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[C2] A O Smith Data

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Old Jun 4, 2018 | 03:11 PM
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Default A O Smith Data

Has anyone any info or heard of any person having obtained any info from A O Smith pertaining to the options that were ordered with the car that they would assemble? I would suspect GM would have sent some documentation for the car ordered, so it could be prepared with the correct options. For example Noland Adams indicated that the seats were in the car when it left Ionia Mich. so they would need to know colour and if leather or vinyl, and that would go for radio or no radio, if the dash was in, an A/C car would need the upper vent, power windows or no power for the door panels etc. Could there be documentation out there we don't know about? Just wondering.

Ric
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Old Jun 4, 2018 | 05:19 PM
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the only thing Smith could not build a car with N14 side pipes and in 67 Smith did not build any BB car bodies. with that they could do everything else
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Old Jun 4, 2018 | 05:30 PM
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Rick;

What I read your question is whether the records of the bodies ordered from Chevy to AOSmith, which would have had to specify the vehicle specifics, e.g., color, body type, colors, and body-specific options (such as A/C, radio (or not), which transmission (for the console), etc. exist or were retained.

I'm going to say no, but I think the question of specifically what was ordered from AOSmith has not been specifically asked in that way.

It is known that GM did not keep the records that would match Kevin Marti's records from which he does the Ford data bases. However, I going to guess that if AOSmith, or its corporate descendants (AOSmith does not exist in the corporate iteration that it did in the 1960s) also did not keep the data, as surely sometime in the last 50 years it would have been queried.

If not, and you find it, then you can claim the Indiana Jones of AOSmith Corvettes.
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Old Jun 4, 2018 | 05:35 PM
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Just note when the bodies left the Smith plant they did not have VIN numbers yet. only the trim tag was attached
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Old Jun 4, 2018 | 05:46 PM
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Originally Posted by Nowhere Man
Just note when the bodies left the Smith plant they did not have VIN numbers yet. only the trim tag was attached
That's a great point, Keith.

So even if you had AOSmith factory lists of cars ordered and shipped, it would likely be impossible to link them to a specific car. But in the odd chance that the records with trim tags existed, you could match them up to the body number in the upper right hand of the trim tag I guess.

But I'm thinking someone like Nolan would have already searched this down.
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Old Jun 4, 2018 | 05:48 PM
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Yes that is what I was inquiring about, wondering if anyone like Noland or the likes had secured any docs from AO Smith, what ever happened to Nolands library? Even without a vin if some form of info indicating the options associated with a vehicle, the build date timeline may help to verify a cars originality. I kind of suspected that none of that paper work existed too bad, it may have helped some AO Smith owners.

Ric
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Old Jun 4, 2018 | 05:49 PM
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Originally Posted by Easy Rhino
That's a great point, Keith.

So even if you had AOSmith factory lists of cars ordered and shipped, it would likely be impossible to link them to a specific car. But in the odd chance that the records with trim tags existed, you could match them up to the body number in the upper right hand of the trim tag I guess.

But I'm thinking someone like Nolan would have already searched this down.
we can play the game all day of what if and where are there as there was at least seven documents that went with each car of all the options. but do this day and after years and many man hours of looking they are no where to be found.
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Old Jun 4, 2018 | 05:57 PM
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Originally Posted by Nowhere Man
we can play the game all day of what if and where are there as there was at least seven documents that went with each car of all the options. but do this day and after years and many man hours of looking they are no where to be found.
Yeah, I think if those records existed at all, that they would have been found by now.
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Old Jun 4, 2018 | 06:04 PM
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Originally Posted by Easy Rhino
Yeah, I think if those records existed at all, that they would have been found by now.
It’s been 51 years since the last mid years 38 years since the end of ST Louis those records are all way past there due time to be thrown out. And if they did find them think of the legal repercussions
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Old Jun 5, 2018 | 11:40 AM
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Originally Posted by 66/427
Has anyone any info or heard of any person having obtained any info from A O Smith pertaining to the options that were ordered with the car that they would assemble? I would suspect GM would have sent some documentation for the car ordered, so it could be prepared with the correct options. For example Noland Adams indicated that the seats were in the car when it left Ionia Mich. so they would need to know colour and if leather or vinyl, and that would go for radio or no radio, if the dash was in, an A/C car would need the upper vent, power windows or no power for the door panels etc. Could there be documentation out there we don't know about? Just wondering.

Ric
No, there's no documentation out there that we don't know about. A.O. Smith used the same specification/order documents that Chevrolet used, and the flow of those documents to A.O. Smith was controlled by the Chevrolet-St. Louis Corvette Production Control Department. It had to be done that way so the A.O. Smith-purchased components for the body they built for Chevrolet were available in Ionia a couple of weeks prior to the arrival date in St. Louis for the Chevrolet-purchased components for the same car (it took 10 days - 2 weeks for a body to get from Ionia to St. Louis by rail).
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