C1 Quality vs other car companies
I've been reading and rebuilding my '58 for the past two years and in that time have come across the main issues of parts dating, changes in parts used during the same production year, the confusion over bolt headmarkings, the fitting of doors and the like, the over-restoring (i.e. eliminating the paint overspray, not having exposed glue at the weatherstripping) and constant changes in construction during a particular year. My question is, was this quality control (or lack thereof) only found in the Corvette, or did GM have the same issues with the Bel Air or Ford with the Thunderbird. It seems that this forum exists in large part to help us disseminate conflicting information between the AIM, the JG-a lot of time because, even for '58, 5 years into the Corvette run, they were still making changes during the production run. Did other car makers go through this type of change and confusion-did Ford use whatever bolt headmarkings were available in the bins during their production? After all this, it seems GM built the Vette on the fly and kept changing and then never kept accurate records. I love my car and wouldn't change it for anything and love trying to sort it all out, but was this type of confusion found with other cars during the 50's and early 60's?
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Re: C1 Quality vs other car companies
Yes it happened on all cars also ,as things improved or outside suppliers dint keep up with demand, GM used more then one supplier for parts and that's why you see a design change on some part. Logos you find different on the same part means a different supplier for the same part.Bolts markings is a good example if they ran out of one they used a different markings. Any new model year Corvette like your 58 you'll find many different changes (early mid late ) then the 59 much less. When all this happened can be a problem sorting out. -
Re: C1 Quality vs other car companies
There's nothing wrong with, and it doesn't indicate poor quality, using different bolts with different head markings. It's a sign of a healthy supply chain that GM had multiple suppliers for some parts.
Nothing wrong with revising the AIM over time. Even 5 years later. Just smart manufacturing. You can always do better. Continual improvement is what makes people think Toyota is so great.
Overspray where nobody can see it, and sloppy weatherstrip glue. Yeah that's not great. But I believe it was considered acceptable at the time.
You'll get lots of posts on this. But little data. You can't rely on people's memories for this. You need data to do an fair evaluation.Comment
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Re: C1 Quality vs other car companies
Steven,
I'd let the car be your primary guide as much as possible. Even a highly modified car can still have a lot of originality left and you should look at your car closely to see what it was, be it bolts, overspray or whatever. Use the 58-60 JG and, since you have a 58, the 56-57 JG, although the latter is pretty weak on chassis. Then try to look as as many unrestored and Bowtie cars in particular that you can at meets to answer any other questions you may have. And last, but not least, the tech board!
BobComment
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