1968 camaro production runs

[Dannyj74]

Just curious if the production line might have ran the cars based on engines. like lets say they ran a series of Z28's than went to 396's or 350's. Im sure that wasnt the case but would make sense.

[ZLP955]

Interested to hear from the core CRG members on this, but my understanding of JohnZ's excellent assembly process article (http://www.camaros.org/assemblyprocess.shtml) is that it's more likely scheduling sought variation in option content to even out demands on the assembly line.
The 'Chevrolet Assembly Operations' section states:

Assembly scheduling sorted the units based on equipment and option content to maintain assembly line work station balance.

And also

Scheduling: There were usually six lines in the schedule bank - one for RS, one for A/C, one for SS and Z/28, and three for high-volume standard cars, so cars could be scheduled without having situations like three A/C's in a row, three consoles in a row, three RS's in a row, etc., as these had higher work content vs. the standard cars and scheduling two or three of them in a row would over-cycle certain line operations.

RS and AC would add significant complexity, and I'd imagine the separate lines for Z/28 and SS cars was more about the striping, blackout etc rather than the outright engine RPO. But maybe the engines were a factor?

[william]

Spent much of my career in materials management  Will try not to get long-winded.

Every model year [MY], Sales, Marketing and Operations have to do a Sales and Operations Plan [SOP]. First thing, how many of these cars are we going to sell?  That determines the capacity of the manufacturing plant(s), determines a master production schedule and drives a forecast for component material requirements. From there, planning drills down to how many coupes, converts, 6 cylinders, 8 cylinders, transmissions, etc. Each component, common or optional, has to have a plan. The plants that supply these components will produce based on this plan. Some parts will be in continuous production [base engines, etc] some low-volume stuff will be produced in batches to be held in inventory at the assembly plants. Some special components were supplied only when specifically ordered [M22s, ZL1 engines].  I have read that the demand for Z/28s was well over forecast, greatly exceeding the capacity of the plant that produced engines. That meant there was virtually no room for error on releasing Z/28 bodies out of the bank for final assembly. In those days, I doubt the systems did any kind of material-assurance so someone had to ensure engines were in stock before releasing a body from the bank.

The second consideration is as noted, striping. The final assembly line had to balance; they could not run back to back higher labor content units like RS or Z/28.  So maybe every 10th or 12th car down the line was a Z/28 to keep things balanced.

Just for the record, bodies were assigned a VIN as they entered the bank. Cars were not built in VIN order. There are sequentially VIN-numbered Z/28s and Z11s; they were not final-assembled together.       

[Dannyj74]

Thank you for the break down, very interesting. I really love learning about these.

[RS Copo]

Spent much of my career in materials management  Will try not to get long-winded.

Every model year [MY], Sales, Marketing and Operations have to do a Sales and Operations Plan [SOP]. First thing, how many of these cars are we going to sell?  That determines the capacity of the manufacturing plant(s), determines a master production schedule and drives a forecast for component material requirements. From there, planning drills down to how many coupes, converts, 6 cylinders, 8 cylinders, transmissions, etc. Each component, common or optional, has to have a plan. The plants that supply these components will produce based on this plan. Some parts will be in continuous production [base engines, etc] some low-volume stuff will be produced in batches to be held in inventory at the assembly plants. Some special components were supplied only when specifically ordered [M22s, ZL1 engines].  I have read that the demand for Z/28s was well over forecast, greatly exceeding the capacity of the plant that produced engines. That meant there was virtually no room for error on releasing Z/28 bodies out of the bank for final assembly. In those days, I doubt the systems did any kind of material-assurance so someone had to ensure engines were in stock before releasing a body from the bank.

The second consideration is as noted, striping. The final assembly line had to balance; they could not run back to back higher labor content units like RS or Z/28.  So maybe every 10th or 12th car down the line was a Z/28 to keep things balanced.

Just for the record, bodies were assigned a VIN as they entered the bank. Cars were not built in VIN order. There are sequentially VIN-numbered Z/28s and Z11s; they were not final-assembled together.       

William, don't ever be worried about being long winded. I read your posts twice,I learn a lot from them!.

[william]

Thanks for the kind comments!

John Z's article on the site was a huge factor in gaining an understanding of the production process and the extensive planning that went into it. It must have been a nightmare to keep tabs on on all the different equipment, paint and trim options. 

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