I just purchased a '66 Convert, A.O. Smith body, that I believe is a factory big block car. Whats the deal, there seems to be some discussion about the likelyhood of an A.O Smith body being a factory big block? This car was last titled in '82 and hasn't been on the road since '87. Has all the signs of a big block car.
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Re: '66 AO Smith Big Block?
No problem with a 66 AOS BB. -
Re: '66 AO Smith Big Block?
Thanks WayneComment
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Re: '66 AO Smith Big Block?
AO Smith bodies were not used for side pipe cars. BB are no problem.Comment
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Re: '66 AO Smith Big Block?
Any specific reason why AO Smith bodies were not used by the factory for sidepipes? I have a '65 AO Smith with side pipes and was wondering if they were factory installed or added later. I tracked down the address of two of the previous owners, unfortunately they are both deceased.Comment
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Re: '66 AO Smith Big Block?
John,
Actually, that's a good question. Smith was probably set up to make much more complex modifications for options other than side exhaust so there really is no reason that I can think of why they didn't, but I guess they didn't.Comment
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Re: '66 AO Smith Big Block?
Michael, maybe you can answer this question. When the body was built at AOS, was it already ear marked for a specific order, or was it held until a certain color or option package came along and the body pulled and placed in line. Looks like that would be a nightmare to match all of those combinations. Or maybe AOS bodies were not customer preorders and just built up for the dealer network. There does seem to be times that a bunch of AOS cars were produce with similar colors and options. There are tons of late 67 cars with AC, lots of them seem to be teal coupes. Looks like they were dumping options on them to use up parts in late 67 knowing there was no tomorrow.Comment
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1965 & 66 BB cars by AO Smith are
NOT in question; volume 6 #3 of the Corvette Restorer shows a BB car emergig from the oven/booth at AO Smith. The current question is whether the "stinger" paint on the hood of 1967's removed that from the AO Smith option list.Comment
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Re: '66 AO Smith Big Block?
Wayne,
There were amazingly few things done at either facility that were random. The GM people that count the money at the end of the year would have been the first to scream bloody murder. Anything random, especially as specific as a complete body, would have also required a certain specific quantity of select components to complete at the St Louis plant, especially if it were to have odd options. It was an amazing and incredibly accurate order system that began the production at the Smith facilty and when the body was ready to ship, the St Louis plant would be notified of it's completion and the build would be scheduled accordinly. Everything from parts supply to complete body storage would have been upset if there were no specific orders. I've never been to the Smith plant but I believe there was limited storage available which would have created a problem. The St. Louis plant definitely had very limited storage area so stock piling bodies would probably have been out of the question.
The problem would get even worse as the end of the model year approached. If there were enough orders to complete the run at St. Louis, what would they do with all of the extra stock piled bodies that were unsold. (that yellow with green interior 65 coupe with AC and no radio) The uniform order in which everything occured, from vendor parts arrival to keeping the paper towel dispenser in the mens room filled, was a precise, well organized system. I can't even guess at the number of people that were involved in just keeping one small section of the plant operating every day. I think anything at all random would have completely upset the entire system.
I don't know if the 67 run ended with specific dealer orders or if there were random orders because sales dipped near the end. If random, the builds would still have had entire orders for complete units, which would have given Smith a specific build order. Amazingly complicated network that functioned well.Comment
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Good Point Loren...
The hood stripe on a 67 certainly would have required more time on the paint line and if the Smith plant weren't arranged accordingly, it may have been easier to just eliminate the procedure, and the 67 BB car, from the Smith plant. Much easier than moving a paint booth to provide a space for the stripe operation or reducing the speed of the line to allow time for mask/paint before the final reflow oven. I think you're on to something.Comment
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Re: Good Point Loren...
Getting back to the AOS car with side exhaust, was side exhaust a dealer installed option after the sale? Or was it strictly sold over the parts counter and "do it yourself" or both options? My car has a solid rear panel, no patched up exhuast holes, so somebody went to the trouble of replacing the rear lower panel. Did this panel comes with the kit?Comment
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AOS & Sidepipes amd BBS
on the AOS C2s and sidepipes issue - search this forum on "Smith sidepipes Hinckley," John posted exact info on this (I think with phot documentation as is typical of John's informative posts), perhaps it is now in the archives. Don't quote me, but as I recall there were notches in the frame for the N14 RPO that AOS was not set up to accomadate.
As for BBs and AOS, I second Loren, that's not about the engine itself but all about the stinger hood that was used in 67, which involved a contrasting color and masking for same, and [again drawn from John's advice in other posts] this presented an issue for AOS. Since 65 and 66 BB hoods did not involve contrasting paint, no issue for AOS . . . .65 MM Convertible, L76 (365 hp)Comment
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Re: Good Point Loren...
John,
The selling dealer would have, and could have, installed almost anything a buyer requested. If a car in stock at the dealer had chassis exhaust and a perspective buyer wanted a Corvette "just like that one", but with side exhaust, the dealer would order the parts and make the change. (at the customers expense) Dealers would do almost anything to complete a sale.
There was no such thing as a side exhaust kit of any kind. Dealers that ordered or stocked this system had to order everything part by part. Also, unlike all GM add on accessories, there was no GM instruction sheet or "flat rate time" listed to install the system. The components were never listed in any GM accessory books like other "add on accessories" such as trailer hitches or luggage racks. That said, I suppose the side exhaust option really couldn't be considered a "dealer installed accessory".
In the 60's, many owners of non side exh cars made the switch to side exh. The correct rear panel without holes was available and reasonably priced so many owners just installed the new panel instead of trying to fill holes in their original.Comment
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Re: Good Point Loren...
Thanks, Michael. I thought that was the case. But, again there seem to be a bunch of high optioned cars at the end of the run. How they got there, customer orders or dealer build ups or not. I wonder about the storage at AOS. or maybe the supplier. Interestingly my mid-late production AOS 67 teal coupe with AC, has a rear window that it shouldnt have. It has a 66 dated window that is nearly a year too early and it has the old original AC sticker that would have been on the 66 year model. Now I have the experience to know how to tell if this window was factory installed, and it was. It falls way out of our 6 month window, but it was factory installed none the less.Comment
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Re: 1965 & 66 BB cars by AO Smith are
Am I correct in understanding that AOS Bodies were color painted at the AOS Plant? For some reason I was under the impression that all units were painted in St. Louis.Comment
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