1986 GMC Astro rebuild...questions

Discussion in 'Heavy Duty Diesel Truck Mechanics Forum' started by Modrob, Nov 8, 2017.

  1. stayinback

    stayinback Road Train Member

    3,911
    8,255
    Jan 24, 2014
    chicago,il
    0
    That puts spyder right at the cusp of "Old school" and "New school" I'll be 50 years old soon.
    I Started in 1989. 45-48 footers were the Norm(53's were Rare and Nobody wanted them)
    I started with a 1975 Mack R Model- My first truck I Bought Myself was an 87' 362 pete-3406B @ 350hp- Nice Truck and got the job done-the 350 cat wasn't a 425-But it held its own.
    Seen a Ton of Change in drivers behavior in a very bad way-(I wish I had better news)
    Biggest thing I see other than that is folks are in such a hurry- Its really unbelievable.

    Comfort in trucks has improved- But the Durability has taken a tumble
    Traffic has increased by 300% in the last 25 years- Which is why in the winter you have these 50-100 vehicle travesties ....Every Winter now-Every Year, Youtube it or contact your insurance company- They'll Verify it.

    But anyway- Good Luck messin around with that Astro-
     
    clausland, MACK E-6, Oxbow and 3 others Thank this.
  2. Truckers Report Jobs

    Trucking Jobs in 30 seconds

    Every month 400 people find a job with the help of TruckersReport.

  3. Modrob

    Modrob Light Load Member

    81
    40
    Oct 14, 2017
    Chattanooga, TN
    0
    Amen...you are so right and I forgot about that, since I didn't stay in it too long. (Reason is exactly because of what you posted...my vision of being a "cowboy trucker" exploring America and feeling good was quickly dashed when I started to feel the effects of demands of "be here by..." and "you won't have time for a nap--you've got to be here by..." and so on...didn't take me too long to realize I loved it looking in, but it wasn't so loveable when I actually worked it...
     
  4. Modrob

    Modrob Light Load Member

    81
    40
    Oct 14, 2017
    Chattanooga, TN
    0
    IMG_2074.JPG No battery box cover and the mounts underneath have rusted badly. I've just finished taking out the batteries and getting ready to pull the box and try and retool it with some kind of cover too. Pulled exhaust off and looking to find a used stack/muffler to replace this black pipe setup...
     
    Oxbow and haycarter Thank this.
  5. Modrob

    Modrob Light Load Member

    81
    40
    Oct 14, 2017
    Chattanooga, TN
    0
    IMG_2076.JPG Here is that rearmost axle... I should have realized early on when I first posted this was a "tag"...it's kind of evident and I just looked right past it...
     
    Oxbow and haycarter Thank this.
  6. Modrob

    Modrob Light Load Member

    81
    40
    Oct 14, 2017
    Chattanooga, TN
    0
    IMG_2077.JPG This is positioned in middle of axles on passenger side liking toward the cab. You can see the air bag here.
     
  7. spyder7723

    spyder7723 Road Train Member

    15,467
    25,010
    Mar 31, 2013
    sarasota, fl
    0
    What year did you say she is? The windshield, grill and headlight bezels look almost identical to the one i had.

    @stayinback is a spoiled punk. The first 4 trucks i owned was older than the one he got to START in. ###### i really did drive a lot of worn out junk. Heck i think my 77 k100 was the first one with budd wheels. There is another thing you don't see anymore. Dayton wheels. I think the only thing that they are still on is container chassis.
     
    Oxbow and Modrob Thank this.
  8. Modrob

    Modrob Light Load Member

    81
    40
    Oct 14, 2017
    Chattanooga, TN
    0
    IMG_2078.JPG And here looking toward rear.
     
    haycarter Thanks this.
  9. Modrob

    Modrob Light Load Member

    81
    40
    Oct 14, 2017
    Chattanooga, TN
    0
    1986 year...
     
  10. Modrob

    Modrob Light Load Member

    81
    40
    Oct 14, 2017
    Chattanooga, TN
    0
    IMG_2094.JPG Look closely and you can see the ding/dent/bump running down from window to bottom of cab..also rearmost crossmember bent up pretty good too...
     
    haycarter Thanks this.
  11. spyder7723

    spyder7723 Road Train Member

    15,467
    25,010
    Mar 31, 2013
    sarasota, fl
    0
    Then they certainly didn't change them much.
     
    Modrob Thanks this.
  • Truckers Report Jobs

    Trucking Jobs in 30 seconds

    Every month 400 people find a job with the help of TruckersReport.