General Motors is entering the Tournament of...

General Motors is entering the Tournament of Roses Parade for the first time and the auto maker isn’t taking any quality-control chances. After all, imagine what Joe Isuzu could say if GM’s model broke down on the route.

So the company has flown out two brand-new engines, worth $10,000 each, to power the float, which is co-sponsored by the United Auto Workers.

“I’ve never heard of this happening before,” said Bill Lofthouse, co-owner of Bent Parade Floats, which is constructing the GM/UAW entry.

Usually, Lofthouse said, the float-builder itself supplies the engines. “You just go to a junkyard or buy a used vehicle and use that one,” he said.

The new engines aren’t the only precautions General Motors is taking. Hidden away in the float will be a real-life Mr. Goodwrench.

The Los Angeles City Council speedily approved such matters as zone changes and contracts involving hundreds of thousands of public dollars Wednesday. But the lawmakers debated for more than an hour on where to place an official Christmas tree and menorah.

Councilwoman Joan Flores proposed the City Hall Rotunda but was told that city policy prohibits displays there that do not relate to city business.

Others suggested an outdoor location-- some use must be found for the Plaza of Champions between Dodgers and Lakers celebrations.

But Councilman Nate Holden expressed concern that street people might be a problem. “We have some people here who are not all together,” he said. “They can unscrew some of those bulbs.”

“We can post armed guards,” Council President John Ferraro suggested.

The term “Christmas” also drew separation-of-church-and-state concerns inasmuch as the city was pressured years ago into ceasing its holiday policy of leaving some City Hall lights on at night to form a cross.

Solution: The council voted 11 to 1 to place a tree and a menorah in the Main Street lobby, rather than the rotunda. And it’s a “decorated” (not a “Christmas”) tree.

Nobody likes a deadbeat. The city of Los Angeles has owed a client of Encino attorney Bob Rentzer $17,000 since July and doesn’t even claim that the check’s in the mail. A Los Angeles County Superior Court jury awarded the money after the client suffered a broken arm in a scuffle with Los Angeles police.

The reason for the delay, says a city spokesman, is that the city attorney’s office is only authorized to write checks of up to $15,000. Anything larger must be approved in report form by the City Council. The spokesman conceded that the report hasn’t been written but couldn’t explain why.

“It’s been 4 1/2 months,” Rentzer said. “What games are they playing?”

Tired of waiting, Rentzer says that this morning he’ll ask the county marshal’s office to seize an asset worth around $17,000--the 1987 Oldsmobile assigned to Mayor Tom Bradley.

The mayor won’t have any immediate commuting problems, though. A marshal’s source said that even if the office went along with Rentzer, the seizure would “never be the same day. We’d have to type some reports.”