mid year build sheets

[Tom R.]

Re: mid year build sheets

John Hinckley once penned this info, via an old CF thread:

The "run sheet" was a stapled-together 20-25-page document for each 500-unit schedule, furnished for each subassembly station in the Body Shop, and several more were furnished to the Paint Shop. The working copies used on the plant floor were trashed after the 500th unit in each schedule was built, and none were attached to cars. Photo below shows a typical rubber-stamped number at the top of the "Corvette Order" copy; this one is the 277th unit in Schedule #53.

Good stuff Jack! What's a low-run sheet? it consolidates by RPOs so that a particular assembly line, in this case paint shop, can see the work for the next several hours or days. Plant workers worked from the run-sheet...the tanks sticker applied at the chassis line was simply a reference document. The photo below shows a run-sheet from 1976.

I should add that before the GMAD manifest was introduced in 1973 and replaced the Corvette Order copy on the tank, you see from Jack's buildsheet that the run-sheet # was stamped. In 73, this number becomes pre-assigned, a member of the data set and printed along with chassis and body broadcast codes. This is way more than the OP requested but puts build records into context and how engineer processing evolved from the 60s into the 70s.

low-run sheet_1976.jpg

[Tom R.]

Re: mid year build sheets

When the cars were shipped on a rail car there was a large manila envelope with copies of the build sheets in it. they were stapled together at the top left corner. It was in one of the cars on the passenger seat or floor. I worked at Framingham Mass, Rail yard unloading the rail cars 1972- 1979

Ralph...to clarify here...the stapled packet was not multiple copies of a single build record, but rather a copy of each vehicle on the rail car? It functioned as a manifest of sorts...I take it.

[Ralph S.]

Re: mid year build sheets

Tom, A copy for each car on that railcar. They went in the railyard office of Anchor Motor Freight that delivered the cars to all the new england states

[Ralph S.]

Re: mid year build sheets

This is the only paper that traveled to the dealer with the car to be sign by the person at the dealer that inspected the car after it was unloaded off the truck.

[Tom R.]

Re: mid year build sheets

Tom, A copy for each car on that railcar. They went in the railyard office of Anchor Motor Freight that delivered the cars to all the new england states

Anchor Motor Freight was the subject for the squirrel'ed away cache of Corvette build records.

[Ralph S.]

Re: mid year build sheets

I never paid attention to what Anchor did with the build sheets after they had them in the office. But i know they did not go with the car to the dealership.

[Ralph S.]

Re: mid year build sheets

The newspaper had it wrong those cars arrived at Framingham waiting to be unloaded

[Tom R.]

Re: mid year build sheets

Well this was just post on the Corvette Forum, a 72 order copy located in the dash area...note both the copy #, (#7 Dealer Copy) as well as the run-sheet schedule stamped number.

Won't load!

[Owen L.]

Re: mid year build sheets

Yeah, that's from my car. I've posted the sheets here before. (I gotta see if I can get a better scan of this one of these days.)

1972 Tank Sheet p1.jpg
1972 Tank Sheet p2.jpg

[James G.]

Re: mid year build sheets

Tom,
The photo of the RUN SHEET looks like the sheets of information Chevrolet CANADA would send out when you ordered the Canadian sold information for a car.
I have photos of some 1969 sheets from Canadian sold cars which look EXACTLY the same. FORMATTED the same on the green toned pin feed paper.
The Canadian docs no longer include the sheets with MANY other car's information included.

[Tom R.]

Re: mid year build sheets

Yeah...I heard about it first from John Hinckley and later got copies from 2008 (TM) and later from the 76 model year. Sounds unfortunate that Canada no longer includes those sheets with Corvette documents.

Thanks for sharing!

[Larry G.]

Re: mid year build sheets

It's been my understanding there was seven "build sheets" printed before the car was built and all was used in various stages of production, and one went to the dealer. if that is true what reason did the dealer need a copy? And at one point was the window sticker printed and attached to the window.

.

The window sticker or Monroney sticker as we called it in 1962/67 was created in the St. Louis plant and attached at the end of the Final Trim Line after all repairs were completed and the job was ready to be shipped. A copy of the document that we call the tank sticker, if sent to the dealer ( I am not sure of this) would serve as confirmation that his order was in process.

[Ronald L.]

Re: mid year build sheets

For those with interest in the documents surfacing one day...
Let's pin something, first it wasn't until the 90's that edicts to destroy documents older than two years came out.

Back in the 70's there were piles of records stashed in unused areas, or even official record storage areas..

In the 80s with plant closings, reorganizations and consolidations, lots of documents were "lost" after being moved to off site storage companies.

Does the build data exist in some form?

NCRS won't even show us what they exactly have...


Next...Recall about ten years back there was an individual that was to have had all the evidence one would need and there were a couple people that would have huge problems if the truth surfaced. What ever happened to that guy/family?

As has been posted many times, there are hundreds of mid-years that added 100 cubic inches after the car left St Louis.

Inasmuch as people want the data, at the top of this "hobby" food chain are those that absolutely don't want the data out there. Those people, had and still have the resources to keep it from surfacing.

While we are here, On the prints and GM Engineering documents...

Most all this could be considered theft of company property so those that have these data, on a pension, are scared of the potential consequences, as a result don't share too much.

After they pass what happens to these valuable resources?


Whose been in contact with the spouse or estate?

[Mark L.]

Re: mid year build sheets

Ronald, I've been involved with the NCRS/GM data since we were able to find it and get permission to use it. I'm not sure what your comment "NCRS won't even show us what they exactly have" means. In 2011 I submitted an article which was published in the Restorer which explained what we have and do not have. In addition, a while ago an add appeared in Hemmings offering a $1 million for the build sheets. The person who offered the reward is one of NCRS's best customers for the SDR so one must assume the documents did not surface.

[Keith B.]

Re: mid year build sheets

While we are here, On the prints and GM Engineering documents...

Most all this could be considered theft of company property so those that have these data, on a pension, are scared of the potential consequences, as a result don't share too much.

After they pass what happens to these valuable resources?


Whose been in contact with the spouse or estate?

I have been asking for years where all these drawings come from case in point Jim Shea who I know worked for Saginaw had a lot of drawings for columns. the last time I checked his web site was going to end ending people's chances to view those drawings will end with it. what will become of that. plenty of people who post on here has got drawings too. and what is going on with the book John Hinckly was writing before his death? all valuable tools gone with time?