GM Performance Build Center: The Jewel in GMs Powertrain Crown

Corvette Photos

GMs Powertrain Build facility is located in Wixom, Michigan. (Photo: GM)

With such a rich history in building performance engines, some of which are pictured here, its prime time to shine the spotlight on GMs latest motors. (Photo: Jonathan Yarkony, American Auto Press)

The engine in the Chevrolet Corvette is built at Wixom. (Photo: GM)

Hand-crafted, each of the motors has one main builder who sees the engine from start to finish. (Photo: Jonathan Yarkony, American Auto Press)

An engine block in transit, on a trolley. Assembly lines take a different shape and form at this plant. (Photo: Jonathan Yarkony, American Auto Press)

An engine gets built, one perfectly torqued nut at a time. (Photo: Jonathan Yarkony, American Auto Press)

GMs Boutique Engine Factory Running at Over 120 Percent Capacity

Of all the engine factories in GMs portfolio, all over the world, this is the coolest. No its not entirely run by chrome robots in a synchronized mechanical ballet; quite the opposite, in fact. This factory floor actually sports more humans than robots, though there is no shortage of computers. However, only 58 people work here, and even the second in command in the hierarchy takes his turn mopping up at the end of the day. Okay, maybe he doesnt do the cleaning but Jeffrey Stafford, who officially goes by Assistant Superintendent, does everything from guiding us journalists through on a tour to overseeing line process changes and inspecting certain stages of the build process. The public relations representative is a master builder of 26 years experience, all with GM. In other words, this aint your average engine factory.

With GMs desire to reclaim their status as a builder of legendary cars, they felt it necessary to create an assembly operation that would be dedicated to perfecting the engines that would bear the GM standard around the world. Before starting, they toured the assembly locations of some other famed engines, in North America and abroad, and they cite Mercedes-Benzs AMG division as an inspiration, with their dedication to craftsmanship and the relationship of one builder assembling an engine from start to finish; block and individual parts to final super powerhouse. The cars GM pinpointed for such master treatment were the Corvette Z06 and various Cadillac V-Series models, cars that ignite the senses of their drivers and the passions of fanatics all over the world.

And the fanatics are loving it. The line building V-series engines has to work at over 140 percent capacity in order to meet the insatiable demand, while those working on the Corvette mill run at about 120 percent, and dealers still cant get enough to fill all their orders. In fact, they probably never will, because GM might just want to keep the Z06 and V-cars rare enough that supply never eclipses demand, further enhancing its legend; an exclusivity that is typical for the rarest, most sought-after supercars.

This is the birthplace of LS7s and LC3s, and the only place in the world that theyre built. For those not familiar with GM engine coding, the LS7 is the prima donna running the Corvette Z06 and the LC3 can be found in the bay of Cadillacs elder V-twins, XLR-V and STS-V. Want some numbers? Here goes: LS7 makes 505 hp at 6,300 rpm, 470 lb-ft of torque at 4,800 rpm, all numbers SAE certified. So in a 3,130-lb, fibreglass-bodied Vette, its good for 100 km/h in three and a half seconds, in first gear. Thats kinda fast. Kinda fast like a meteor. Luckily it has seatbelts, unlike a meteor–and it also doesnt burn up in the atmosphere.

Of course, the LS7s displacement is almost 2 gallons (7008 cc, 427.6 cu-in), so thats enough to explain the booming echo and explosive sounds from the hot test room, which speak of its character in a very loud, emphatic manner. The slightly more modern and tech heavy LC3 stars a big, black box supercharger that sits right atop the intake and exhaust valves, controlled by dual overhead cams linked to a tangle of timing chains and fuel injection. If not for the slick engine cover in the bay of the STS-V, it would be one messy looking engine with wires and plugs sticking out all over the place like some sort of Frankensteinian contraption. In the end, the LC3 makes 443 hp and 469 hp in the XLR-V and STS-V respectively, and as with all V cars, 0-60 mph acceleration is under 5 seconds.

But to tell you the truth, those two engines arent really the stars of the show. Here at the Performance Build Center in Wixom, Michigan, the Builders are the stars. The Builders are masters of their craft, some with more experience building engines than I have walking. Barry Dennis, one such Master Builder that I mentioned earlier (the one with over 26 years assembly experience), accompanied us on our tour of the facility, highlighting its capabilities and demonstrating the standard of perfection to which its employees try to adhere. No squeaky timing chains will ever leave this building, or any imperfectly torqued bolts and Im guessing none of the parts are free to leave as in Johnny Cashs famed ballad, “One Piece at a Time.”

The entire process starts off with Dunnage. Dunnage is apparently a technical term for boxes, crates or packaging. See, even the names for simple things are sophisticated here. Now thats boutique. Engine components arrive and are held over in the supermarket (okay, some terms arent so fancy), where builders can come and shop for their next parts. Most major parts are distributed to a series of workstations arranged in 3 separate lines, two for the LS7 and one for the LC3. Many of the workers on each line can work on either line, a necessary adaptability in such a small workforce to keep everything balanced. The day starts with a trip to the dishwasher for the engine block, where it is rinsed in a gentle soapy solution that you wouldnt be afraid to wash your baby in–just kidding, its actually really hot, and its apparently not recommended that you wash babies in it.

Anyhow, at that point a builder such as Barry will get his block, mount it in its cradle on a trolley and handcuff himself to it until every last piece, part and nut is attached perfectly. Only then does his supervisor give him his key so he can go home. Okay, Im being silly again, while builders dont have to stay on until they finish their engine at the end of the day, once they have a block, they assemble it from the placement of the first camshaft to the final check of the 340 or so torque tests on each nut and bolt holding the thing together. Anything goes wrong, you know who to talk to. Not only that, but if anything goes wrong, it never leaves the floor.

Every employee is an integral part of the factory, able to add his input into making it the best facility possible, and several of the observations made by the builders have resulted in revisions to the process by which engines are built, creating new stations in the build procedure to ease traffic or switching the order of procedures for similar reasons. This is a factory that runs with a sense of teamwork and cooperation at every level, with engineers interacting with builders, because this is a site where engineers bring some of their new part designs to test in the assembly and experimentation with better performance in mind.

Before leaving the plant, each engine gets a 30- to 35-second Hot Test, to see if its purring like a V8, and if any discrepancies are found, its back to analysis, where the plant has an engine savant capable of diagnosing even some of the most obscure problems. If it meets approval, the Builder who oversaw every stage of the assembly lays down a small sticker with his name printed in plain block letters, essentially his or her signature for a future owner to thank in his prayers every night or her commute every morning. In fact, some owners even get in touch with their builders to get them to actually sign their engine covers–now thats respect–or to give them the rides of their lives in the machine powered by the engine they built. One of the few fringe benefits not covered by their UAW contract. Nice perks.

The Performance Build Center doesnt have a program for owners to come in and watch their engine being built (as some of the European car companies do) since assembly of the car itself actually takes place in Kentucky, but for the right customer Im sure the plant would open to tours as it was opened up to us journalists for the day, and they also have a mini-museum documenting the history of the small-block V8 that has powered Corvettes of six generations. Sadly, we didnt get a chance to work on any engines as we were hoping, but witnessing first hand the knowledge and respect our builder had for the process and the resulting product, gave me the impression that each engine doesnt just leave the plant assembled, it leaves with a soul.

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