Bay City Powertrain

Last updated


Bay City Powertrain is an automobile engine component manufacturing plant in Bay City, Michigan. Originally opened in 1892 as National Cycle Manufacturing Company, in 1916, William Durant and Louis Chevrolet assumed operations of the facility and brought it under General Motors management in 1918, and in 1919, was joined with the Saginaw Metal Casting Operations foundry to cast engine blocks and cylinder heads which is located 12 miles south. Bay City has been the primary source of engine and transmission components that are used in General Motors vehicles. The factory currently occupies 975,000 sq. ft. [1]

Contents

The location has been the primary source of Piston pins, Connecting rods, Camshafts, Oil pumps, and Balance shafts for all of GM's engines, to include Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Buick and GMC for most of the 20th century. The address is 1001 Woodside Ave, Bay City, MI. 48708, and is located on the Saginaw River. During WWII the plant produced parts for the Pratt Whitney aircraft engines, military trucks and armored cars.

Products

Currently the location provides internal engine components which then are assembled at Tonawanda Engine, Romulus Engine, Flint Engine South, St. Catharines Engine Plant and other engine assembly factories for the items listed below.

See also

V8

V6

Straight Eight

Straight Six

Related Research Articles

General Motors 60° V6 engine Motor vehicle engine

The General Motors 60° V6 engine family was a series of 60° V6 engines which were produced for both longitudinal and transverse applications. All of these engines are 12-valve cam-in-block or overhead valve engines, except for the LQ1; which uses 24 valves driven by dual overhead cams. These engines vary in displacement between 2.5 and 3.4 litres and have a cast-iron block and either cast-iron or aluminum heads. Production of these engines began in 1980 and ended in 2005 in the U.S., with production continued in China until 2010. This engine family was the basis for the GM High Value engine family. These engines have also been referred to as the X engines due to their first usage in the X-body cars.

Buick V6 engine Motor vehicle engine

The Buick V6, popularly referred to as the 3800 in its later incarnations, originally 198 cu in (3.2 L) and initially marketed as Fireball at its introduction in 1962, was a large V6 engine used by General Motors. The block is made of cast iron and all use two-valve-per-cylinder iron heads, actuated by pushrods. The engine, originally designed and manufactured in the United States, was also produced in later versions in Australia. It was the first six-cylinder engine designed exclusively for Buick products since the Buick straight-six was discontinued in 1930.

General Motors 122 engine Motor vehicle engine

The 122 engine was designed by Chevrolet and was used in a wide array of General Motors vehicles. The 122 was similar to the first two generations of the General Motors 60° V6 engine; sharing cylinder bore diameters and some parts. The 122 was available in the US beginning in 1982 for the GM J platform compact cars and S-series trucks.

GMC V8 engine Motor vehicle engine

GMC shares engines with other General Motors divisions. But like their straight-6, GMC formerly had its own line of V8 engines.

Oakland Motor Car Company Michigan carmaker and division of General Motors, active 1908-1931

The Oakland Motor Car Company of Pontiac, Michigan, was an American automobile manufacturer and division of General Motors. Purchased by General Motors in 1909, the company continued to produce modestly priced automobiles until 1931 when the brand was dropped in favor of the division's Pontiac make.

Turbo-Hydramatic or Turbo Hydra-Matic is the registered tradename for a family of automatic transmissions developed and produced by General Motors. These transmissions mate a three-element turbine torque converter to a Simpson planetary geartrain, providing three forward speeds plus reverse.

Lansing Car Assembly

Lansing Car Assembly was a General Motors automobile factory in Lansing, Michigan. It contained two elements, a 1901 automobile plant in downtown Lansing, and the 1920 Durant Motors factory on Lansing's Far Westside.

Arlington Assembly

Arlington Assembly is a General Motors automobile factory in Arlington, Texas. The plant has operated for more than 60 years and today manufactures large SUVs from GM's Chevrolet, GMC and Cadillac divisions.

Flint Truck Assembly is an automobile factory operated by General Motors in Flint, Michigan. It is the city's only main plant after the closure of Buick City. The Flint factory currently produces full-size GM pickup trucks. Engine block and cylinder heads were cast at Saginaw Metal Casting Operations, internal engine components were created at Bay City Powertrain and the engines were then assembled at Tonawanda Engine and Romulus Engine. For most of the 20th century Flint Assembly was the main plant for all Chevrolet vehicles.

Linden Assembly was a General Motors automobile factory in Linden, New Jersey. The plant operated from 1937 to 2005 and made cars, trucks and SUVs for various GM automotive divisions. Engine block and cylinder heads were cast at Saginaw Metal Casting Operations, internal engine components were created at Bay City Powertrain and the engines were then assembled at assembled at Tonawanda Engine and Romulus Engine.

