My name is Mathew and i am building up a right hand drive delivered 1958 viking 1.5 tonne in Australia.
I have tried to do most things myself and have wanted to put together a journal , saw this and thought why not.
It has been kept all mechanical with a Cummins 6bt that is ready to install.
At the moment finishing firewall mods and fixing some rust in the cab area.
Just got back my front springs and getting ready to put the front axle and front brake upgrade together.
It has the nv4500 gearbox and dana 80 rear end, yet to weld in my pinion angles as i need to get ride height right first and finish restoring the rear springs.
Been putting in time every day on the Viking, It seems to take forever but a bit every day will get there sooner.
Looking back at purchase receipt and it is actually nearly 5 years since first purchasing truck.
IT has been shipped from state to state over 1000kms from initial purchase place, and come with me each time moving house since then (3 times).
Little bit of insight for Stovebolters in the USA, we have very strict automotive design rules and regulations on Australian roads, so many modification to a vehicle need to be signed off by an engineer for a vehicle to be deemed roadworthy and legally driven on the roads.
Initial plans were talked over with an engineer, he knocked a few back saying they would be very difficult to get passed and offered alternatives such as putting my Viking cab on a c30 chev chassis.
To me that was not a true 1958 Chev truck, I wanted the original and figured out ways to keep the 1958 chassis whilst still integrating my driveline and braking upgrades albeit with some extra challenges thrown in
Works completed so far include cross member modifications to accept the Cummins 6bt, This required a drop in the front and 2nd crossmember, tried to keep standard looking chassis by moulding in parts from spare chassis to keep original look. They were both re-enforced with spare crossmember pieces I had acquired. Motor and gearbox mounts were designed with a friend (thanks Brett) and in consultation with an engineer. Mounts sit the engine and gearbox on a 5 degree rearward slant when chassis is level (will get the pics up soon - any recommendations for uploading lots of photos?) wire brushing the frame and painting with POR15 - soon to get more and a top coat as it has gone chalky. Front springs have been serviced and raised a little for the desired stance once complete, bushes and pins have been replaced, front spring perches required inserts to repair where the old pins had made oval shaped holes
One of the biggest challenges has been the braking system upgrade, now remember how i said that we have very stringent vehicle requirements when modifying vehicles - stay with me here One of those requirements is that any hubs or axle upgrades that you use on your modified vehicle must then be the same track width as the vehicle from which they came from. I am hoping that the next little bit of information does not get me kicked off the site, there is profanity.. ready.. here it is FORD parts were used.. sorry in advance!
The front disc upgrade that would meet the requirements for my front track width using the standard front axle (think its the heavy duty 2 tonne one) was the 2015 ford f350 2wd front hubs. 14.3 inch discs
The inner front bearing cone from these hubs can be retained with the original 1958 chev roller bearing, the outer bearing and race need to be replaced. Can ad part numbers when uploading pics
A 10mm spacer was required to be machined for stub axle to get front track within the 10mm f350 front track requirements of engineer.
The caliper bracket - many versions were made - ended up out of 12mm flat plate.
Braking components need to be from one vehicle so that justification for the modification and performance expectation is a simple and proven one at inspection time.
The hydroboost setup from the f350 was used and mounted underneath the dash to keep the firewall and engine bay looking clean.
What a job that was, required the pedal setup from an isuzu npr truck that pushes on right angle of booster from pedal direction ( pictures to come)
The steering has been upgraded to power steering using the toyota hilux steering box, mounts made from 1 inch plate - used a 4 inch drop drag link from the toyota pitman arm. I thought that this prevented bump steer but the engineer told me that it just reduces the chances or your rod ends binding.
Current job that is taking too much time is the front firewall insert, the shaping process has been a big learning curve and much respect for these craftsmen has developed. It is nearly complete and ready for final welding into place just finishing making the bottom corners before welding in as one piece.
A fair amount of work has commenced with the engine upgrades, but I will leave that for a later post. (if i am allowed back :))
