1960 C-50 Viking

[BlueDiver]

Originally started a post in 60-66 Builds but thought I'd add something here too since I just found this forum.

I'm new to this site, new to vintage trucks, new to restoring old trucks and the proud new owner of a 1960 C50.

My love story started years ago when seeing my first rat rod. Immediately I decided that one day I would like to build one.... or my version of one anyway. After that, I have always kept my eye open for what would be my base. A few weeks ago while sitting around browsing craigslist I came across this truck and immediately fell in love. My wife saw my puppy dog eyes and couldn't say no.

My other post says it's a '62 which I thought it was until some guys on this site set me straight.

She's a beauty....

[BlueDiver]

Not sure where I will end up on the build but plans right now are:

-Drop a Cummins 12 valve in it with a 5 spd manual. (Right now it has an inlin6 gas engine. Not sure how large with a 4 spd manual trans. Any suggestions on figuring this out?)

-Replace front and rear axles with newer axles with disc brakes. Plan here is to keep axles and tires looking as close to the pictures above.

-Cut and shorten the frame to 8'

-Blast the cab and find all the bondo, dig it out and clean everything up to ensure the truck isn't rusting away under the bondo.

-Repaint inside and out.... Not sure to what end yet.


Gonna take a while. As funds come along, so will the build. Luckily I have some friends helping find the best deals on parts.

[special-K]

Nice first project. No problem getting your hands where they need to be to loosen bolts.

[Softpatch]

that is neat right there
.
just a thought .....
because I struggle with this every time I work on my Viking
It's only original once....
Every piece you restore/replace take this farther from original truck.

I have a 63 C20 that is not what it was when I bought it
it was a 3/4 ton 6cyl 4spd
Now more car then truck V8/auto,pwr steering/brakes disc
wish I never started down that path.

The Viking was my father's work truck and has some funky thing in it
and trying to preserve it's "Funkyness" good or bad...
.


Your truck
sound like you have a vision for your truck and subscribe to your build
.
...Sp
.
.
.
...
.

[mrolds88]

Nice truck!!! Personally I would repaint in those colors, I think it looks great. Cummins and a 5 speed, I like. I think once you would go over the stock brakes I really don't think you would want to swap them out. Otherwise have at it. Just keep mama happy while you're doing it....

[BlueDiver]

Originally Posted by Softpatch

that is neat right there
.
just a thought .....
because I struggle with this every time I work on my Viking
It's only original once....
Every piece you restore/replace take this farther from original truck.

I have a 63 C20 that is not what it was when I bought it
it was a 3/4 ton 6cyl 4spd
Now more car then truck V8/auto,pwr steering/brakes disc
wish I never started down that path.

The Viking was my father's work truck and has some funky thing in it
and trying to preserve it's "Funkyness" good or bad...
.


Your truck
sound like you have a vision for your truck and subscribe to your build
.
...Sp
.
.
.
...
.

Thanks for the different point of view. I had not thought of it that way and will take it into consideration as I move forward. I went and checked out your Viking page and was interested to see that it was your Dad's. That's pretty awesome to have something to rebuild like that.

I am feeling my way through the process right now and am not sure what will happen. All I know for now is that I am going to take the cab off, blast and paint the frame and add the Cummins. I am also going to shorten the rear end. Once I make it that far I will start thinking about my next process. I'm kind of taking it in baby steps and seeing what grows on me as I go.

It's going to be slow but I'm ok with that. I'm not so much trying to get to an end result as enjoy the journey in getting there.

[BlueDiver]

Originally Posted by mrolds88

Nice truck!!! Personally I would repaint in those colors, I think it looks great. Cummins and a 5 speed, I like. I think once you would go over the stock brakes I really don't think you would want to swap them out. Otherwise have at it. Just keep mama happy while you're doing it....

Thanks! I will try what I can to keep the lady happy. Luckily she's one of the good ones and I think she has her own fetish for our new truck. I just hope she doesn't try to claim it once I have it running good!

[BlueDiver]

Truck moving along nicely... I have bought the diesel engine and it is on a stand in my shop. The straight 6 in the truck right now runs like a top so I am kind of pausing for a bit just to enjoy driving the truck. In the meantime I am building up money and parts for the engine swap and all of the little items that I know I will need to sort out like a new radiator.

I need some help on the electrical system. There are no rear lights on the truck and I would like to fashion something but not sure how to attach the wiring into the system so when I mash the brake a light comes on, so on and so forth for turning signals and head lights.

Any manuals or diagrams I can look up? I need something to point me in the right direction.

