when the older cars were made at the factory...

[njot33]

I was wondering if anyone knew the answer to this...
In the 50s, 60s, and 70s, were there Oldsmobile only factories, Buick only factories, and Pontiac only factories, etc.?

I know by the 80s, GM would produce one car line at a factory, then put the appropriate front and rear on, then the appropriate trim and badges for a particular make.

But I was thinking that until at least 1977, each division had its own engines, and so many other things on the cars were particular to a division. So, it occurred to me that at one point, they produced F-85s in one plant, Pontiac Tempests in another, and Buick Specials on yet another- even though they are so similar to one another, yet with their own differences.

For example it is interesting to me how the 61-63 Special and F-85 in fact shared the engine block made by Buick, but then Oldsmobile put their own cylinder heads on it, just to be different from Buick.

So is this in fact how it was before the mid 70s, with factories dedicated to certain brands? And if so, around what year did GM change over to making entire carlines in one factory, and just put the badges and trim on at the end?

It would seem complicated to me if, before the mid 70s, they produced a carline in a factory, but then went and got an Oldsmobile engine and put it in an Olds, and the next car was a Pontiac so they went and got a Pontiac engine, etc.

[joe_padavano]

Originally Posted by njot33

I was wondering if anyone knew the answer to this...
In the 50s, 60s, and 70s, were there Oldsmobile only factories, Buick only factories, and Pontiac only factories, etc.?

I know by the 80s, GM would produce one car line at a factory, then put the appropriate front and rear on, then the appropriate trim and badges for a particular make.

But I was thinking that until at least 1977, each division had its own engines, and so many other things on the cars were particular to a division. So, it occurred to me that at one point, they produced F-85s in one plant, Pontiac Tempests in another, and Buick Specials on yet another- even though they are so similar to one another, yet with their own differences.

For example it is interesting to me how the 61-63 Special and F-85 in fact shared the engine block made by Buick, but then Oldsmobile put their own cylinder heads on it, just to be different from Buick.

So is this in fact how it was before the mid 70s, with factories dedicated to certain brands? And if so, around what year did GM change over to making entire carlines in one factory, and just put the badges and trim on at the end?

It would seem complicated to me if, before the mid 70s, they produced a carline in a factory, but then went and got an Oldsmobile engine and put it in an Olds, and the next car was a Pontiac so they went and got a Pontiac engine, etc.

Nope, even with different engines, GM always made multiple car lines at the same assembly factory. For example, the old Framingham, MA plant made Olds and Buick A-body cars on the same line, one right after the other. This was going on from the 60s right up until the plant closed in the late 1980s. If you think about it, keeping the right Buick or Olds engine sequenced to match the car is no different than keeping the various Olds motors sequenced as well. Same goes for bench seats vs. buckets, red vs. black upholstery, etc.

There were some exceptions, notably the "home" factory.

[66 Olznut]

Fremont, Ca. I've seen alot of old pics from there with a 1965 Le Mans, Skylark and F-85 all on the same line.

[njot33]

Interesting.
We had an 81 Buick Century that was built in Framingham, Mass.

I guess they had to be careful then to keep all the interior trim choices separate. They would have had to have had Buick and Olds interior choices all over the place and had to pick the right stuff for the right car.

It seems surprising to me that they were able to keep as many of the brand differences as they did for so long if they were made at the same place.

[joe_padavano]

Originally Posted by njot33

Interesting.
We had an 81 Buick Century that was built in Framingham, Mass.

I guess they had to be careful then to keep all the interior trim choices separate. They would have had to have had Buick and Olds interior choices all over the place and had to pick the right stuff for the right car.

It seems surprising to me that they were able to keep as many of the brand differences as they did for so long if they were made at the same place.

Keep in mind that even if the line were just building Olds A-body cars, there were 3-4 different trim levels and half a dozen interior colors to keep straight - that's 18 -24 possible combinations. Once you implement a system that can keep that straight, adding the Buick or Pontiac parts is just more of the same coordination.