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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

Unless I misunderstood the question Oldsmobiles would have to be built in separate factory's at some point.Because they were separate company's before GM was formed.I'm sure they wouldn't close factorys the min. GM was formed.Some time ago Muscle Machines Magazine(I think)had a story about the forming of GM.I'll try to find out just witch one when I get a chance.

 

THe question was in the 50's, 60's & 70's....

 

Here is the early history of G.M.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History...#Early_history

 

How Fremont did it....

http://www.ultra-high-compression.com/fremont-tour.html

 

That Fremont tour is one of the most interesting and fascinating things I've seen.

The "home" plants usually built only one carline; i.e. Olds at Lansing, Buick at Flint, Chevrolet at Flint, Pontiac at (where else?) Pontiac. I'm pretty sure all Cadillac were built in Detroit until the 70s "divestiture", then a few were built in other plants.

The "satellite" plants such as Framingham and Doraville were usually set up for multiple carlines.

Can you imagine trying to keep all those cars straight and get the right pieces on each one? The F-body plants didn't do such a good job by the 80s- I ordered a new 84 TransAM that came in with a Camaro right fender. Wouldn't accept it.

 

TK thats a cool link... interesting they painted the front suspension after installation I wouldn't have thought that, good to know I "restored" mine correctly

 

Being in Mass I love seeing those made in Framingham stickers. Someday I'd like to own a car that was made in my home state. Odds are slim though since cars made in that plant didn't last long in this area (rust)

 

Heh- the pic didn't fully load the first time- check it out, all four Divisions in the picture! and looks like a flat-top wagon waiting for the dyno behind the Skylark and Chevelle.

I bet those guys had the best job in the plant!

 

Does anyone have pics of the assembly/plant showing 1970-1972 Cutlass/442's being built in Lansing...

 

In 1972, I worked at the Framingham plant.

It was a B-O-P plant, making Buick, Pontiac, and Olds A body cars on the same assembly line.

60 cars an hour, 16 hours a day....quality was job #2.....

 

The Olds Lansing plant built all models on the same assembly line (with the exception of Toronados, which had their own line). So a 98 might be followed by a W-30 followed by a Vista Cruiser.

If I read My442's post correctly, while one assembly line at the Framingham plant built many GM makes, they were only A-body cars. Is that correct? That would make a lot more sense than trying to build ALL makes AND models.

For what it's worth, around 1970 the Lansing plant was cranking out ~98 cars per hour, and their quality was the highest of any GM plant.

 

Those pictures of Fremont are great!

Fremont is where my Cutlass come from.

thanks