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Technical File - Production Control Documentation used by Chrysler Australia. |
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Wednesday, 01 June 2005 |
Recently the author had the opportunity to replace the original carpet
in his 1977 CL Regal SE. Under the carpet underfelt I came across a
material control sheet, used by Chrysler in the Adelaide Tonsley Park
Manufacturing Plant, for the Chassis Assembly Line.
This document had accompanied the car down the production line and had
been inadvertently left in the car when delivered from the factory. The
document is reproduced on the following pages without the particular
entries made for my vehicle. Unfortunately the document is
incomprehensible without some knowledge of model numbers and option
codes. To assist readers in interpreting the document the information
below is necessary for an understanding of the assembly sequence and
assembly options on the Chassis Assembly Line.
Model Numbers
Chrysler Australia adopted the following codes for their model range in the CL Series-:
27 Utility Models
28 Panel Van Models
29 Charger Models
41 Sedan Models
45 Station Wagon Models
Some examples of the coding adopted on the CL Models for each of the above are-:
CL8-M-27 Valiant Utility with 4.3 Litre 6 Cylinder Engine and 3 speed Automatic Transmission.
CL6-M-28 Valiant Panel Van with 5.2 Litre 8 Cylinder Engine and 3 speed Automatic Transmission.
CL7-H-29 Charger 770 with 4.3 Litre 6 Cylinder Engine and 3 speed Manual Transmission.
CL6-P-41 Regal SE Sedan with 5.2 Litre 8 Cylinder Engine and 3 speed Automatic Transmission.
CL6-M-45 Valiant Station Wagon with 5.2 Litre 8 Cylinder Engine and 3 speed Auto. Transmission.
Where M specifies Medium Price Class, H specifies High Price Class and P specifies Premium Price Class.
Option Codes
Many options were offered on all models and the relevant options
referred to in the Chassis Line Broadcast sheet are as follows-:
A45 Towing Package
A46 Towing Package (Heavy Duty)
C16 Automatic Transmission Console Shift.
D10 3 Speed Manual Column Shift Transmission.
D12 3 Speed Floor Shift Manual Transmission
D20 4 Speed Floor Shift Manual Transmission.
D32 3 Speed Column Shift Automatic Transmission.
D35 3 Speed Heavy Duty Automatic Transmission (Police Only)
D38 Propeller Shaft for 3 Speed Heavy Duty Automatic Transmission (Police Only)
D52 2.92:1 Suregrip Rear Axle (Limited Slip Differential)
D53 3.23:1 Suregrip Rear Axle (Limited Slip Differential)
D72 3.23:1 Standard Rear Axle.
D75 2.92:1 Suregrip Rear Axle (Limited Slip Differential) with RR Axle & Suspension Pack.
H51 Air Conditioning
H56 Maximum Cooling Package
K11 Victorian Police Package (Sedan Only)
K14 S.A Police Package (Sedan Only)
K15 S.A. Police Package (Wagon Only)
K16 Police Charger (5.2 Litre Engine)
S14 Heavy Duty Suspension
S35 Heavy Duty Suspension (Police Only)
S38 Front Sway Bar
S77 Power Steering
W35 Cast Alloy Road Wheels
W36 Steel Styled Road Wheels
Y38 Wintertread Tyres – Rear Only
Entries at the top of the Broadcast Sheet were handwritten. For my vehicle the entries were-:
Model: SE6P41 Body No: 1093 Date: 13 SEP 1977
Selection of each item for assembly to the chassis was indicated by a stamped blue circle.
To interpret the sheet the assembly sequence starts with the Rear Axle
followed by the other items in the order as listed in the left hand
column.
For example on a chassis that is destined to become a CL Model Regal SE
equipped with a 5.2 Litre Engine, a Console Shift Automatic
Transmission, a 2.92:1 Limited Slip Differential, Air-conditioning,
Power Steering and Cast Alloy Road Wheels the items to be added to the
basic chassis were-:
1. Rear Axle – D52 (Colour Coded Orange/White)
2. Springs – S14 (Colour Coded Yellow) and S38
3. Propeller Shaft – Colour Code 1 Brown/2 Red for V8 Automatic Transmission
4. Transmission – C16
5. Wheels – W35
6. Air-conditioning – H51
7. Power Steering – S77
Presumably the items that were to be added to the chassis were drawn
from production line stock that was located near to the assembly point.
Items that looked similar, but had different specifications, such as
Propeller Shafts, were colour coded to enable ready identification.
Thus for my car the appropriate colour coded shaft was the shaft that
had 1 Brown and 2 Red colour bands.
Where an item is standard on all models there is no Option Code
specified on the sheet. For example as the 2.92:1 axle is standard and
common to all models no code is specified. Where an item is unique to a
model there is also no option code specified. For example a blue coded
set of springs is unique and standard to the Charger and no code is
specified.
For a K16 Police Charger I believe the assembly on the Chassis Line Broadcast Sheet would read as follows-:
1. Rear Axle – D75
2. Springs – S14 (Colour Coded White), S38
3. Propeller Shaft – Colour Coded 3 Red/1 Light Brown (V8 4 Speed Manual)
4. Transmission – D20
5. Options – K16, W36
I do not know whether K16 Police Chargers had Air-conditioning as a
standard item but the weight of available evidence indicates that
Air-conditioning was not standard. I have restored a 1978 K16 Charger
and it was not equipped with Air-conditioning supplied by the Factory.
In the event that Air-conditioning had been specified then the H51
option should be added to the above list.
This Chassis Line Broadcast Sheet was an unexpected and interesting
historical find. I have always wondered what the colour banding on the
Propeller Shaft actually meant and the sheet has finally provided an
explanation. The sheet has also provided an insight into the logic
behind the material flow control used by Chrysler in their production
facility in the mid 1970’s and it has verified the information stamped
on my vehicle’s Compliance Plate and Chassis. Presumably there were
Broadcast Sheets for the other stages of vehicle assembly such as
Wiring, Interior Trim, Engine Assembly and so on. It would be
fascinating to review them. If any reader has an example please contact
the author by mail or E-Mail through CAVOA.
Lastly the sheet may explain why there are sometimes discrepancies
found between the information stamped on the Option Code Plate mounted
on the vehicle firewall and the options actually mounted on the
vehicle. If the Broadcast Sheet is misplaced, or the various production
items not correctly selected at assembly, the option information is
corrupted by the time the compliance plate is stamped. Thankfully this
did not happen with my vehicle despite the fact that the Broadcast
Sheet was buried under the vehicle’s carpet!
Michael Brinsden
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