The GM A platform was a rear wheel drive automobile platform designation used by General Motors from 1925 until 1959, and again from 1964 to 1981. In 1982, GM introduced a new front wheel drive A platform, and existing intermediate rear wheel drive products were redesignated as G-bodies.

Detroit/Hamtramck Assembly

Detroit/Hamtramck Assembly is a General Motors (GM) automobile assembly plant straddling the border between Detroit and Hamtramck, Michigan. It is located about three miles (five km) from GM's corporate headquarters. When the facility opened, it was built on the original Dodge Factory location that was built in 1911, which was closed in 1980 and demolished in 1981, and the new GM factory built vehicles for GM's "BOC" (Buick/Oldsmobile/Cadillac) Group. The first vehicle, a Cadillac Eldorado, rolled off the assembly line on February 4, 1985.

Spring Hill Manufacturing is a General Motors factory in Spring Hill, Tennessee. The plant currently includes vehicle assembly as well as powertrain, stamping and molding operations. The plant originally operated as the sole manufacturing facility for Saturn Corporation.

Flint, Michigan auto industry

Flint, Michigan is a city which previously relied on its auto industry, and still does to an extent. Over the past several decades, General Motors plants in Genesee County have experienced re-namings, management shifts, openings, closures, reopenings, and spinoffs.

Pontiac Assembly was one of four General Motors assembly plants in Pontiac, Michigan located along Baldwin Avenue. It served as the main facility for Pontiac Motor Division since it was built in 1927. It is across the street from the currently operational Pontiac Metal Center, which was the original location for the Oakland Motor Car Company, which Pontiac evolved into. The location that Oakland inhabited was the original site of Cartercar when GM bought the company in 1909 by William Durant. The plant ceased production of full-size Pontiacs after the 1980 model year, and was idled on August 6, 1982.

South Gate Assembly was a General Motors automobile plant located at 2720 Tweedy Boulevard in the Los Angeles suburb of South Gate, California. It opened in 1936 to build B-O-P (Buick-Oldsmobile-Pontiac) cars for sale on the west coast. It was the first GM plant to build multiple car lines, resulting from a Depression-spawned move to cut production costs by sharing components and manufacturing. South Gate was the second of several B-O-P "branch" assembly plants, part of GM's strategy to have production facilities in major metropolitan cities. Engine block and cylinder heads were cast at Saginaw Metal Casting Operations, internal engine components were created at Bay City Powertrain and the engines were then assembled at assembled at Tonawanda Engine and Romulus Engine.

Tonawanda Engine A General Motors engine factory in Islip, New York

Tonawanda Engine is a General Motors engine factory in Buffalo, New York. The plant consists of three facilities totaling 3.1 million square feet (290,000 m2) and sits upon 190 acres (77 ha). The factory receives cast engine blocks from Defiance Foundry in Defiance, Ohio and Saginaw Metal Casting Operations in Saginaw, Michigan.

Saginaw Metal Casting Operations is an automobile engine foundry plant in Saginaw, Michigan. Opened under GM management in 1919, the factory produces engine blocks and cylinder heads for General Motors vehicles. The factory currently occupies 1.9 million square feet on 490 acres. The location was originally the Marquette Motor Company until acquired by William Durant in 1909 when the car was discontinued in 1911. During World War I, it was used to manufacture mortar shells for the US Ordnance Corps, then was repurposed for engine block casting when operations at Northway Motor and Manufacturing Division ended in 1925. Historically in September 1927 it was known as the Chevrolet Grey Iron Foundry. In the past when it was called GM-Saginaw Product Company (SPC) a cloverleaf casting symbol mark was cast onto the iron component.

Defiance Casting Operations is an automobile engine foundry plant in Defiance, Ohio. Opened under GM management in 1948, the factory produces engine blocks and cylinder heads for General Motors vehicles. The factory currently occupies 1.9 million square feet on 428.6 acres. The location opened to support operations at Saginaw Metal Casting Operations. The factory started operations on August 23, 1948, and from 1948 through 1991, the foundry was part of GM's Central Foundry Division along with Saginaw. Later, Defiance Casting, also called Central Foundry, became part of the new GM Powertrain group. Today cylinder block and cylinder head castings for Inline 4, V6 and V8 engines are used in a variety of Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac vehicles, and the address is 26427 State Route 281, Defiance, Ohio. 43512.

References

  1. "Bay City General Motors Powertrain history". Michigan Live. Advance Local Media LLC. Retrieved 25 April 2021.

Coordinates: 43°36′21″N83°52′46″W / 43.6059129°N 83.8793181°W / 43.6059129; -83.8793181