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Topic: St Louis Assembly Plant Pics - Do you see your car

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St Louis Assembly Plant Pics - Do you see your car (1/38)
8/12/07 2:24pm

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HOWELL, NJ - USA

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Hey there team,

Bought these on a disc from a guy on ebay. Quite nostalgic for those of you owning an 80s vinatge C3:

Enjoy!!!

Paul

22

23

24

25

(modified all images to links)Adams' Apple2007-08-12 17:11:55

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St Louis Assembly Plant Pics - Do you see your car (2/38)
8/12/07 4:16pm

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Whew!

I got(d-loaded) all of these off of the CAC site several weeks ago. Don't know if they are still up over there, tho. There are several other series of shots from St. Louie from earlier years, too.(I've got some from the late 50s/early 60s) It's fun to look thru and see if ya recognize your car on the line!
It's also kewl to be able to sorta see how the cars were assembled, and get an idea of how much goes into them.

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St Louis Assembly Plant Pics - Do you see your car (3/38)
8/12/07 4:20pm

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Nice insight paul, the guy must of worked the line? spielman52007-08-12 19:34:46

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St Louis Assembly Plant Pics - Do you see your car (4/38)
8/12/07 8:09pm

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Thanks for the pictures Paul, real interesting. I liked the #18 that showed the frame numbers. I really enjoyed all of them. Good job!

Thanks....... Thumbs%20Up

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steve

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St Louis Assembly Plant Pics - Do you see your car (5/38)
8/13/07 3:31am

gurtz
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COOL stuff and thanks!

St Louis Assembly Plant Pics - Do you see your car (6/38)
8/13/07 9:15am

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Great pictures Air Assault. OIF and OEF vet also.

sgm2004

St Louis Assembly Plant Pics - Do you see your car (7/38)
8/13/07 9:43am

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Love the photos of the vettes.

Just wondering if the two isolated Red ones up against the building are in quarantine with canker sores.

Many thanks

JPD1stVette2007-08-13 10:44:36

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St Louis Assembly Plant Pics - Do you see your car (8/38)
8/13/07 3:30pm

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North Charleston, SC - USA

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Thanks for the pics Paul. Man, I love stuff like that. I wish there was a documentary on VHS or DVD showing the assembly processes. That would be too kewl.

Scott

St Louis Assembly Plant Pics - Do you see your car (9/38)
8/13/07 4:12pm

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Doubt if my baby is in the pictures unless you have one from Dec. 3, 1973. Thanx for the pictures, they are great and you can just imagine being there.

Larry

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St Louis Assembly Plant Pics - Do you see your car (10/38)
9/1/07 4:28am

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Glad everyone enjoyed them! Big%20smile

Big%20smile

If we could only turn back time if we knew then what we know now!!

St Louis Assembly Plant Pics - Do you see your car (11/38)
9/1/07 7:52am

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, - Canada

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That's nice. Thanks for sharing.

Interesting to see the tank sheet and frame stamping on pic #18.

St Louis Assembly Plant Pics - Do you see your car (12/38)
9/1/07 2:45pm

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CUYAHOGA FALLS, OH - USA

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Saved them all. Thanks.

St Louis Assembly Plant Pics - Do you see your car (13/38)
9/2/07 5:47am

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Nice pics. Must have been taken on a Sunday as no one was working.

Makes the new assembly plant look even better. Now I can see why they moved.

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St Louis Assembly Plant Pics - Do you see your car (14/38)
9/2/07 10:52am

BelgiumBarry
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hey great !!! Clap

Clap

but..... pic 4 seems to me more a car demolition plant..... Confused

Confused

LOL

LOL

St Louis Assembly Plant Pics - Do you see your car (15/38)
10/4/07 4:07am

R75VETTE
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what is the cac site would like to see if any pics are still there

St Louis Assembly Plant Pics - Do you see your car (16/38)
10/4/07 5:51am

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Very cool Paul, thanks!!

