Flint, MI: GM Engine, Assembly, Body Shop and Metal Center Plants

Engine: (Satellite)

Assembly: (Satellite)

Body Shop: (Satellite)

Metal Center: (Satellite)

Autoport: (Satellite)

cryptopig_thepainter posted
The Chevrolet Flint Engine Plant was the birthplace of the first small-block V-8 engines circa 1955. These engines revolutionized automotive design and performance, becoming iconic powerhouses that drove the evolution of American muscle cars.

Timothy Hamp commented on the above post
This is the very first one made. it is at The Sloan Museum in Flint. The first Small Block Chevy.

 

Cryptopig The Painter posted
"1953 Buick GM Flint Assembly: Witness the birthplace of automotive elegance as skilled hands bring the timeless Buick to life in the heart of Flint's manufacturing legacy."
Lance Reidsma: This is the year of their first V8 but you could still get a Straight 8 in some models---

Engine:

gm_engine

Assembly:

gm_assembly

2023: GM is investing over a billion dollars in Flint to produce its "next-generation internal combustion engine (ICE) heavy-duty trucks." [wwmt]

I wonder how much of the factory equipment is made in America.

3:06 video @ 0:16

The railroad near the plant was Grand Trunk Western.

1969 Flint South Quad @ 24,000

Cryptopig The Painter posted
Flint, Michigan in 1956: a skilled worker meticulously operates machinery at the Chevrolet V-8 engine plant.

Rick Allen Rupp: Thats the honing operation. I worked on the 350 and 400 small block case jobs. Also worked in the V-6 60 degree (Chevy Citation) and V-6 90 degree case jobs. I worked overtime in the Mark 4 case job on Saturdays at the Tonawanda Motor plant. And yes, Chevrolet called it the MOTOR plant, not an engine plant. When I worked in the 454 MK4 case job, every once in a while I would see 348 engines- 3 to a shipping rack. I asked an old timer there why these 348's were there. He referred to them as the W block. He said they were irrigation motors and Chevrolet had to make them a certain number of years after the regular production of these engines due to Federal guidelines. This was in 1973. I also saw the fully automatic machine that milled and bored and broached the Aluminum 427 engines. I worked there for 8 years and the machine was never running on any aluminum blocks. It just sat there all dusty. I was told the machine was state of the art at the time and it changed it's own tools during the process. I also knew an inspector there that built Cosworth twin cam Vega engines. They were assembled in an air conditioned room. I would stop there on my break in the summer to cool off in that room and talk to Steve as he assembled the twin cam engines.

R Karl Burnett: Rick Allen Rupp “W” blocks were originally 1958-64!

Intended for trucks, had 4-bolt main bearing webs. They grew to “409’s” later and for a few years ruled the drag strips everywhere!!!

“W” came from the pattern made with the cylinder heads, Rocker Arm Covers, “Canted” cylinder head joint faces and “wedged” combustion chambers.

I always wished I could find a 1961 or 1963 409 Super Sport someday???!!!

William Boardman: Rick Allen Rupp GM V6 worst engines ever made. Couldn't last 60,000 mi.

Rick Allen Rupp: Don't know. Never owned one. I ran the verticle bank drill which drilled all the oil galleys for the main bearings and the oil pan bolts. I had to pull every 40 block and put it in a jig then take specified tools that measured everything as a go or no go. If the tools did not slide in easily the machine was stopped and the machine repair techs checked to see if anything had shifted etc.

John Mcgee: If you look closer, this may be '55 265's. I don't see the casting for the oil filter on those blocks.

Jerry Bonk Sr: Aaahhh the honeing job I hired into the Flint V-8 engine plt. 7-18-1977& learned the back up hone repair job honeing out cylinders out of spec.’s or outta round to bore size.

Kevin MacLaggan: No block mounted oil filter. Therefore it would be 1955, not 1956.