savage

i very happy and a little jelly of you guys on your way to the factory knowing your cars are being built, as of today the tracking thread and chevy chat still has me at 3400 but now the build week is gone! i went to 3300 and build week 12/22 weeks ago and today 3400 and no build week? good thing i live in the cold northeast and dont need the car till march, i just glad i ordered the car when i did, when the z06 a8 were on hold, if i ordered my car today a z51 a8 vert i would not see it till 2016, lol-- have fun guys im very happy for you's, opps i said that all ready.

pettvette

First post is updated slightly... My car is about 75% through the line and I believe sting15ray's is done. I'll wait to hear from s15r before I update his....

hypnotoad

Mine is around 75% complete also. It is waiting on hood/headlights/front fascia/wheels to go on at the next station. It should take about 2 hours on Monday to finish.

I did run into a strange issue with my build. Nobody knows how it happened yet but the TTV option (carbon flash mirrors and spoiler) was dropped from my order somehow. It was there when it was submitted and approved for production but somehow was dropped when it was sent to production. The plant said there is nothing they can do now since they can only build to the order in the system even if it's wrong.

I will have to talk to the dealer now to see what can be done.

sting15ray

So my wife and I completed our Buyers Tour yesterday, what a great experience. Dave Hastings, our guide, really did a great job providing color commentary along the entire path and the workers were so appreciative of us, many coming over to say hi, chat a bit, thank us, etc. We received all the build sheets and a few other mementos "under the radar" from the build process that were unexpected - the backing from the front bumper "Corvette" emblem, and the only three items that actually come off the vehicle during the build which includes two bolts that held a transportation bracket on the engine as it went through its prep and a pin that keeps the steering wheel locked throughout the build. At the end of the line one guy, Mike, came over from a nearby station because he wanted to be the one that allowed us to start the car and he presented a "birth certificate" for the car. The car passed all tests that were conducted on the line over the two days and the DVT (dyno) as well as water test (thank goodness).

The factory has a daily target of about 180 vettes to build and we got to monitor their progress through the day as the line might get stopped for one reason or another - all of this was described in great detail which I found particularly interesting as an engineer!

Throughout the entire process the folks at both the museum and factory were so genuinely considerate and appreciate, it made for a truly memorable experience.

We stayed overnight at the 1869 Homestead B&B, owned by Wendell Strode, the executive director of the NCM. That was icing on the cake as we were able to chat with him on the history of the B&B and the museum.

During a break we walked the entire factory looking for pettvette but were unsuccessful - sorry we we did not get to meet in person.

Back home now and all the more anxious to make a return visit for our museum delivery in a couple weeks.

janicept

That's great to hear sting15ray. I can't believe you got to drive it. I was so excited to order mine I forgot to ask for a test drive. I'm sure I'll like it from all I've read on here. Did they say the whole place shuts down even the QC guys and shipping department over their break? That's why you can't get delivery until the week of Jan 5? I am so excited for all of us to get our cars.

sting15ray

I didn't get to drive it, just sit in it as it was rolling off the end of the line, start it, admire it from the drivers seat for the very first time, and pose with my wife in the passenger seat for a photo that will be in our album - forgot to mention Dave took pictures throughout the process because we purchased the NCM photo album. I also got to install my "signature plaque" just below the climate control unit - mine says "It's All About The Journey"

Regarding the holiday shutdown, here's what I understand. All activity shuts down for the holidays at the Factory but the museum stays open and conducts deliveries that cleared quality by the end of Tuesday's shift (around 4:30 pm). Shane told me that they already had planned deliveries on the 29th for example, because those cars have cleared all the quality checks. I didn't ask about whether or not any cars continue to ship via truck over the shutdown period since that didn't apply to my situation.

