Messages

31

General Discussion / Re: 02D production date

« on: January 14, 2016, 11:16:44 PM »

That's a helluva lot of tampons...     

Just think for a moment...18 tampon making machines with the capability to produce up to 150,000 tampons in an 8 hour shift x 3 shifts x 5 days, add weekends, Saturday AND Sunday to that which was mandatory when orders of Walmart magnitude came in. Playtex only has the one plant that makes them....we stayed busy, none stop, even during breaks somebody filled in. The machines never stop, except holidays and weekends with no work load, and of course the massive crashes those machines can have. 

32

General Discussion / Re: 02D production date

« on: January 14, 2016, 07:34:33 PM »

Theres two things to consider when looking at the cowl tag date and the reported last GM VIN number.

1. The GM number is a snapshot in time, its the last car leaving the building at the end of the 2nd shift on the last calendar day of the month.  At that point in time there are still another 2 1/2 to 3 days or so of cars (2500 to 2700) on the line all the way back to the beginning of the Fisher side of the plant.  IF the last calendar day of the month also lined up with the change of build weeks (like its a Friday) then the very first car way back on the Fisher side of the plant that was little more than a firewall would also have an 02D (or whatever the build week was) on the tag.

2. Fisher scheduled build weeks while generally running from Monday to Friday (or Saturday), they did not line up with the actual calendar weeks.  For example if February of 69 ended on a Friday (it actually did) then there was at least 2500 more 02D tag cars on the line.  For every day before the last day of the month being on a Friday add another 912 cars with the same body tag date on it. 

I personally believe that the 02D tag did not get changed on Friday 2/28 like it should have, but instead stayed into the next week. There are lots of oddities as far as which calendar week corresponds to build weeks, with missing weeks, weeks that ran long as well as trying to fit holidays and extended work weeks into the calendar while taking into account that the factory could not build more than 4560 cars over a five day work week.  Haven't been able to fit all the weeks together yet.

Wow!! Great explanation, thanks. Cleans up some questions I've had on how that really worked. I understand just a small bit about how line work of this massive scale really works and flows. I worked at Playtex for years and ran a tampon making machine with a ton of working parts (old converted cigarette machines) that was about 60 feet long so I got to see from start to finished product. One man,  consistently well over 100k tampons in an 8 hour shift from one machine, and there were 18 of those and if something locked up or when the machine crashed, as we called it, it was down from an hour to a few days on the outside, even that was a nightmare. Can't even imagine what it was like on the a car build line.

33

General Discussion / Re: I'm back...

« on: January 13, 2016, 08:10:13 PM »

Yes he sold it Gary, but has a new project RS/Z known as "the Brooklyn Project" - there's a build thread over at TC.

Hello Tim...OK, I read that right then. Was looking at the topic, actually just looking at the pictures, but will go back and READ IT!!! like I should have. WOW, he sold that car. I had a black Z28 when I was stationed at Dover AFB Delaware and loved the color. One thing though, when I married my first wife in 1976, somebody, most likely a Cherokee Indian friend of mine, barracks roommate, said he didn't do it...but...leaving the base Church I found words, some not so nice in SHAVING CREAM. Drove that car to Atlanta to visit my folks like it was. When I went to wash it found that everything on the paint was permanent. Took a couple of days to compound that crap out by hand. Don't ask me about the rice in the interior of the car, not to mention those smoke bomb things people would hook up to ignitions to fire when engine starts...my air force buddies..got to love'em...SMH

34

General Discussion / Re: I'm back...

« on: January 13, 2016, 03:09:12 AM »

Lloyd still have the black Z? I was reading to catch up during the Alabama game last night, 'ROLL TIDE', and thought I saw a reference that he let it go???  I'll have to go back and find what I read.

35

General Discussion / Re: I'm back...

« on: January 13, 2016, 02:45:44 AM »

Glad to have you back Gary. I hope all is going well for you and your family.

Anything new with the Z?

Nothing new with the Z...been having a ton of issues with life in general this past year, moving from one house to another and then moving BACK, painting, plumbing issues, water heater...do I need to say more? Damn, I had to cut up a wall today just to get to some plumbing lines leaking real bad. I thought getting laid off twice in 07 made me feel really low but NOOOOO...I don't think I can get any more broke as of this winter.

Other then that?...what the hey...gas prices are coming down, so now I can drive the Z more.

36

Site Comments/Discussion / Re: Time stamp

« on: January 12, 2016, 04:38:12 AM »

Keith, you need to reset the time offset (use auto detect) using the "Profile" tab.

> Profile
> Modify Profile   
> Look and Layout
Click auto detect.

Paul

Hi guys...I don't seem to have that same profile list with autocheck in it...advise.


....Got it.... right where it's supposed to be....wow!!!

37

General Discussion / Re: I'm back...

« on: January 12, 2016, 04:29:55 AM »

Welcome back, Arnold! 

Paul

Didn't recognize the reference Paul...but I do now!!!! And found the auto detect for the time stamp.

38

General Discussion / Re: I'm back...