St Louis Assembly Plant Pics - Do you see your car (17/38)
10/4/07 7:42am

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thanks for posting these, they are great. I saved all of them and have them running as a screen saver. Clap

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St Louis Assembly Plant Pics - Do you see your car (18/38)
10/5/07 4:16am

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anybody know what the cac site is i would like to see if there are any more pic there still

St Louis Assembly Plant Pics - Do you see your car (19/38)
10/5/07 5:41am

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St Louis Assembly Plant Pics - Do you see your car (20/38)
10/22/07 9:51am

6880Mike
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This series of pictures has been around a while. They were taken at St. Louis in December 1980 (1981 production). The speculation has always been who took them and when. Cameras were not allowed in the plant. Frame stencils show December dates; no employees are pictured; the line appears to be stopped. My guess is Christmas break 1980 and taken by a security guard, but that's only my amateur attempt to play Sherlock Holmes.

#23 is proof two-toned cars were produced at St. Louis.

Smile

6880Mike2007-10-22 10:53:51

St Louis Assembly Plant Pics - Do you see your car (21/38)
10/22/07 3:19pm

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HOWELL, NJ - USA

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1979, Targa Blue (72 Color), Pace Car rear spoiler, L88 hood, Dark blue factory interior, 525HP 406, HD 700R4, 370 gears,Steeroids, composite rear spring, TT IIs wrapped in T/A Radials.

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Cool insight Mike. Thanks.

St Louis Assembly Plant Pics - Do you see your car (22/38)
10/23/07 6:29am

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Look's like 81 or 82 vintage. Two-tone wasn't offered in 1980. Can't imagine what it would have been like to drive off in one of those and having the new car smell. LOL

LOL

St Louis Assembly Plant Pics - Do you see your car (23/38)
10/23/07 7:24am

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Very cool.

Hey, where can I get some of these nose bumpers? I could use them!

It is a shame the plant couldn't be preserved as a historial building and kept open as a museum for tours. I suppose the large property is worth more as something else, though.

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St Louis Assembly Plant Pics - Do you see your car (24/38)
10/23/07 3:22pm

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[QUOTE=maintenance4]Look's like 81 or 82 vintage. Two-tone wasn't offered in 1980.[/QUOTE]

Can't be an '82, they were all assembled in Bowling Green. Some 1981's were also assembled in Bowling Green, starting in June or July, 1981.

Pictures could have been taken by a security guard, or anyone else that had permission to be in there when the line was down. Maintenance person or maybe a manager that knew everything was moving to BG is six months.

I wonder if I had one of those miniature video spy cameras if I could get a video of the BG line. That would be cool. Of course, I don't know if they allow you to watch private videos in jail. LOL

LOL

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St Louis Assembly Plant Pics - Do you see your car (25/38)
10/23/07 3:26pm

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Victor, NY - USA

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[QUOTE=Adam Wartell]

Hey, where can I get some of these nose bumpers? I could use them!

[/QUOTE]

They look like cardboard. Can you read the part number? LOL

LOL

I'll sell you one for $50. It fits an '82, so it might fit your '79.

But I have to warn you, they don't work well on the Interstate. Rolling%20On%20The%20Floor%20Laughing

Rolling%20On%20The%20Floor%20Laughing

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St Louis Assembly Plant Pics - Do you see your car (26/38)
10/23/07 10:07pm

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The Frame Stencil in Picture 18 looks to be in an odd Spot so far forward on the Frame. I thought it should be further back. Dose anybody have two Tone A Arms Painted like Picture 19 ? I agree that it looks to be 81 Production as all the Engines have Black Valve Covers and no FI. I never knew there was even a concideration that there was a 2 Tone Car built in the Old Plant. So that would mean that it is a Two Tone Lacker Car and not Two Tone Clearcoat?? Richard........

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St Louis Assembly Plant Pics - Do you see your car (27/38)
10/24/07 4:51am

maintenance4
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Look's like they forgot to put on the center caps on the wheels. pic #24 (oop's, forgot they were dealer installed)

maintenance42007-10-24 06:14:48

St Louis Assembly Plant Pics - Do you see your car (28/38)
10/24/07 5:00am

6880Mike
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Frame stencil clearly reads 12-8-80. Frames were stockpiled at St. Louis, but they did not stay around long. This is 1981 model year production at St. Louis, some time after December 8.

