chevy truck trivia

[rwolf9653]

Recently I had someone "challenge" my knowledge on Chevy trucks by asking me a few trivia type questions. He did get me with his last question:
What year had yellow trim?

Well, he asked the question kind of wrong, but I didn't know the correct answer no matter what. So I jumped on the site and in about 5 minutes found out that he was reffering to 1977 trucks.

So, I was wondering what kind of trivial knowledge some of you had wandering around in your head. I know that some of you could write a book on these trucks, but I would bet that through all of the generations of trucks we could find out some intersting things. Lets keep it on chevy trucks, and go ahead and share whatever even if you think it is common knowledge because it might not be all that common.

[Genuine GM]

I actually knew that one, but I had a 77, so go figure. I used to know a little trivia about the 73-79 models (I've owned 5 trucks and 1 burb that vintage), but I can't seem to remember anything right this second.

I no zero trivia about the 60-66, so I am curious to see what shows up.

[MacAttack]

60-66 Truck Trivia: The rust you can see is 1/10 of what actually exists.

[rwolf9653]

OOPS! I thought that I had put this in general discussion to cover all years.
Mods please move if you can. Thanks

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by rwolf9653

Recently I had someone "challenge" my knowledge on Chevy trucks by asking me a few trivia type questions. He did get me with his last question:
What year had yellow trim?

Well, he asked the question kind of wrong, but I didn't know the correct answer no matter what. So I jumped on the site and in about 5 minutes found out that he was reffering to 1977 trucks.

So, I was wondering what kind of trivial knowledge some of you had wandering around in your head. I know that some of you could write a book on these trucks, but I would bet that through all of the generations of trucks we could find out some intersting things. Lets keep it on chevy trucks, and go ahead and share whatever even if you think it is common knowledge because it might not be all that common.

I knew that one as well, not because I had a 77 but because when we changed the trim back to black in '78, there were some pieces we forgot and left yellow!

[rwolf9653]

Originally Posted by Keith Seymore

I knew that one as well, not because I had a 77 but because when we changed the trim back to black in '78, there were some pieces we forgot and left yellow!

Now that is inside knowledge!

[Keith Seymore]

No takers?



My "expertise" is limited to '73 - '87, but I've been thinking of a few:

a) Anybody know who the Chief Engineer was for the '73 C/K trucks?

b) Along those lines, how about Chief Engineer for the GMT800 models? GMT900 models?

c) Where were Chevy trucks designed in the mid 80's?

d) The '73 - 87 C/K/R/V trucks were offered in which cab and model types (what wheelbase and series)?

e) Bonus points for the above if you can name the number (and size) of the wheel lugs

f) What was the only plant to produce the C/K/R/V Blazer/Suburban?

g) What was the first year for the Cadillac Escalade? Where does that first truck reside?

h) What was the base axle for a 85 swb 2wd with the 305 engine/turbo 350 trans (lol - I don't know this one either. I was hoping someone could tell me!)

i) What year was the front end sheetmetal change for the '73 - 87 pickups?

j) Prior to the above change, a small design feature was added to the front of the hood. What year was that and why was that feature added?



Let's see how that goes, and I'll add more later if need be.

K

[Keith Seymore]

One more, for you '65 guys (not a question, but a bit of trivia).

My dad was a Die maker for GM for 26 years, before moving into the salaried ranks. One of the first dies he worked on was the tool for making the grille for the '65 Chevy pickup.

You'll notice it has a bunch of small rectangular slots. One of the problems was that those punches would break off, not forming the slots, messing up the opening, etc, and generally running a bunch of repair.

Dad made a number of small improvements to the tool, each time using the GM Suggestion process to document his ideas (the Suggestion plan pays you for any product or process improvements that are implemented).

He made enough money, just from those suggestions alone, to buy our '69 GMC pickup - and pay cash for it.

[Prerunner1982]

Answers in bold.. just guessin'

Originally Posted by Keith Seymore

No takers?



My "expertise" is limited to '73 - '87, but I've been thinking of a few:

a) Anybody know who the Chief Engineer was for the '73 C/K trucks? Would he have the last name of Seymore?

b) Along those lines, how about Chief Engineer for the GMT800 models? GMT900 models? Same as above..

c) Where were Chevy trucks designed in the mid 80's? Dunno.

d) The '73 - 87 C/K/R/V trucks were offered in which cab and model types (what wheelbase and series)?

Reg Cab short wheel base 117.5"
Reg Cab Long wheel base 131.5"
Crew Cab Long wheel base 164.5"

e) Bonus points for the above if you can name the number (and size) of the wheel lugs

5, 6, 8... but no sizes.. 1/2 point?

f) What was the only plant to produce the C/K/R/V Blazer/Suburban? Janesville, WI

g) What was the first year for the Cadillac Escalade? Where does that first truck reside? 1999, Arlington Texas

h) What was the base axle for a 85 swb 2wd with the 305 engine/turbo 350 trans (lol - I don't know this one either. I was hoping someone could tell me!)
10 bolt 3.07(or 3.08) ratio

i) What year was the front end sheetmetal change for the '73 - 87 pickups?
81, but 80 did have a square headlight option with the old sheetmetal.

j) Prior to the above change, a small design feature was added to the front of the hood. What year was that and why was that feature added?
Hood ornament?



