LS6 Build Sheet

[Mr70]

Lakewood wasn't exclusive to the door panel,and other plants put em there as well.
You could find them in different places,like on top of the deck tray,inside the head liner,behind the radio,a top the tank,in the seat springs & seat backs,or under the carpet,like this one,also built in Atlanta.

[Keith Seymore]

You all probably already know that all these build sheets were supposed to be removed and thrown away at the end of the line "de-papering" process.

The only reason we find them is because it was easier to leave them in place and build the car around them. That's why they often have tar sprayed over them, screws shot threw them, trapped in the springs of the seat, etc.

K

[Keith Seymore]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: iluv69s</div><div class="ubbcode-body">

Wow, that build sheet is so clean for being on the tank. </div></div>

A result of easy livin'....

[img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/wink.gif[/img]

[Igosplut]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Keith Seymore</div><div class="ubbcode-body">You all probably already know that all these build sheets were supposed to be removed and thrown away at the end of the line &quot;de-papering&quot; process.

The only reason we find them is because it was easier to leave them in place and build the car around them. That's why they often have tar sprayed over them, screws shot threw them, trapped in the springs of the seat, etc.

K
</div></div>

Never heard that before, care to elaborate?

[Keith Seymore]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Igosplut</div><div class="ubbcode-body">
Never heard that before, care to elaborate? </div></div>

Glad to (hopefully) help -

Build sheets are used to communicate specific option content to the remote areas of the vehicle assembly plant. Typically, that's rear axle pick/prep (where the correct axle is selected, shocks added, brake lines added, etc), motor line (where the correct engine is selected and hung on the carrier, trans added, accessory drive added, etc), seat cushion room (usually in a remote area due to fire concerns), front end sheet metal assembly, radiator support, etc. All of these separate &quot;feeder&quot; lines support the main line via carriers that provide the sub assembled material in sequence. Build sheets also ride along on the frame (main line) and body (trim line).

Naturally, by the time the car gets to the end of final it has accumulated quite a stack of papers. The individual build sheets and inspection tickets are reviewed and, once all the repairs are completed and bought off, the car is &quot;de-papered&quot; and &quot;de-stickered&quot; and readied for shipment. Because of the volume of papers (several documents supporting one complete vehicle per minute, in some cases) the records are not kept but discarded.

As I mentioned, however, human nature being what it is - many times the paperwork is simply left wherever it landed and the car constructed around it. Those are the ones we find (hopefully). More often we don't. Also - the use and/or placement of build sheets was not a &quot;Central Office&quot; defined or engineering controlled task; it was left to the individual plant's discretion. We sometimes find the build sheet for the wrong car (ie, the car in front, or several cars back) because of the resultant lack of priority.


Make sense?

K

[Igosplut]

Makes sense, but I was under the impression from your statement that there was a reason (like a office directive) than they not be left in the cars. I've stripped many cars in the past and saved a whole bunch of build sheets from different GM lines, and agree they can be everywhere. And I've found two, and the wrong car (A friend had an factory stock LS6 he bought in 1977 from the original owner, and when he found the sheet it was for a 307 powerglide car a VIN behind it. Most curious to me (having Novas) is the (I've never seen it) Willow run cars only ever had the small broadcast sheets, never the bigger-more elaborate build sheets.....

[SS4Real]

I have yet to see a memo or tech bulletin that states build sheets were to be removed from a car and thrown away in the trash at the factory as they went out the door. What I have seen is numerous examples of Atlanta cars (Lakewood plant) where they were clearly permanently affixed , i.e, glued to the inside of door panels which would seem to void the urban myth that they were to be removed and thrown away. In addition, build sheets are routinely found on top of gas tanks for Van Nuys built cars or under the tar paper for Arlington cars. I don't doubt that cars were cleaned up as they left the plant or detailed on the dealer lots upon delivery, but I don't get where this story that the build sheets were to be thrown away like some super secret document lives in urban folklore. To the lucky guys who find them in their cars, they seem to me to be just part of the build process. Too many exist that are consistently found in the same locations to counter the belief they were meant to be thrown away. JMO.

[Keith Seymore]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Igosplut</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Makes sense, but I was under the impression from your statement that there was a reason (like a office directive) than they not be left in the cars. I've stripped many cars in the past and saved a whole bunch of build sheets from different GM lines, and agree they can be everywhere. And I've found two, and the wrong car (A friend had an factory stock LS6 he bought in 1977 from the original owner, and when he found the sheet it was for a 307 powerglide car a VIN behind it. Most curious to me (having Novas) is the (I've never seen it) Willow run cars only ever had the small broadcast sheets, never the bigger-more elaborate build sheets..... </div></div>

No different from cleaning out the extra bolts, screws, clips, gum wrappers, etc, that accumulate in the car. It was expected to happen, but didn't necessarily happen.

K

[Keith Seymore]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: SS4Real</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I have yet to see a memo or tech bulletin that states build sheets were to be removed from a car and thrown away in the trash at the factory as they went out the door. What I have seen is numerous examples of Atlanta cars (Lakewood plant) where they were clearly permanently affixed , i.e, glued to the inside of door panels which would seem to void the urban myth that they were to be removed and thrown away. In addition, build sheets are routinely found on top of gas tanks for Van Nuys built cars or under the tar paper for Arlington cars. I don't doubt that cars were cleaned up as they left the plant or detailed on the dealer lots upon delivery, but I don't get where this story that the build sheets were to be thrown away like some super secret document lives in urban folklore. To the lucky guys who find them in their cars, they seem to me to be just part of the build process. Too many exist that are consistently found in the same locations to counter the belief they were meant to be thrown away. JMO. </div></div>

We should check the PAD sheets for that direction; I suspect that is where it would appear.

I appreciate your opinion, and your zeal, but I am starting my 35th year at GM. I've worked in Vehicle Assembly, Product Engineering, Production Engineering, Product Development (in both Milford and Mesa), Program Management and New Product Launch. I've spent time in every GM Full Size truck plant in North America- eight years at Flint -and one small car plant [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/wink.gif[/img] .

I would recommend you check out &quot;Echos of Norwood&quot; for additional commentary and photos of the de-papering process. The build sheet I posted from my GTO is the only one I've ever found in any of my collector cars. I followed several of them down the line as they were built and never thought (until now) to keep any of that paperwork.

It's not &quot;urban myth&quot; when you live it every day. Nor is it &quot;super secret&quot;. They were just pieces of paper back then.

I stood at the end of the final line one day last week for about a half hour and watched them throw away every piece of paper from every car, so I don't believe the process has changed much.

K

[Igosplut]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Keith Seymore</div><div class="ubbcode-body">
I am starting my 35th year at GM. I've worked in Vehicle Assembly, Product Engineering, Production Engineering, Product Development (in both Milford and Mesa), Program Management and New Product Launch. I've spent time in every GM Full Size truck plant in North America- eight years at Flint -and one small car plant </div></div>

To that end, do you have any idea why the willow run cars have the smaller broadcast sheets rather than the norm?

And, yes I agree. Years ago they were just so much waste paper (after the fact) I've found other factory papers also (mostly under the carpet)..