The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot Big Bolts 1959 Viking 60 information

I am hot on the trail of purchasing a 59 Viking 60 this week and can only find a limited amount of information on the web about the truck. I guess I am spoiled with the abundance of info on my 54 - 3100. I can't find much on the Viking. I can't easily determine what with 60 means.

The shop manual I found on line seems to be "generic" for all 59 trucks and not specifically for the Viking. Is there one just for the Viking or does the Viking info apply to the overall 59 shop manual?

Even the on-line parts suppliers don't differentiate from a 59 step-side and a Viking from my quick investigation.

Any guidance would be appreciated so I don't jump into something that will be more over my head than I usually am.

Bob,

I know nothing, but I checked out the 59/60 Chevrolet trucks because I have 261 engines from 1959 and 1960 Chevrolet trucks (6000 series, I thought).

It looks like 1958 was the first year for the use of the three truck names Apache (light duty), Viking (medium-duty), and Spartan (heavy-duty).

It looks like the 1959 Viking 60 series (6000 series?) had a 261 as the standard engine.

Maybe Task Force owners will add useful information and corrections?

The Shop Manual would be for all trucks.

Here is a 1959 Chevrolet Truck Specification Manual - this is a 3.5MB download.

the Viking was offered in the 40, 50 and 60 series and was mainly used as a bobtail either with a 261 or a 283. The Spartan series was offered in the 70,80,90 and 100. The 80 series which had a 348V8 with air brakes was the only entry that really caught on. Of course it had only been a few years that Chevy had been in the business of selling trucks larger trucks and most of their dealer network was not geared to service anything larger than a 2 ton. The 2 tons were used a lot in the Midwest as farm trucks. They seldom got enough miles to need an overhaul. The 80 series found a market of a cheap way of getting a truck tractor. Instead of being overhauled like heavier trucks like International, etc. the Chev big blocks were considered throwaways and engines were swapped every year. When the 409 was introduced in about 1961, 348 engines were replaced with 409 engines. They would blow the doors off of a 671 Detroit, got about half the fuel mileage and needed a replacement engine about every 100,000 miles.

I scrolled through the Spec manual and was surprised to see that the 322 Buick was still listed. I would assume that it was offered in the 70 series which never gained popularity.

The 322 remained available in 58/59 as the only engine put in the model 10802 School Bus Chassis.

The '58 70 Series came with the 283. The '59 70 Series came with the 283 or optional 348. The only LCF to get the 322 was the 56/57 9000 Series.

Mike B

HELP - NEED GUIDANCE !

i just saw the truck for the 1st time and it was better than I expected and worse than I expected. There is more rust than I thought, specifically on the two fenders and the interior cab floor. I guess I could find a body shop to work the fenders because I don't think I can find replacement fenders for this truck. It seems they only made this model for two years before changing the fenders and the front head-lights and grille.

This looks like a very cool truck, but perhaps larger of a project than I can personally tackle. I really want this for a dump truck in my company, which would not be driven much but fear that I might be looking at a lot of money to get the body back into reasonable shape. I would also like to have someone put a dual master cylinder and front disc brakes on - I would worry about properly stopping this truck without both.

Appreciate any and all input. I have a few days to sort this out with the seller.

59 Viking as-is

How does the fender get that rusted out? Did it get completely immersed in salt water?

The seller said a vine grew up on the fender and it rusted it out over time. Those holes go all the way through....

it still would be a good truck to get, you might be able to fabricate patch panels from pickup fenders.



Indy

Bob,

The truck had to sit in one spot for a long time to have a vine rust the fender out...is there rust above the windshield on the inside? How bad are the door bottoms?

Don't mean to burst your bubble, but unless this truck has special meaning to you or is free, you might want to pass. Running and stopping farm trucks can be found in the $2000-3000 range...it will take way more than that to get this truck safely on the road. How long has it been since it ran?

This truck will not run at modern hiway speeds empty and will be even slower loaded, so the stock brake system will be fine after it's been completely replaced including the steel and rubber lines.

Mike B

Are those tubeless rims? If not,they look like Firestone "Widow-Makers"! you may get lucky,and find a '58/'59 bus,with a good front clip. To re-build your brakes,with new lines/hoses,will cost in the $1,000.00 range. If you "run" 900X20'00's,you'll achieve 55 M.P.H.,without over-taxing your engine. Just make sure to eliminate the "Widow-Makers". Billy W's'59 Viking bus came with the 10-bolt,5-hole,(3-piece) rims. NICE front clip,too. http://s1181.photobucket.com/user/willybickey/media/MOV00201.mp4.html?sort=6&o=24 Hope this helps.

I see lots of work in that thing, and if you ever get it finished, it won't be worth near what you have in it. I'm pretty sure those are Firestone RH5° wheels. The whole thing just doesn't have much going for it in my opinion. Farm trucks that have been in a shed except during the harvest are in a whole lot better condition and can be bought cheap. Running trucks can be bought for as little as $1,000. Ones that stop are pretty hard to find.

All great advise - thanks guys. I've decided to pass on this and will wait for the 5 window COE dump that I really want.

I can get this for $1,000 if any StoveBolter wants it. I have it "held" for the weekend.

Many thanks for your candor.

I was wondering why others had passed. That floor, if I was seeing the picture correctly, is alarming as well. Metal looks very thin. What is going on under the cab frame-wise? I appreciate you taking the pictures and passing along your impressions. Are we saying this should go for a price closer to scrap and work from there?

I think the frame looked fine, but a bit rusted. The floor was a mess and the fenders were disappointing. Seller has had others offer $750 which he turned down. Apparently one from Richmond and another from Jersey.

Very cool truck - he even has the original shop manual and supplement.

HB,

With that much rust in the floor the rest of the truck can't be good and the top of the frame rails will be heavily pitted and thin.

Scrap cars are bringing .07 to .11 cents per pound. Most recyclers deduct about $20 per truck tire, so if we use .10 cents as a price and we have a 5000 pound truck, it's worth $500 less the tires making it worth about $380 at the scale. This makes it almost not worth the time and effort to haul it out. He should have taken the $750 and run...

Mike B )

Agree. The first impression and excitement was better then the last.