GMC Astro

[Old Buckaroo]

I built my first GMC Astro at the age of 15. Boy was I proud of that truck, it out shined my BJ McKay, Movin On and White Western Star.  Which means one thing - those trucks must of looked terrible as this kit has given me a real challenge.  This is an old vintage "Miller High Life " truck.  Nice old plastic with minimal flash.  I have also built two other of the same frames for resin conversions.  But - I cleaned off the exterior frame of all the handy mounting assist location tabs.  I should of done the same with this one and it would of been smooth sailing. 

The challenges - round fuel tanks and three mounting brackets. The frame is right on being square and level with the assistance of my 1" grid work mat and two 1lb weights. The mounting tabs did not line up or fit their counterpart very well at all - notch A does not match notch B.  I fixed that issue with various shims and blocks of styrene and chiseling the offending mounting tab away.

Next Challenge - The cab sits way high. This truck would be a technicians "cabover dream" as you would never need to jack the cab to access the engine. Just crawl right through. I dropped the cab 4 mm which I know will cause the domino effect on something further down the assembly.  I notched out the rear mounts to lower them on the frame instead of cutting the spring pad. 

And then the visor, I now know why I got six visors in a trade - they do not fit. Unless you want it facing down like these modern trucks dragging the pavement.  I sectioned in a piece 3mm long to get that classic 1970's visor look.

This post is not a gripe about inaccuracies but how I can make this the best out of the box Astro yet, and possibly assist the next person who dives into this kit.  I plan on building another one real soon with the modern wider grill (before I forget all the gremlins)

The pictures

Modified visor

Narrower cab to frame gap

Thanks for looking in

 

 

Edited February 29, 2016 by Old Buckaroo

[gino]

looks great sean !

Edited February 16, 2016 by gino

[Mopar - D]

Looking good Sean. 

[Tesla]

You've done a great job overcoming the "obstacles". Looks real nice!

[GearUpJammer]

Nice job Sean!

[Superpeterbilt]

Nice work Sean. There are definitely some issues with this kit. The cab gap is the biggest one. Nice job on the visor, and I think the round tanks look much better than the square. 

[JTRACING]

Very nice! Visor looks spot on!, love those wheels to

[Ken Gilkeson]

never did understand why they put the cab and chassis in different counties. looks much better now. got a turbine kit for a future build.  ;-))

[mistermodel]

never did understand why they put the cab and chassis in different counties. looks much better now. got a turbine kit for a future build.  ;-))

I have a theory on that.AMT built the chevy titan  first and the grill sticks out way too much,so the cab had to be raised to make up for that so it would tilt.The gmc astro uses the same bits so it has the same issues.I raised the bumper on my astro because the grill is flush,but couldn't really  do that on my titan.I have another titan in stock,when I get to it I'll flush mount the grill

[Old Buckaroo]

never did understand why they put the cab and chassis in different counties. l

Ken that is the best description ever !

Kevin, you most likely are correct. I thought the grill surround was way to thick. I cut a piece of tape 2mm and made a border from the front and removed the rest with a file to get it closer to the cab.

James those are KJ's wheels and hubs from Double Take Replicas

Thank you everyone for looking in and commenting - all tips and hints are appreciated

 

[Mr mopar]

Sean that looks much better then box stock............. all you need is the air bags from the General or Bison to make it look that much better......LOL

[doogie7046]

I like the way you changed the stance, it makes a world of difference.  Nice work on the visor too.

 

[Chu]

I will look this built closely I have a Titan and a Astro so it could help in my future projects Thanks for sharing!!!

 

[Canso65]

Nice start on your Astro Sean.

I have this kit in my stash as well, so I'll be watching in on this build.

Rob

[DRIPTROIT 71]

Nice work!! My dad drove one of these from time to time from Wilco truck leasing. When his truck was down. They were white with blue and red reflective stripes on them. I never really liked them then, but these things sure bring back some good memories.

I went back and looked at the one that I built years ago. I had raised the bumper on it, but I couldn't remember why I had removed the chrome trim around the grill. Well I guess now I know. It was so that the cab would tilt.

[gatorincebu]

 

    Sean ,

          Looks like your are making good progress on this one. I like what I see here.

 

 

    Be Well

    Gator

[Old Buckaroo]

Thank you guys,

Doug - dont go making trouble for me   I dont even think I have one of those kits to rob parts from.

Chu - I hope the modifications I have done works out. If not I will try again on my next Astro or Titan

Some interior work, how about that yummy color

Thanks for looking in

 

[Jim B]

Nice looking Astro so far.  I like the interior.  Very neatly done.  We seem to have a similar taste in interior colors:

I replaced the spring suspension on my Astro with the air ride from the General.  Worked out pretty well, too.

[Old Buckaroo]

Jim -  that is really nice, great color choice

I like your suspension. Do you have a build thread on this truck ?

Edited February 17, 2016 by Old Buckaroo

[Ken Gilkeson]

quite an appetizer fellas.  ;-))

[Mopar - D]

Sean your interior looks very real. 

[gatorincebu]

 

     Sean,

           That interior looks really good! And I like the suspension change. Good thinking there.

 

 

     Be Well

      Gator

[k100]

Looks good Sean , I have a daycab single axle in the stash,Ill have to remember to lower the cab ,it looks a whole lot better lowered.

[SpreadAxle]

I really like what you've done. I am trying to understand what it is you did to change the visor. It does look better with the lowered cab. I never really paid attention to it but after reading this thread, I looked at other Astros and I do see a a bit of a difference. This truck is turning out nice.

[Old Buckaroo]

Ray - Thank you, perhaps this picture will help out.

Starting with two visors I marked the lower one just past the center cab mount on the right hand side - that is the cut line. The piece of the right is discarded.

The upper visor has a cut line 3mm left of the center cab mount that will be the other cut line. The piece on the left is discarded.

When the two halves are joined there are two center visor supports.

I marked the cab mounts with a drawn arrow in case they do not show well in the picture.

Mark - I would love to see you pull out that daycab and work on it.

Gator - That is Tom's new and improved fancy smancy suspension. My driver does not get those kind of luxuries.

Dan - Thank you, I am going to attempt adding the kit cb also.

Ken - This truck needs to go to your paintshop.

Edited February 18, 2016 by Old Buckaroo