C2 or C3 Engine Failure on the Assembly Line?

[Owen L.]

What were the common steps that the Corvette assembly line would have followed if an installed engine had a full blown failure that required a replacement block?

Would the replacement block have been stamped just like the original such that there would be no indication it was not the first engine installed?

Were CE engines only installed after a car left St. Louis?

[David H.]

Re: C2 or C3 Engine Failure on the Assembly Line?

What were the common steps that the Corvette assembly line would have followed if an installed engine had a full blown failure that required a replacement block?

Would the replacement block have been stamped just like the original such that there would be no indication it was not the first engine installed?

Were CE engines only installed after a car left St. Louis?

Owen

Expect this was a very rare occurrence as engines got a "hot test" before being shipped from Flint.

John Hinckley published an interesting Flint Engine Manufacture article. Available at Camaro.org, link below.

That said, seems like they had plenty of engines on-hand at St Louis.

http://www.camaros.org/flintV8.shtml

Dave

[Mark F.]

Re: C2 or C3 Engine Failure on the Assembly Line?

...John Hinckley published an interesting Flint Engine Manufacture article. Available at Camaro.org, link below. That said, seems like they had plenty of engines on-hand at St Louis. http://www.camaros.org/flintV8.shtml Dave

Excellent and interesting link, Dave. Thanks!

At the end of the first link you provided, JH says, "Now that we have the engine built, tested (sic started and hot-tested for the first time), painted, and shipped, we'll follow it down the Engine Dress Line in another article - Engine Dress Line."

At the end of Engine Dress Line article, JH says, "If an engine was found to be defective when the car was started (sic for the second time in the assembly plant) at the end of the line or during Roll Test, that engine was removed and returned to Flint or Tonawanda for credit, and a new engine was dressed for that car and installed in Final Repair. Major internal engine repairs weren't done in assembly plants - they were neither equipped nor trained for that kind of work."

[James G.]

Re: C2 or C3 Engine Failure on the Assembly Line?

Really good information over there they have a pretty good handle on assembly practices - John wrote a long paper on Camaro Assembly process from sheet metal stampings coming into Fisher Body to cars rolling off the Chevrolet assembly line - he was involved quite heavily until he was over to the Lordstown plant for it's reconfiguration from Firebird to Vega production in March-April 1969.