This 1977 GMC General is owned by Dick Schaffer of Knoxville, Maryland. Powered by a Cummins Big Cam III 400-hp engine backed by a 13-speed transmission, this classic rig is also equipped with a Holmes 750 wrecker. Dick likes wreckers and had been looking for one when he spotted this truck in an ad about six years ago. He bought the truck from a repair shop in southeastern Pennsylvania where it was still in service. The owner hated to sell it, but he needed a newer model wrecker for his business. The GMC was in good condition and only needed a little bit of “TLC” to get it looking good again, so Dick cleaned it up and polished the wheels. He also made two other changes – at his wife’s request – Dick removed the “No-Tell Motel” lettering from the side of the sleeper as well as a picture and the name of the cartoon character “Wimpy” that had been painted on the truck. Dick said, “It’s not a wimpy truck, so it shouldn’t have that name or character on it.” Dick enjoys taking his wrecker to truck shows and uses it to pull a medium duty tag-along trailer with his 1931 International on the back. Occasionally, he will help someone at a truck show by lifting a truck onto a trailer, or maybe by lifting a transmission. But these days, the GMC’s work is mostly limited to stationary lifting or winching. Dick recently sent a photo of the truck to the previous owner, who said he was glad to see it and to know that his faithful old truck went to a good home!
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John & Shirley Sponholtz
John & Shirley Sponholtz have been involved with old trucks for over 20 years. Shirley was editor at Wheels of Time for 12 years before going out on her own and starting Old Time Trucks magazine in 2004. John is an avid photographer who enjoys taking pictures of odd and/or rare trucks (he provides most of the pictures for this article and their magazine). John & Shirley, who are from Richmond, Indiana, have been regular contributors to 10-4 Magazine since 2006.
2 Comments
You guys have done it again with these old classics. I remember that GMC Generals were just not that popular in their day, but now that they are rare, they seem to get a little more attention. Having said that, I’ve got some old prints of a nice General with a standup bunk and plenty of chrome I took back in the early ’90s! I’m gonna have to dig those out and post them!
Old wrecker still works bit.. This is my old truck, I cant believe I found it. The no tell motel was my idea. The Wimpy was my drivers handle. he is since deceased. I would love to see the truck, my son drives now and I have pics of him standing on the fuel tank when he was so small. if the owner could contact me would be great, would also be interested in knowing if its ever for sale.