New grommets for old truck?

**bowyorang** · 08-22-2009 11:54 PM

Hey guys!
I'm in the process of researching the right longboard for my riding pleasure, but in the meantime I have one of my old boards from the late 80's that I would like to resurrect. The boards still in pretty good shape considering, but the grommets on the trucks are busted. Just wondering if the ones off of the trucks from nowadays would fit, or if anyone would have any suggestions for them. They are old G&S 150's. They where great back in the day and would like to get them rolling again.
Any ideas?

**Daniel M.** · 08-23-2009 12:24 AM

Hey man, by grommets do you mean the bushings, the part that compresses, or the pivot cup?
I'm sure you can get some new bushings to fit, pivot cups are tricker depending, but you can still rig something up i'm sure. Pics would help out.

good luck, still have some tracker half tracks that need new pivot cups. I found a suitable replacement for one, I just need a second. Ended up using the plastic pivot cup from a roller for a bed frame.

**bowyorang** · 08-23-2009 12:29 AM

Yep, the parts that compress. I've just always called them grommets. They have become hard and brittle. Cracked and fell apart. The rest of the trucks parts look pretty good besides your usual grinding beauty marks. I'll see if I can get some pics 2morrow. Bout to hit the sack right now....

**Hot Wheels** · 08-23-2009 07:09 PM

Most of the modern day bushings work with the old school trucks.
The Powell Bones hard core bushings are nice if you can find them.

You just need to get the right bushing durometer, based in part on
your weight, and usage.

________

**bowyorang** · 08-24-2009 09:33 PM

Well, finally got some pics of the old board and trucks. The deck is my last "old school" deck. It is a Paige, made here in Arkansas. I was actually surprised to find out lately that they still make Paige decks. This one is from around '90. But the trucks are what I really want to resurrect. Unfortunately, it looks as though the pivot cups ARE the main culprut. The bushings as well, but the cups are completely busted out. Looks as though they were made of pvc or something.
So, any suggestions?

**Fotch** · 08-25-2009 12:36 AM

I had that same problem with a set of old trucks that i had and i just found a pivot bushing that fit the hanger, and then sanded it down to fit in the hole.

On a different note, the "bushings" in trucks aren't really bushings, and they aren't really grommets either, but their placement and function makes them more grommets. Pivot cups or pivot bushings are really bushings, through and through. But i still call grommets "bushings" and pivot bushings "pivot cups.

ps trucks without pivot cups are really fun! really scary but that's what makes them fun.

**bowyorang** · 08-25-2009 06:22 AM

Ok, after searching the world over I finally found some on ebay.uk
Actually, the guy has a BUNCH of old school stuff. Didn't see any original G&S bushings, so I'll just hope that I can match some up pretty close at the local shop. I'd probably do a complete new old school setup from this guy if he were closer and shipping wouldn't break me. He says all his stuff was from a warehouse that been sitting from the 80's. No reissues. He actually had several complete sets of new G&S trucks. I probably would have just bought a new set if I had the funds, but as I said, shipping would have cost more that the parts.

**stringtheory** · 08-25-2009 06:56 AM

Oh my God! Those are circa 1987 G&S 4130 Chromoly trucks with plastic ends on the hangers. Be careful with those things. The bushing seat is actually welded to the hanger and prone to breaking. I broke a couple of sets back in the day!

p.s. bonus points for using the term grommet.

**bowyorang** · 08-25-2009 08:21 AM

Originally Posted by stringtheory

Oh my God! Those are circa 1987 G&S 4130 Chromoly trucks with plastic ends on the hangers. Be careful with those things. The bushing seat is actually welded to the hanger and prone to breaking. I broke a couple of sets back in the day!

p.s. bonus points for using the term grommet.

No worries, I don't plan on anything more than just to cruise around on it after I get it all fixed up. It's days of thrashing where spent long ago.

**bowyorang** · 08-31-2009 06:11 AM

Well, got the pivot cups in for these trucks and they fit great. Took them up to the local shop to see if I could hook them up with some new bushing and was told that the new truck bushings where going to be too small of a diameter, and bushings for the bigger longboard trucks where too tall. So, I'm still on the lookout for some old style bushings if anyone has any leads.
Thanks!

**stringtheory** · 08-31-2009 06:29 AM

Try Khiro. They should work fine. They come in a lot of different heights (standard should work for you) and the diameter should be just right.

Most longboard trucks do have longer king pins, and therefore can accommodate taller bushings. But a few brands make shorter bushings, or you can always use 2 top bushings rather than a top and a bottom.

**bowyorang** · 09-01-2009 08:09 PM

Originally Posted by stringtheory

Try Khiro. They should work fine. They come in a lot of different heights (standard should work for you) and the diameter should be just right.

Most longboard trucks do have longer king pins, and therefore can accommodate taller bushings. But a few brands make shorter bushings, or you can always use 2 top bushings rather than a top and a bottom.

Thanks for the heads up on the Khiro.
I was able to get ahold of the guys that I got the pivot cups from and he said that he didn't have any in packages but he would take some out of some new old stock G&S trucks that he had. So, looks like I will be able to to get these back together real soon.
Thanks for your guys help!
I got to give props to this guy. If your ever in need of some new old stock from the 80's you might want to get with this guy. He must have uncovered a warehouse of this stuff.
eBay Store - TODDTWIST: Wheels, 70's 80's Old School, Original 80's