jagamajajaran

While in Bowling Green on March 12 and 13, I took some time to check out the paint shop progress and to take a plant tour. Every time I see the new Paint Shop and manifold buildings, I am blown away by their immensity!

If you have an opportunity to take a public tour in the near future, you will be able to see into a portion of the manifold building. From my vantage point, I was in awe of how big the manifold building is in and of itself. And if the manifold building is THAT big, I can only imagine how enormous the Paint Shop must be inside.

It appears that the plant has started using the manifold building for various purposes. One of the things I noticed was that the sonic weld for the rear bumper covers was not where I had seen it so many times before on plant tours. I'm pretty sure I saw the relocated sonic weld stations in the manifold building.

Another thing I noticed was the relocated engine dress line. If you have ever been on a buyer's tour, you know that the old engine dress line was such that parts were installed as the suspended engine block made its way down the dress line. The new engine dress line, which has been relocated near the door assembly line, is such that the engine blocks sit on a conveyor system and are no longer suspended. I also noticed that there were bins that moved along with each block that contained the various parts that were being installed as the block moved down the line.

And finally, at the end of the public tour, you can now see the "Care Line" just to the left of the dyno testing booths. My assumption is that there is a new leak test booth beyond the care line because the old leak test booth is no longer being used and is now completely out of the flow where Corvettes move from the assembly line, through the Care Line, and out of the building.

The following is my speculation regarding the end of the 2017 model year and the beginning of the 2018 model year. We have been told that the final 2017 build out date is June 2 and that the final plant tour is June 16. The obvious questions is, "What will they be building during these two weeks?" Well, if they aren't building 2017 Corvettes after June 2, then surely they must be building 2018s? I personally believe this is exactly what they plan to do.

One of the assumptions that I believe most people have had is that the final public tour date of June 16 means the plant will shut down at that time. However, on a public social media site, the shut down months are posted by a credible source as being "August, September, and October." I found this posted information several months ago, which is why I have posted in other threads that I believed the shut down would take place during those months. If you search, you can find the information too. This leads me to think that 2018 Corvettes will be built for several weeks between the first of June and the end of July, which allows for a supply of 2018s to be available for sale during the three month shut down.

With regard to the paint shop and the 2018 model year, I still hold to what Plant Manager, Kai Spande, said during a session at the NCM Anniversary Celebration last fall. At that time, the announced plan was to start painting new 2018 colors in the new shop while painting 2017 carry over colors in the old shop and then transitioning the carry over colors to the new shop as quickly as possible throughout the model year.

If the transition from the 2017 model year to the 2018 model year happens without any interruption in June, I personally think it is likely that the 2018 Corvettes produced during that time will receive the carry over colors painted in the old paint shop and that the new paint shop will be tied into the new assembly line during the three month shut down for assembly line retooling.

I'm sure there will be a variety of opinions shared in this thread, and that is perfectly acceptable. I am equally sure that a good amount of new information will be provided at the NCM Bash a little over a month from now, and I will be there to update the forum with the information as it is revealed. Like I always say, "Time will tell."

New Paint Shop photos taken on March 12 and 13:

Rooster OG

Thanks for the write up! Kai Spande must be like a kid in a candy store getting to plan this transition. It's going to be a fun year!

jagamajajaran

My pleasure! And I bet he is having a blast leading through all of the plant changes. I know it also must have its share of challenges, but Kai is the right man for the job!

witch hunt

thanks for posting the pics & info/speculation jag---that production timing sounds completely plausible and agree that info learned at the bash should be very interesting!

Myfourth1

Thanks for the insight and speculation.

Sounds like the 2018's produced in June and July in the old plant will have the old paint (obviously) and the 2018's painted in the new plant will have the improved paint which may cause people to delay purchase of a 2018 because they want the new and improved paint. Just my personal speculation.

I'm glad I'm buying a 2017 GS this weekend.

PS...I'm getting Admiral Blue but it certainly won't be as dynamic as yours.

jagamajajaran

That's what I'm thinking, but it's just speculation. And every Admiral Blue Grand Sport is dynamic. That color is really an amazing color with many variations depending on the lighting it is under. Congrats!

robertbruce

Great post! Thanks.

roadbike56

Jag, just a note of thanks to you for keeping us up to date on our favorite car. So many great threads. Much appreciated.
roadbike56

dvilin

Thank you for sharing the pictures and information. Very informative and appreciated.

Borntorun04/17

Thanks for posting. Now this might make me rethink 17 or 18 . I'm planning on placing my order for 17 GS first week of April. I get GMS and will be ordering my GS so loosing out on in stock discounts won't be a factor in my decision. I have everything on 17 worked out GMS price, trade value, color combo ,options. I'm figuring price increase of 2-3 % if I went 18. My only concern is possibly loosing the Spice Red interior which I really want. Last during that short build time GM would build sold orders before in stock orders correct ?

CP

You mean the famed Corvette ORANGE PEEL is going to go away??????? Oh, the humanity!!!!!

Vetteman Jack

Thanks for the update on what's happening at the plant. I'm really looking forward to seeing what the quality of the paint is once the new paint section goes into operation.

sunsalem

It better be, or BG will be stealthily building the C8 in that huge amount of space...either will do.

jagamajajaran

I wish I could answer your question about Spice Red, but with regard to what cars GM will build when they start building 2018s, they are all technically "sold orders" but to answer your question, normal procedure would dictate that they would build both customer orders and dealership orders during that time.

Steve Garrett

Thanks for the update, Jeremy!

jimmie jam

Having been on two buyers tours in the past I could visualize exactly what you were describing. Thank you! Time will tell....

mtaxman

I hope that Kai gets to stick around and lead the factory for a couple more years after bringing the factory back on line and the ZR1 or whatever they have in store. Big corporations tend to move hi performers around quickly when they are successful. He seems to have been a 10 out of 10 guy so far. Makes me believe they'll post him soon somewhere else or move him higher up on the leadership ladder.

jclarksnakes

Jeremy, Thanks for this great informative post.

AORoads

I also appreciate the updated info on the plant, expansion and current status. Knowing a little about major bldg. construction, even with the generous extra time-to-complete, I can only hope they are hitting the staged completions. As the bldg., budget and complexity has increased the times have increased accordingly already. But with that increased budget and improvements, the end product(s) will certainly be better.

Larry/car

Don't over estimate the new paint shops capability. The factory will still be applying paint to a composite body with unique characteristics. My 2017 Admiral Blue Stingray's paint job is virtually flawless.