The GMC Astro 95 had a good, long production run. Starting in the late 1960s and ending in the later 1980s, GM produced LOTS of these trucks in varying lengths and with all different kinds of optional equipment. The rigs were all cab over and the GMC version of the trucks soldiered on for longer than the Chevrolet version which ended production in 1980 (which basically meant that they only affixed GMC badges to the front of the trucks from that point on). This particular 1977 GMC Astro 95 has an interesting backstory in the fact that it was order by NASA and used very sparingly at the Wallops Island facility in Virginia. The truck only racked up 85,000 miles in that entire time and the engine only has 2,500 hours on it. None of this stuff is even broken in! Obviously trucks like these see a million plus miles regularly in their lives so to big rig enthusiasts, having a vehicle like this available is akin to the hoopla at the Lambrecht auction last year with all the low mileage Chevys. 85,000 on a big rig ain’t spit!
The truck’s specific use is not disclosed in the eBay listing but we do learn that the engine is a turbocharged 8V71 Detroit backed by a 10-speed transmission with 4.11 gears in the axles. With such limited mileage over so long a period of time, our only guess it that it was used on the grounds of the facility for hauling trailers that contained who knows what. You can see the placard on the front bumper is currently set to “poison” so there’s that.
According to the seller, the cab was repainted about 15 years ago, the AC does not work and the air lines for the brakes need to be gone through but none of that strikes us as weird for a truck that is so old and has seen such intermittent use. It has a fresh set of tires on it, the engine fires right up and makes good oil pressure apparently, and other than the few items just mentioned, there isn’t a lot else to bark about.
We don’t know how guys spend their lives driving trucks like this one. The cab looks claustrophobic and while this isn’t a truck that was spec’d out to make long protracted drives, just spending a day inside this thing with no room and the stiff suspension would beat someone up pretty well. Old school truck drivers all have our respect because this was “as good as it got” to some level in 1977. Today’s rigs are space shuttles in comparison!
SCROLL DOWN FOR PHTOS AND THE EBAY AD LINK FOR THIS 1977 GMC ASTRO 95 –
eBay Link: 1977 GMC Astro 95 is a time capsule with light mileage and no wear
Claustrophobic cab, not enough legroom for me. Otherwise it’s a very nice specimen.
Looks like a good candidate for engine swap for a 3/4 ton gmc pickup
Imagine riding in a phone booth mounted on a pogo stick, and you get the idea of driving a day cab cabover.
You’ll all ways be the first one on the scene of the accident! Hopefully it has power steering, needs bigger fuel tanks…
My 4 year old son has an old Nylint version of this he still plays with.
Definitely not a collectors item. We had two where I used to work but ours were single axle, supercharged Detroit of some sort. Gutless like nobody’s business, cramped, LOUD, and flat out uncomfortable. My knees would hit the dash all day long in the passenger’s seat. We had to cut holes in the doghouse one day just to get heat from the engine into the cab to keep warm. We ripped out the heater ducts and duct taped them into the holes to direct the heat where we needed it.
Made me cringe a little when I first saw the photo.
Nice old rig, I learned to drive TT on a sleeper Chevy version, a Titan 90. Wild experience for a 15 year old me…..