The other thing to consider is invoicing - the invoice needs to be sent to your dealer. That will occur one to two days after it is built. For me that should occur Monday or Tuesday before they shutdown, and I'll work over the holidays to get everything closed out and in place with my dealer so that as early as possible in early January we can take possession, for me at the museum.

sting15ray

FYI, if you haven't see the "How it's Made: Corvette Stingray" episode, you'll at least get a glimpse into a small portion of what we were able to see there (plus they show the engine assembly which does not take place in Bowling Green). It will periodically air again or you can view it via YouTube here:

sting15ray

Already received a few photos - when we started the car at the end of the line yesterday, they took a picture of the instrument cluster to document something we'll never see again, any guess what that is?

savage

0 miles, unless your a used car dealer! lol

sting15ray

Yup - you got it

Hypnotoad - are you going back for the Monday finish ? Sorry to hear about your order issue - at least you'll get to see it without, decide for sure if you really wanted is as-ordered and make the choice at that time (sorry, just trying to find something semi-positive here )

pettvette

[
Congrats Sting15ray...... Sorry we weren't able to meet up. Did your car go through DVT about 1:00?? If it did I was in the public tour right behind you..

Sounds like you had a amazing time. Pretty cool that you stayed at Wendal's place too.

Who knows maybe we get to meet when we do our Museum Deliveries.

Congrats again!!

pettvette

So sorry to hear about the mix up. Hope its gets resolved to your satisfaction. The good news is that Monday both our cars will be complete....

sting15ray

thanks, I made it to the finish line just under the wire before their 1:30 break. I believe it was in DVT around 1:25, water test immediately thereafter, just shy of 1:30. Should have mentioned, they take the car after water test out for a spin on the track, shake test to see if there are any rattles, etc - all of which I did not see so I hope it made it through ok. If not we saw the area where any final adjustments or repairs can be made so I'm confident I have a sound car. Just for fun I checked the Chevy website chat line and they confirmed I'm now at "4000 Vehicle Available to Ship".

Hope to see you at museum delivery!!

hypnotoad

Yes I will be going back on Monday for the finish of the build so I can install the plaque and start it up. I'm pretty sure I want to keep TTV but I can see how it looks compared to another in the sequence next to mine with TTV.

I was told in the old days they would fix something like this on the line right away but with all the scrutiny of GM these days they can' t do that now.

sting15ray

Well, just when you think you understand the process and timeline, including the two week QC hold (recall the car was built last Friday), I get a call from Shane at NCM this morning telling me the vehicle has been released to the NCM for museum delivery !! (Guess GM wants that year end credit!)

Since today is my birthday, what a great present!!

So looks like I will be headed in next week sometime to pick her up - told him I needed to contact the dealer (out of state) before selecting a specific day to make sure I can close out all the paperwork in time.

Only disadvantage to doing museum delivery over the holidays is that I will not be able to do the 2 hour factory tour that comes with it but just having completed the buyers tour that doesn't bother me too much, would have been nice though, have to think about that.

Hopefully this good luck will be passed along to you all as well

Happy holidays everyone

janicept

Great news sting15ray. My dealer says he can't find anything on mine yet but it should update overnight - something about Tuesdays. I hope it can ship out before they close. I guess I'll know tomorrow.

hypnotoad

That is encouraging to hear. My car finished up this morning so I'm hoping to hear the word from Shane tomorrow that my car has been released.

I heard they may not work a full day tomorrow due to the holidays but we will see what happens. I could be in for a long wait if it isn't released tomorrow.

pettvette

WOW, that was fast. Congrats!! Great Birthday present indeed!!

Was it invoiced already too?

sting15ray

Dealer confirmed today he had the invoice, we're set for delivery next week, probably Tuesday - lots of FedExing (bought out of state)

sting15ray

Just got off the phone with Shane

As part of the Museum delivery, if you are not able to do the factory tour (private tour vs public, 2 hours vs 1 for public), you have a year to come back and take that tour so that made my choice easy.

So we confirmed our delivery date to be next Tuesday, Dec 30th. Two times were available, 7:45 and 10:00 a.m. A check of the weather showed a cold front, possibly bringing snow, that Wednesday so we chose the 7:45 am time Tuesday so we'd be out of there by noon to drive south same day. Never can tell with the weather so that will be interesting to see how it goes.

Wish you all good luck in getting your cars released and delivered - happy, happy holidays to all.