Wednesday 23rd January 2013

Time For Tea: A Car Is Born

How to build an SRT Viper, in three-and-a-half minutes

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We’re all a bit hot under the collar here about the imminent arrival of the latest incarnations of two US greats – the C7 Chevrolet Corvette and the SRT Viper. While the former’s only just been revealed, the latter car has now entered production, and this great little video gives an insight into the journey each car makes down the production line at Conner Avenue, Detroit.

Vid shows how carbon-fibre panels are fitted

The video, commissioned by The New York Times, follows a couple of cars through the process, from bare rolling chassis at the start, through the build of the engine and its fitment, the addition of the dash and frame, the rolling-road test of the running gear, before being driven naked into the panel fitment shop. After a few final additions and checks, there follows the finished car’s first drive across the squeaky factory floor.

While there’s nothing revolutionary here, the video provides an interesting insight into the production methods involved in the Viper’s construction. For one thing, there’s almost no automation here – the Viper is still built almost entirely by people. What’s more, you won’t see a one-piece monocoque being lowered over waiting subframes, as you would in most car plants; this is a body-on-frame car, so the video shows not only how workers bolt the pre-painted panels to the already-finished frame, but also the way the unclothed frame can be driven around entirely feasibly on its own. Although admittedly, that’s probably better demonstrated by this video of some Swedes enjoying their bare SRT-10 chassis before they plonk a Saab 9-3 Estate bodyshell on top of it.

Oh, and one more thing: keep an eye out for Awesome Shirt Guy at 2:10. While the rest of the team decided (or had been told) to wear their branded SRT attire for the day, this chap decided a Viper-print Hawaiian-style shirt was the only way forward. What a hero.

 

 

[garypotter]

Nice bit of free marketing, and enjoyable vid too.

[Krikkit]

Lovely. Red with white stripes please.

[sunsurfer]

I love the way it is simply bolted together. Hopefully this means a longer life as things can be unbolted and replaced.

It could also give Chrysler the option of selling the Viper chassis and drivetrain to other people who fancy fitting different bodywork and engines.

[Charlie Michael]

love the bit where the bloke is driving round in the bare chassis/engine.

[RonnieH]

It's nice to see a car that's truly assembled by hand, plus, a multi national co where the staff wear their own clothes, and aren't just clones of each other!!
Great video!!

[LaurasOtherHalf]

I only spotted one person in the entire process that wasn't fat.

[DanielSan]

If only they took 4 minutes to do it they might have a much better looking car.

[OdramaSwimLaden]

Lady in grey (middle left od screen) at 42 seconds looks like she's giving someone a "happy ending".

[F1GTRUeno]

Seems odd to me that they basically build the entire functional car without the body on and only then put the body together.

Or maybe that's just how cars are made and I have absolutely no idea. Probably that.

[Muzzafresher]

F1GTRUeno said:

Seems odd to me that they basically build the entire functional car without the body on and only then put the body together.

Or maybe that's just how cars are made and I have absolutely no idea. Probably that.

Usually you want to protect the body work until the very end as it's easy to scratch and damage.

Also spotted what looked like either some pretty messy welds on the underside of the car or just excess glue or adhesive around the 50 second mark.

[stephen300o]

DanielSan said:

If only they took 4 minutes to do it they might have a much better looking car.

Much better looking than it's Chevy made rival.

[threespires]

I think it was body sealant you saw on the underside.

[HairbearTE]

Nice, would love to bolt up the panels of a '96 GTS to the new cars rolling chassis. Just like the new 'vette I feel there's too much going on in the design of the front end. Both cars will undoubtably slay anything europe has to offer for the same, and in many cases, much more money. Of course the car snobs will probably make some "cheap interior/only lhd" jibe and return to the comfort of their much slower Porsches & Ferraris

[DanielSan]

stephen300o said:

DanielSan said:

If only they took 4 minutes to do it they might have a much better looking car.

Much better looking than it's Chevy made rival.

Very good point. The Corvette looks like a bd love child of a Camaro and a GTR. Both cars I like the look of in there own right, but combined the look isn't a good one.

[Type R Tom]

and not a hi viz or safety boot in sight........

[oilit]

sunsurfer said:

I love the way it is simply bolted together. Hopefully this means a longer life as things can be unbolted and replaced.

It could also give Chrysler the option of selling the Viper chassis and drivetrain to other people who fancy fitting different bodywork and engines.

isnt that what bristol cars dowith their Fighter? (ie its based on the Viper)

[loudlashadjuster]

F1GTRUeno said:

Seems odd to me that they basically build the entire functional car without the body on and only then put the body together.

Or maybe that's just how cars are made and I have absolutely no idea. Probably that.

Once upon a time, all cars were built this way, but most of the cars built in the last 50 years have what is called a monocoque, a stressed body built as a single component.

Some panels are usually still hung off the monocoque, most notably bumpers and front wings, but in general nowadays you only find body-on-chassis construction in trucks and a few low volume niches like the Viper.

[LaurasOtherHalf]

oilit said:

sunsurfer said:

I love the way it is simply bolted together. Hopefully this means a longer life as things can be unbolted and replaced.

It could also give Chrysler the option of selling the Viper chassis and drivetrain to other people who fancy fitting different bodywork and engines.

isnt that what bristol cars dowith their Fighter? (ie its based on the Viper)

I never knew that! Well I knew it had a viper engine but is it actually a viper complete underneath?

[gdelargy]

Charlie Michael said:

love the bit where the bloke is driving round in the bare chassis/engine.

I was thinking it looked better than the finished article; kind of Ariel Atom-esque. Anyone for transparent plastic body panels?

[PhilJames]

There is nothing odd about adding the panels last, that's normal, it just looks odd because there are no cant rails or roof but that's because its a convertible chassis.