« on: January 12, 2016, 04:26:21 AM »

Thanks guys. I like the changes made to the site. I can't remember where to go to sync the site time to my location time, is there not a place to do this?

39

General Discussion / I'm back...

« on: January 12, 2016, 01:59:20 AM »

What's up folks. Been a few since I posted last...Life got in the way for a while and had to take care of business. I see we have a new category lasted. Cool. Any Tide fans watching the game?

G

40

Decoding/Numbers / Re: Newbie looking for advice

« on: September 20, 2014, 04:17:41 AM »

44??? Your not old....yet.

41

General Discussion / Re: 69 Z/28 X77 garage/barn find

« on: September 20, 2014, 04:13:28 AM »

Did originals have the through holes for the screws (like the ones Darrell pictured) or were there studs?

I think the holes are correct with screws, not absolutey sure. They are factory correct covers. Two would indicate stereo, I believe. If only one, it would be U69 RH side only.

Agreed. My Judge had the same speaker covers which had screw holes and the covers were black. Can't remember if the screws where chrome or not though.

42

General Discussion / Re: FOUND: The Actual 1969 Camaro RS/SS Conv. NASCAR Pace Car for Bristol in 1969!

« on: September 20, 2014, 01:48:02 AM »

...
He also wants to know if anyone can help him acquire a pretty rare option that originally came with his car.  He states that he has, "been trying to locate the fiber optic wire for the front turn lights to the fenders, no one in the after market offers that item.  Do you know of any outfit that might have that item!!! please let me know."

There is nothing to the fiber optic 'system' except for the indicators and the fiber optic itself (a coated glass fiber light conveyer)..  If he only needs the fiber optic line itself (if his is missing or broken in half), then a corvette supplier would be the best source, as all Corvettes built in several years between '68-9 and 1971 Corvettes had them.  Many people think they are more complicated than they are.     A response to a similar question on the Corvette Forum addressed this issue very well, which I will repeat here:
"There is nothing mechanical or electrical about fiber optics. They are very simple. Just fiber strands that transmit light very easily, from the light source to the individual lenses in the console. The purpose of these items was to show the driver if there was an external light bulb that was not functioning.

 Here are a few of the common reasons why a fiber optic does not work. Check to see if the bulb is burnt out. If the lights were removed to have the car repainted, it is not uncommon for the fiber optic end to get painted over and not allow light to travel to the console. The fiber cable could be broken as a result of a previous accident. Check inside the console to see if the fiber optic cable is connected to the console lenses. When I first got my car, I found some of the cables just not connected to the console lense.

 Anyway, this is very basic technology and it is not like trying to run down an electrical problem. As was previously stated, if you have a problem it is pretty easy to just re-run new fiber cable and re-tape it into the harness. IMO. "

ie.. to have them work, the fiber optic line must 1) be present, 2) be clean on the ends, and 3) be installed in the fittings of the console and lamp source.

Gary is correct, nothing high tech about fiber optics. When I worked on C5A aircraft in the USAF, in the cargo compartment by the main entrance/exit door there was an access panel that had a 1 1/2" diameter single strand fiber optics cable that we could see right down into the front landing gear compartment which was maybe 15-20 feet away. It was used to verify if the landing gear was in the down and locked position if there was a panel light out or some other landing gear malfunction. Very useful item to have there as a back up and along side it was a hand crank to lower and lock the gear by hand if no hydraulics.   

43

General Discussion / Re: 69 Z/28 X77 garage/barn find

« on: September 20, 2014, 01:30:02 AM »

Could these possibly be factory Speaker Coves ?  They're made of metal and have the same speaker shape images on the underside of them.  If they are, does anyone know what the factory color should of been ?

They sure look like factory. Probably the same color as the rear package try cover...or maybe black??

44

Restoration / Re: Ebay gas cap

« on: September 16, 2014, 04:42:57 PM »

Thats what people don't understand about NOS stuff.  ALL of it came from the Service department.  When a completely new car came into production part of the servie organization at GM had to go thru each and every peice that they needed to have on hand, and decide if an existing part was Functionally equivalent to a part on the new car.  If so they stocked the funtionally equivalent part.  If there was nothing out there that could be used, they stocked that part or parts.  Over time as other lines changed, were added or deleted the definition of functionally equivalent got looser and looser.  Most servie parts are not the same peice that came on the car originally, and the further away from the year the car was made makes it even less likely the part was actually even used on the car originally.  Look at NOS trim rings as an example.  Production cars had either the 4 clip retainer or the dragons teeth retainers design up to at least late in the 69 model year, some had D shaped valve stem holes, some had holes open to the inner edge, some are oval some are round yet every NOS trim ring has the multi finger retainers and oval valve stem holes that came out late in 69.

Service parts are not production parts.  If people want to pay stupid money for incorrect parts have at it.

The term used widely now is 'form and function'.

45

Restoration / Re: Ebay gas cap

« on: September 16, 2014, 02:52:46 AM »

This one

Thanks. I need one then.