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1976 Chevrolet Titan/90


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Jim B, that's a fine looking rig you have assembled there... I have the same combo in the works, though mine will be considerably more weatherbeaten than this shiny looking hookup.... There's something about the Titan and the Wilson trailer that just look right together... I put my trailer behind several cabs before deciding on the Chevy. The others just didn't 'do it' for me. Top shelf stuff here!

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Managed to get a couple of outside shots today of the Chevrolet Titan/90 with my 1975 Wilson livestock trailer. Seemes appropriate for a cabover from Iowa!

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I need a better base.

Hi Jim, That Titan looks great :) I never drove a Titan but I did drive a few Astro's, one of them being a Astro 95 for CRST. It had a Silver 92 (6V92) We called them shinny two nineties, because GM actually painted the engine a silver color and they were 290 HP, it also had a Spicer 7 speed transmission. The other Astro 95 I drove was for a local Bekins agent, it had a 318 with a Roadranger 13 speed transmission. The 318 was painted the green color you used on your model. When it comes to the actual truck, I always thought that wrap around dash was neat, but I didn't like the giant front windshield.

Regards,

Rich S.

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Thanks, Rich. I like "real time" stories like that. It's good information. How did these trucks drive? I've always thought COEs would be pretty rough riders.

Yes, it was a love / hate relationship with cabovers :D Sitting right over top of the front axle you felt every bump in the road, but at the same time they were easier to maneuver than a long wheelbase conventional. Of course a loose fifth wheel jaw could be just as bad. You always felt some bumps from the trailer, but if the jaws were loose, you'd also get a tug. That is why the air ride seats not only moved up and down but also had some forward and back movement to try and cancel out the jerking. Here is a funny story from my days over the road driving a GMC Astro 95. I don't know if anyone on the list remembers a DJ by the name of "Big John"? He used to broad cast from a truck stop just north of Richmond, VA on I-95. Well I decided I was going to stop in and meet "Big John", he always broadcast his shows at night and you could here him halfway across the country, as he use to broadcast on AM. Anyway getting back to my story, back in those days diesel was cheap, so everybody let them run 24 hours a day to either keep the cab cool with the A/C or keep the cab warm with the heater. Well the Astro 95's door lock was on the top back of the door right where the door and window meet. Somehow while getting out of the truck I managed to lock the door from the inside, went in to meet "Big John" and get something to drink. When I came back out to get in the truck, surprise, surprise my door was locked and the only key I had was in the ignition :wub: I always kept the passenger side door locked, so I couldn't get in that way and then it hit me. The ignition was on the bottom of the dash right in front of the gear shift next to the dog house. Now all I needed was to borrow somebody's cab jack handle, since just about everyone back then drove cabovers, it wasn't hard to find one. Long story short, I jacked up the cab, reached up through the breakaway shift tower section and grabbed my keys, let the cab back down and opened the door. I then when back into the truck stop and had a spare made so this won't happen again. I guess if you spend enough time driving over the road, you'll end up with all kinds of stories :unsure: By the way Jim, I like that Ford Louisville line in your profile picture, I home Round 2 re-released that one again :)

Regards,

Rich S.

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Great story! I always like hearing stories from the road. I don't have a CDL, bu8t I have toyed with the idea of getting one. Never know when it could be useful.

Thanks. That's a 1990s Ford LNT9000 that I found on Truckpaper. I was going to build it, but I haven't gotten around to it. According to the listing it had an air ride suspension & a Cummins N14. One of these days, maybe. I have the tanks & N14 from Auslowe, and the suspension & grill I can get from Plaskit. I think I have the horns someplace.

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  • 1 month later...

Thanks. The only thing I didn't like about the Chevrolet is the grill: is sticks out when it should be flush with the face of the cab. Makes mounting the cab difficult.

I'm just starting my Titan, appreciate that note about the grille. I'm going to have to think about how I can test fit that assembly w/o completely gluing it so I can adjust that if necessary. I'd read on another post that the cab sits a bit high so I'm planning on tweaking the mounts just a bit to put it at the proper ride height.

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Joe,

There really isn't anything you can do about the grill; that's the way it was designed. You could swap the grill with a GMC Astro, but it won't say "CHEVROLET" across the grill; or you could replace it with P/E. Sometimes Czech Truck Modell has P/E grills for the Astro & Titan. Again, it won't say "CHEVROLET", but it will look nicer.

http://www.modelmakershop.com/modelmakershop/index.php?cat=c126_Czech-Truck-Modell.html&XTCsid=7oh7ef8glkkbmm39tu07gkoa01

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