When did convertibles get built outside Flint?

[Thriller]

I recall that for a number of years, all convertibles were built in Flint. When did that change? On a related note, does anyone know if or when convertibles for Canadian market were built in Canada? If they were built in the USA (Flint?), did they get shipped to Oshawa for anything, like a GM of Canada name plate?

Discussion of a '66 Wildcat convertible in the for sale forum prompted the questions.

[Guest 70 Electra]

"I recall that for a number of years, all convertibles were built in Flint. "

Derek,

Depends on what you mean by "built". For a number of years, all convertible BODIES were built at the Fisher plant on Saginaw St in Flint....but the final assembly of the vehicle (and thus the VIN assignment) was performed at ASSEMBLY plants all over the country, including across town at the Buick factory in Flint.

This was the case in 1960, and during this time NO convertibles were built (or assembled) in Canada. Any Canadian sales of convertibles involved US-built cars imported with stout duty fees. I've never found information on Canadian sales of US-built 1960 Buicks, but suspect the numbers were very very low. (The numbers for Canadian-BUILT '60 Buicks is available and posted on my website.)

[Thriller]

Thanks Greg. I know my '61 Invicta has a Flint VIN code. It was in Canada in the early '70s and has a dealer badge on it from Regina, but GM of Canada Archives insists it wasn't built for the Canadian market.

I'm pretty sure earlier on that all convertibles were assembled at Flint...memory could be failing me though.

[Guest 70 Electra]

"I'm pretty sure earlier on that all convertibles were assembled at Flint..."

Derek,

Can't swear to how it was done in 1961, but for certain in 59-60 it was done as I described it: all Buick convertible BODIES were built at Fisher's Flint body plant #1, and the actual vehicle assembly (body to frame, driveline, etc) took place at a variety of assembly plants, including Flint. This is easily verified by observing cars with non-Flint VINs, yet having a Fisher Body tag that indicates a Flint-built body (body number beginning with "FB").

For 1960 Buicks, I have been keeping a Registry of surviving cars for nearly ten years. It now numbers 1,000 cars. Within that sampling, I have positively identified examples of convertibles that had final assembly at all seven of the U.S. assembly plants (including Flint) where Buicks were built in 1960. Within each series, the breakdown is as follows:

LeSabre convertibles at all 7 plants

Invicta convertibles at all except Kansas City and Atlanta

Electra convertibles at all 7 plants

(The absence of Invicta convertibles at KC and Atlanta may be due to a limited sample size, rather than an actual absence of assembly at those locations.)

An interesting point is that when the bodies were built in Flint, it was apparently known in advance, which final assembly plant they would be shipped to. This is because in the lower left corner of the Fisher Body tag (attached at Flint Fisher facility), there was a single digit stamped, corresponding to the VIN code of the final assembly plant (i.e. "6" for Atlanta, "4" for Kansas City, etc.)

See the page within my 1960 Buick website (www.The1960Buick.com) dealing with Body Tag decoding. A sample picture is below, showing a 1960 Invicta convertible body tag with a "FB" body number (indicating Flint Fisher Plant #1) and a Wilmington DE final assembly point ("5" in lower left corner of tag is Wilmington's plant VIN code). This particular car does have a Wilmington VIN number.

By the way, 1959-60 Buick STATION WAGONs had a similar situation, where ALL the bodies were built by Ionia Body Company, then shipped to Buick's various U.S. assembly plants to be built into completed automobiles. [Why Buick chose to ship bodies around the country like this I don't know. Seems to me, it would have been cheaper/easier to build the entire car near the body plant location (in this case, Flint) and then ship the completed car across country to the various buyers.]

Now, having said all this, there were periods when certain models of convertibles were assembled only in certain vehicle plants. For example, in 1970, the LeSabre convertibles were assembled only in Kansas City's Fairfax plant and in Buick's home plant in Flint; the 1970 Wildcat convertibles only in Fairfax; and 1970 Electra convertibles only in Flint. Thus, it is correct to say that ALL 1970 Electra convertibles were "built" in Flint, since the bodies were made there, and also the final assembly occured there--albeit all the way across town from the Fisher plant, at Buick's assembly plant! [i do NOT know if the bodies for the Fairfax-assembled 1970 LeSabre & Wildcat convertibles were built in Flint, or on-site at Fairfax.]

[Thriller]

Thanks Greg for the thorough explanation.

[poci1957]

Hello Greg, from the Pontiac world. I have been keeping a 1957 Pontiac registry and can concur that in 1957 and other years all Pontiac convertible bodies were built at the Pontiac MI Fisher plant, and were sometimes shipped to BOP assembly plants for final assembly, as you have noted with Buicks. Likewise with station wagons, in 1955-57 all were built at Cleveland then shipped to the assembly plants. By far the MOST convertibles were completed at the Pontiac MI "home" plant, and I have certainly also questioned the logic of shipping a body when you could just build and ship a whole rolling car.

FYI, my own 1963 Pontiac convertible was built at Wilmington and the body was made at Fisher Body in Wilmington too. I am interested in looking at your website for additional body info, thanks, Todd Crews, POCI 1957 Technical Advisor