Let's see how that goes, and I'll add more later if need be.

K

[Keith Seymore]

Let me jot a couple more down, and then we'll check your answers in the morning (my wife is telling me to get off the computer):

k) Field testing is done by taking special vehicles to a number of specific locations throughout the US and Canada. Name a couple of the more famous locations and the type of testing that takes place there.

L) At one of the locations above, a very high end competitor was sighted with a test "chase truck" that you would likely approve of. Who was the competitor and what support vehicle were they using?

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by Prerunner1982

Answers in bold.. just guessin'

a) Anybody know who the Chief Engineer was for the '73 C/K trucks? Would he have the last name of Seymore?

b) Along those lines, how about Chief Engineer for the GMT800 models? GMT900 models? Same as above..

Ok - I've got a few minutes; let's see how our friend PreRunner did

a) Ha! I wish - but keep in mind I was just a pup back then!

No, his name was Mr Earl Stepp. He was a hard drinking, old school "bull of the woods" type guy but obviously a gifted manager and capable engineer. You don't get to be a Chevrolet Chief Engineer by being a slouch and he was no exception to that rule. His leadership ability put us squarely in the position to take advantage of the boom in Full Size Truck sales, as trucks moved from "workhorses" to "personal use" vehicles.

b) GMT800 - was a gentleman by the name of Ken Sohocki. He was a lot of fun; we were in a very serious position, because most of the profits in the corporation at that time came from Full Size Trucks - but - he wasn't above a little self-effacing Polish humor or a bit of sarcasm directed at his management. He was the last of the great "emperors", leading a dedicated team sequestered in a remote location. After his tenure, the truck team would be folded back in with the car guys into the "matrixed" organization that we still have today. Ken is retired now, and living happily in Las Vegas.

b) (continued) GMT900 - was my friend Terry Woychowski. Terry was my officemate at the Desert Proving Ground; in fact we used to sit on the tailgate of a pickup truck after hours, debating the merits of running vs walking in a rainstorm or drawing free-body diagrams of the forces that keep a bicycle upright ("precession" is what it is called). He moved back to Michigan and rose rapidly through the management ranks (and rightly so), becoming the first "Global Chief" (aka "Chief above all the other Chief Engineers"). He is currently director of all GM Program Management and is a GM Vice President. There isn't another man alive I would trust more to run this company.

His daily driver at that time was a white '68 Chevy pickup, manual trans, 2 piece drive shaft. That shaft was so beat to heck that you had to turn the radio off, so that you could focus on (and listen to) getting the truck rolling. After you were moving you could turn the radio back on and continue down the road. He's doin a little better than that now...

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by Prerunner1982

c) Where were Chevy trucks designed in the mid 80's? Dunno.

c) This was sort of a trick question: the answer is "all over Southeast Michigan" (lol). As trucks gained in popularity, and therefore as the Engineering group grew in numbers, either as a result of necessity or maybe even a bit of jealousy, the Truck team was unceremoniously "kicked out" of the Chevrolet headquarters at the GM Tech Center in Warren, Michigan. Small job shops throughout the Detroit Metropolitan area were contracted to house the vagabond groups: C/K Truck at "Pioneer" on 9 Mile Rd and then "Modern" in Madison Heights; S/T Truck at Northfield, on Livernois, and then Northridge; G Van some where else, and Medium Duty in the Administration building in Pontiac. This made for focused, dedicated cross functional teams but unfortunately, in the days before voicemail, email and anything other than US Mail, communication was difficult. The groups were not combined again until the late 90's, when we found enough office space to consolidate in the Centerpoint Facility in Pontiac, where we stayed until the big move back to the Tech Center (returning victoriously, I might add) in 2003.

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by Prerunner1982

d) The '73 - 87 C/K/R/V trucks were offered in which cab and model types (what wheelbase and series)?

Reg Cab short wheel base 117.5"
Reg Cab Long wheel base 131.5"
Crew Cab Long wheel base 164.5"

e) Bonus points for the above if you can name the number (and size) of the wheel lugs

5, 6, 8... but no sizes.. 1/2 point?

d) You are correct; back then there waren't no "extended cabs", or "club cabs" or "bonus cabs" - men were men and regular cabs were for regular people and crew cabs were for the railroad (or the Air Force). There were 1/2 tons, 3/4 tons and 1 tons.

e) 1/2 ton 2wd got the 5 lug (1/2" wheel stud) wheels; 1/2 ton 4wd had a quantity of six 7/16" wheel lugs; 3/4 ton and one ton both got 8 lug wheels lined with 9/16" studs.

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by Prerunner1982

f) What was the only plant to produce the C/K/R/V Blazer/Suburban? Janesville,

f) Unfortunately, no. The only plant in the world that produced the '73 - '91 C/K/R/V Suburban and Blazer was my alma mater, Chevrolet Flint Assembly, located in Flint Michigan.

