Quote:
Originally Posted by Wgesnerjr
My question is why the build sheet is in the seat? If the sheet did follow the vehicle down the assembly line, wouldn't it be needed after the seat was installed? Or was the seat the last piece to be installed? Just wondering?
|
Any area where components were built up remotely and then conveyed to the main line in sequence are fair game for build sheets and build sequence number notations: front and rear axle, engines, transmissions, seats, front end sheetmetal, tire/wheel assemblies, etc. These are all areas with a lot of proliferation, and therefore not easy to present the material lineside, or - in the case of the seat cushions - a fire hazard (the "cushion room" was always way out in the boonies as a result). The build sheet defined the component that was to be installed, by part number or broadcast code, especially for option driven content where there was some choice as to what part was to be installed, or a remote area where there were no visual clues as to what part should be installed. So - theoretically - you would be able to find a build sheet on the motor somewhere, or above the fuel tank, or anywhere a build sheet was used.
They were intended to be thrown away at the end of the line just like extra fasteners, coffee cups, love notes, lunch menus, betting slips and other misc papers. The fact is that it was just easier to leave them in place and build the vehicle up around them, which is why you find them in the seat springs, under the carpet (with tar sprayed over half of them, or a screw shot through the middle), behind A pillar trim, in the dash, above the headliner, behind the door trim panel, or stuffed in obscure corners of body panels.
I don't imagine there were many takers willing to crawl in the truck and pull that build sheet out from under the seat in order to throw it away, 480 times per shift.
K