All the St. Louis cars were lacquer. All the Bowling Green cars were (still are) enamel (BC/CC).

Smile

6880Mike2007-10-24 06:05:21

St Louis Assembly Plant Pics - Do you see your car (29/38)
10/24/07 8:11am

dwright
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So Mike, did you work at the plant?

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St Louis Assembly Plant Pics - Do you see your car (30/38)
10/24/07 8:26am

6880Mike
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[QUOTE=dwright]So Mike, did you work at the plant?[/QUOTE]

Nope. Never worked for GM. I'm just a run-of-the-mill Corvette buff like the rest of the bunch. I've been interested in, and fooling with, Corvettes for a long time.

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St Louis Assembly Plant Pics - Do you see your car (31/38)
10/24/07 8:28am

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Good to have you on board. You have a wealth of knowledge. Thanks for sharing.

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St Louis Assembly Plant Pics - Do you see your car (32/38)
10/25/07 8:22am

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Good stuff. I enjoyed the pics.

St Louis Assembly Plant Pics - Do you see your car (33/38)
10/26/07 7:42am

movie collector

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great pics. thanks for sharing.

St Louis Assembly Plant Pics - Do you see your car (34/38)
10/26/07 7:54am

movie collector

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where could i get pics like that for the early 70s vettes?

St Louis Assembly Plant Pics - Do you see your car (35/38)
11/5/07 8:59am

6880Mike
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[QUOTE=Movie Collector]...where could i get pics like that for the early 70s vettes?...[/QUOTE]

GM Archives if they exist. Cameras were not allowed in the plant, so John Q. Public could not take photographs of the line on plant tours. GM would peridocially send GM photographers to the various plants and make authorized photographs of record. The old Corvette News often got their hands on some and published them.

St Louis Assembly Plant Pics - Do you see your car (36/38)
11/5/07 6:50pm

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[QUOTE=Gale Banks 80] The Frame Stencil in Picture 18 looks to be in an odd Spot so far forward on the Frame. I thought it should be further back. Dose anybody have two Tone A Arms Painted like Picture 19 ? I agree that it looks to be 81 Production as all the Engines have Black Valve Covers and no FI. I never knew there was even a consideration that there was a 2 Tone Car built in the Old Plant. So that would mean that it is a Two Tone Lacker Car and not Two Tone Clearcoat?? Richard........[/QUOTE]

Well now....ya'll remember the '78 Pace Car? Or da '78 Silver Anny cars? St. Louis did do some two tones. They also did a run of enamel cars in July of '80, and they had a paint code with an "E" in it.

As far as the stencil, it appears to be in the right spot, as compared to others of the Shark generation.

I believe the original poster of these pics stated they were of the '81 production line...this is some really good archival stuff...not the easiest to get ahold of the older stuff.

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St Louis Assembly Plant Pics - Do you see your car (37/38)
11/6/07 5:14am

maintenance4
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The build sheet on the gas tank is in the same spot where I found mine. Came off in one peace and read-able.Went to a dealer-ship in Omaha, Neb.[QUOTE=6880Mike]

Frame stencil clearly reads 12-8-80. Frames were stockpiled at St. Louis, but they did not stay around long. This is 1981 model year production at St. Louis, some time after December 8.

All the St. Louis cars were lacquer. All the Bowling Green cars were (still are) enamel (BC/CC).

Smile

[/QUOTE]

St Louis Assembly Plant Pics - Do you see your car (38/38)
2/1/08 6:08pm

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[QUOTE=Gale Banks 80] ....Dose anybody have two Tone A Arms Painted like Picture 19 ? ......

Mine is an 80 L82 and has the black paint as shown on the A arms in the picture. I had them repainted the same as original when they were rebuilt and cleaned up.

I always wondered about some of my door gaps looking uneven or wide, but after seeing these photos, they look similar.

Thanks for sharing the photos, these are great!

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