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by Prerunner1982

g) What was the first year for the Cadillac Escalade? Where does that first truck reside? 1999, Arlington Texas

g) You are correct about the year, 1999, but not the location. As of October of last year the first Cadillac Escalade (VIN #001) was on display at the GM Heritage Center Collection in Sterling Hts, Mi.



GMC was not very happy at all about a Cadillac SUV being added to the product lineup. You might even recall back then the GM CEO (John Smale was it? The Proctor and Gamble guy?) announced that Cadillac was definitely not going to enter the truck market; It wasn't a month or two later when we came out with the Escalade. The two respective Marketing guys sat on the same program execution team and would think nothing of taking a verbal jab or two at each other during the course of the meeting. My favorite exchange was the time GMC was trying to get "White Diamond Tricoat", a premium paint that was exclusive to Cadillac, to be released on the Denali. The Cadillac guy said something about "this color has been for Cadillac and Cadillac only and we aren't going to share", to which the GMC guy said "yeah; just like having a truck as always been exclusive to GMC".

Incidentally, the whole "bling" thing, with all it's appeal to rappers and sports celebrities and athletes? We never saw that coming. It was totally accidental. It took us a little while to see what was happening and attempt to capitalize on that. We started to get the picture when the Cadillac guy would report sales in the meeting, and conclude with "Jennifer Lopez picked up her Escalade this week", or "BB King got his this week, a black one**".... or "the Shah of Iran got ten this week: two in each color (translated into one for each wife)".....


** I asked if Eric Clapton was going to drive him around in it. I got these blank stares like "...Seymore, WTH are you talkin about?!?..."



By the way, when we did the second generation (GMT800 version) of the Escalade, we didn't realize until after we had assigned the usages for the vehicles that #001 was going to Engineering and #002 was going to Marketing. Cadillac noticed and asked if we could trade, which we did, so that they could have VIN #001.

The Heritage Center had a couple of nice old pickup trucks, too:

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by Prerunner1982

h) What was the base axle for a 85 swb 2wd with the 305 engine/turbo 350 trans (lol - I don't know this one either. I was hoping someone could tell me!)
10 bolt 3.07(or 3.08) ratio

h) I hope you are right (lol). It could also be a 3.23, but in the absence of further data we'll go with your 3.08 (3.07 was not an available ratio).

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by Prerunner1982

i) What year was the front end sheetmetal change for the '73 - 87 pickups?
81, but 80 did have a square headlight option with the old sheetmetal.

i) You are correct, 1980 did have a square headlight option but the first year for the new sheetmetal was 1981. My story here is that I saw a picture of how the '81 front end was going to look, and I didn't like it as well as what we were building. I hurried and ordered an '80 (with the square head lights) before it was too late. Similarly, I saw the GMT400 versions for 1988 and didn't like them either; I hurried and bought an '87 (apparently beauty is in the eye of the person that's going to be walking if they didn't buy a new truck!).

My dad teased me, saying "....with your track record, you would have seen the new '55 Chevy passenger cars, not liked them and bought a '54!"

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by Prerunner1982

j) Prior to the above change, a small design feature was added to the front of the hood. What year was that and why was that feature added?
Hood ornament?

j) Not a hood ornament, but a small "bump" added to the vertical face of the hood for 1979. Amazingly, this bump was added as an aerodynamic improvement. For further discussion on aero, and its affects (both intended and unintended) see this thread: http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...54#post3908654

[jchav62]

'62-'66 all share the same hoods, but only '62 came with clear park light lenses.

[Real_McCoy]

This is great reading, Keith! I would love to read more of your stories.

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by Real_McCoy

This is great reading, Keith! I would love to read more of your stories.

Thank you.

You can check out the links in my sig, which are (respectively) my into to this site (and working at the Truck Plant), my growing up years in a Pontiac racing household, and how I came to get the Chevelle that I still have (and that was featured in the May 2010 Popular Hot Rodding magazine).

I've also got this thread, which is a compilation of "old wive's tales" about working in GM factories

http://forums.performanceyears.com/f...d.php?t=556607

Those would be a good start -

K

[Oilbrnr]

Hey Keith, who was the moron(s) who undersized the cooling systems on the '04-'05 Duramax's? I'd like to take him (them) for a nice hot, slow, coolant puking ride up SR-87 to Payson this summer while pulling my '28 Toyhauler.

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by Oilbrnr

Hey Keith, who was the moron(s) who undersized the cooling systems on the '04-'05 Duramax's? I'd like to take him (them) for a nice hot, slow, coolant puking ride up SR-87 to Payson this summer while pulling my '28 Toyhauler.

I'm not sure who I would pin that one on; I am, however, surprised to hear that because we used to spend a lot of time running up and down those hills (ballasted to GVW and GCW).

K

[factorystock]

This would be a great thread if it partained only to 60-66 trucks, but most people who built and sold these trucks new, unfortunately are not around anymore. My interest in new GM trucks ended in 1979, when base models no longer came with white painted hubcaps.

[Keith Seymore]

That's true, although some are still around (just not working).

For example, the guy that I worked with in the specifications department started his career in 1960 - he was the guy that "fit the hoods" (with a big rubber mallet!) on the '60 and '61 trucks....



He, of course, retired a few years ago but is still around and in good health.

K