moparcurt
Well-Known Member
Since the other thread is locked and I cannot comment there, I will put in my two cents in regards to some of the discussion regarding a car getting built and parts shortages. Now this may or may not relate, due to the fact we are talking 1968ish and when I was building trucks in Kelowna from '93-02, but I would think the process would be similar despite the time and product. We had a huge warehouse that stocked thousands of parts as well as outside storage for the bigger stuff that was not kept inside (frame rails, engines, transmissions, suspension and axles), and despite having multiple trucks delivering parts every day.....shortages happened!! If we had a short part on the line, we would build what we could, then the inspector would mark that on the sheet and the truck wold continue to the next station. If it was not operable or drivable, we had it towed off line and put with all the others....these trucks would make four stops before going to the dealers. "North Final" was a part of the plant that the trucks would be brought in to have any parts installed and an inspector would go over the truck to fine tune everything. All the trucks were run on a chassis dyno to ensure everything worked as needed, including the wiring and lights (we also had a small track the trucks were run across which had various types of speed bumps to compress and settle the suspension). If the truck was complete, it would goto final paint for any touch up before it went to the "Ship Shack".....here the inspectors would go over the truck for the final time and make any corrections as needed, before it went to "Ship Row" for the driver to pick up and deliver. I have never been in modern car/truck plant to witness how one gets built, but I would assume the same thing there as when I was building them....."THE LINE NEVER STOPS".....if there were no parts, it goes on and is dealt with at a later date.
Last edited:
