there were NO employees in the pain booths. Three paint lines that were entirely automated. Those were C7 parts, but I doubt the C8 is much different, in spite of what the talking heads said. One of the bigger changes in the plant is there is only a short chain line. Most of the assembly is now done with the body/chassis on a mobile cart that follows a wire embedded in the concrete floor and has the ability to raise or lower so the body is at optimal height for the workers at each station. These carts are powered by on-board batteries and will stop if they encounter an obstacle -- and set off an alarm. So visitors still can't run all over the place. Those types of carts were used in other assembly plants before Bowling Green, but they add a measure of flexibility to the assembly process.

This is too long. Don D is right. It is a remarkable effort to get all the parts to the right place at the right time and then get them all together to make a Corvette. And now they are building three models in coupe and convertible format, and then right hand drive shows up once in a while. It is mind numbing that they can do this with the kind of quality they meet. That plant is so far removed from St Louis and even from 1982 when it started. Go see it. It may cost you a lot in the end -- like Dan, but even if it doesn't you'll enjoy it and gain a lot of respect for the new cars and the people who build them.

[Mark F.]

Re: C8 Corvette at Bowling Green

...Mark F, the paint system you describe is about what St Louis was. What they have now is three generations forward from that. Unlike before the recent 500 Million dollar investment in the Assembly Plant (and before the pandemic) this tour is set up to show part of the paint lines. When I saw it in 2020 our tour was guided by the paint manager. I paid $500 for that tour and was happy to do it, but I am a little off-center. That was a fund raiser for the museum and offered to lifetime members only. At that time almost all the parts of the car (except those parts that were painted by the vendor -- Mirrors and fascias & etc) were painted on racks that held them in the orientation they would be on the car. They were proud that there were NO employees in the pain booths. Three paint lines that were entirely automated. Those were C7 parts, but I doubt the C8 is much different, in spite of what the talking heads said...

One of the bigger changes in the plant is there is only a short chain line. Most of the assembly is now done with the body/chassis on a mobile cart that follows a wire embedded in the concrete floor and has the ability to raise or lower so the body is at optimal height for the workers at each station. These carts are powered by on-board batteries and will stop if they encounter an obstacle -- and set off an alarm. So visitors still can't run all over the place. Those types of carts were used in other assembly plants before Bowling Green, but they add a measure of flexibility to the assembly process...It is a remarkable effort to get all the parts to the right place at the right time and then get them all together to make a Corvette...That plant is so far removed from St Louis and even from 1982 when it started...

very fascinating) where you won't see that much light or clean floors like that !

[Terry M.]

Re: C8 Corvette at Bowling Green

!

And yes, what a beautiful plant it is ! Contrary to casting plants (also very fascinating) where you won't see that much light or clean floors like that !

From 1964 to 1968 I worked in Metallurgical research at the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT). We were studying metal forming and lubrication, but in the same building was a foundry. It was so dirty that occasionally their detritus would foul our experiments. Since it (the foundry) was a research operation it was cleaner than most we were told. Later (much later) I had the opportunity to visit the metal forming operation at Saginaw Michigan and I got a crash course in the differences between the research operation and real production foundries. The boss at IIT always told us there was no way to run a clean foundry, as you stated. You both are right.