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To kind of go along with the 1977 GM booklet I posted about in another thread, I found this at the OCA Nationals this past August in Dayton. Lots of stuff in here, but I'll just post a couple of things of interest.
The booklet is actually larger than can fit on my scanner (measures 9 x 11 inches), so the left side is partly cut off.
Here's the full year 1973 production figures with comparisons going back to 1964. The table stretches across two pages, with the right side showing non-U.S. sales.
Olds was approaching the 1 million mark, a level it would achieve for the first time in its history in 1977 and then repeat the feat in 1978, 1979, 1984, 1985, and 1986. Hard to believe that less than 20 years later, Oldsmobile would be nothing but a memory.
There's lots of photos of cars and labs and test facilities and all the rest, and here's one that pretty much floored me. They shipped the Vegas standing on end! Wouldn't that cause problems with liquids like oil and coolant and whatever getting into places it shouldn't? Did they ship the cars without any fluids in them? But then how did they move the cars around when they reached their destinations and had to perhaps load them on trucks for the final trip to the dealer? Did they push the cars around, or did they start them up and drive them onto trailers and around storage lots and things?
Last edited by jaunty75; October 24th, 2023 at 07:32 AM.
Here's more on the Vert-a-Pac. Apparently it was done only with the Vega and the similar Pontiac Astre, and the cars WERE shipped with all fluids, including gasoline in the tank!
Chevrolet’s goal was to deliver Vegas topped with fluids and ready to drive to the dealership from their distribution point. In order to be able to travel nose-down without leaking fluids all over the railcar (and onto the tracks), the Vega’s engineers had to design a special engine oil baffle to prevent oil from entering the No. 1 cylinder of the car’s inline-four engine. Batteries had filler caps located high up on the rear edge of the case to prevent acid spills. The carburetor float bowl had a special tube that drained gasoline into the vapor canister during shipment, and the windshield washer bottle stood at a 45-degree angle. Plastic spacers were wedged between the powertrain and chassis to prevent damage to engine and transmission mounts. The wedges were removed when cars were unloaded. The doors were closed with a forklift tractor.
Last edited by jaunty75; October 24th, 2023 at 07:44 AM.
October 24th, 2023, 07:30 AM