[68panelman]

You probably have the 261 inline, they run great, and are highly sought after. Run some numbers off it to be sure

[63 & 64 Bowties]

Just a heads-up for you: Since you already have the 12v but no 5-spd yet. I'd go with a NV3500 trans instead of the stock Getrag. A quick Google search of Getrag and you'll figure out why pretty fast.
And be sure to check out the "diesel conversion" area of our forum here: http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/f...play.php?f=240

[BlueDiver]

Originally Posted by 68panelman

You probably have the 261 inline, they run great, and are highly sought after. Run some numbers off it to be sure

We were trying to do that yesterday but could not get a definitive answer. I found two different sets on numbers, one off and an ID plate on the engine block just forward of the starter with a 5 digiit code (73595) as well as a set of numbers cast into the top end that was 7 digits (GM 3837945).

Where is the best place to look to identify these numbers?

[BlueDiver]

Originally Posted by 63 & 64 Bowties

Just a heads-up for you: Since you already have the 12v but no 5-spd yet. I'd go with a NV3500 trans instead of the stock Getrag. A quick Google search of Getrag and you'll figure out why pretty fast.
And be sure to check out the "diesel conversion" area of our forum here: http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/f...play.php?f=240

I actually bought this as a engine/trans. But I think I'm ok since the truck it came out of is a 98' model Dodge.

I will definitely go check out the diesel conversions page. Hope I see a truck close to mine. I'm happy that my truck is unique in a way because I don't see many of them online or anywhere I look but working on a truck that no one has and no one makes parts for is kind of tough. I'm still learning what parts carry over to the 50 class from the 10 class.

Mostly having trouble finding parts for the body

[BlueDiver]

Here's some pictures of the engine and its casting numbers. Any advice on what these are or where to reference them would be awesome.

[mrolds88]

Head appears to be a 54 or 55 235 head. Block casting should be between the distributor hole and the draft tube inside the 3 bolt pattern for a motor mount (I think its for a motor mount).

[BlueDiver]

Originally Posted by mrolds88

Head appears to be a 54 or 55 235 head. Block casting should be between the distributor hole and the draft tube inside the 3 bolt pattern for a motor mount (I think its for a motor mount).

Is there a chance the engine is older than the truck? Interesting if it worked out that way. The truck is a '60 so I figured the engine would be '60 or newer.

I will look around the distributor for more markings.

[ClaytonS.]

http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j...62889514290118

[ClaytonS.]

And if you did need a trans go with a NV4500 instead of a NV3500. Easier to source and came stock behind 7.4 gms and 12v cummins.

[JPBrecheisen]

Originally Posted by Softpatch

that is neat right there
.
just a thought .....
because I struggle with this every time I work on my Viking
It's only original once....
Every piece you restore/replace take this farther from original truck.

I have a 63 C20 that is not what it was when I bought it
it was a 3/4 ton 6cyl 4spd
Now more car then truck V8/auto,pwr steering/brakes disc
wish I never started down that path.

The Viking was my father's work truck and has some funky thing in it
and trying to preserve it's "Funkyness" good or bad...
.


Your truck
sound like you have a vision for your truck and subscribe to your build
.
...Sp
.
.
.
...
.

I agree.

Your truck, so make it your own but they are only original once. Those trucks are getting so scarce, they're a bit of gem when they're "intact".

I have a C60, but I kept it original. I think your truck looks awesome. I would just restore it as-is.

I am pretty sure the '60 C50 had a 235 in the 6cyl option. You didn't get the 261 unless it was C60 or heavier. I have a brochure I can check but the link below helps identify 235 vs. 261.

http://devestechnet.com/Home/TheVenerable261

[Truck Guy99]

Subbed. Nice truck!

[BlueDiver]

Finally found the right numbers. It is indeed a 235 and has a SM420. Now if I can identify the rear end I will have the whole powertrain identified and I can move on from there.

What I need now is some help on the electrical. Anyone have any pics or schematics to assist in how I need to go about making the turn signals, brake lights work. There's a little black box on the driver side beside the radiator and Im not exactly sure what it is. Also, I need to learn a bit about generators and what the three wires are so I can start testing the system to find the issues.

[mrolds88]

First, the little black box should be the voltage regulator. I believe the older ones had 3 wires. I think when they went to alternators, they went to 4 wires. As for schematics, a pick up schematic should work for you. One thing I would do is to pull the fuses, one by one and clean the terminals in fuse box. Also a multi meter is your friend.

[ClaytonS.]

http://www.wellertruck.com/lit/Welle...talog_2011.pdf
Page 82 and 83 of this PDF shows pics of the H/T150 and H/T170. H=1spd, T=2spd. You probably have a T150 like all my older trucks.

[BlueDiver]

Originally Posted by mrolds88

First, the little black box should be the voltage regulator. I believe the older ones had 3 wires. I think when they went to alternators, they went to 4 wires. As for schematics, a pick up schematic should work for you. One thing I would do is to pull the fuses, one by one and clean the terminals in fuse box. Also a multi meter is your friend.

Thanks mrolds88....I am very intimate with my voltmeter, just not sure what I should be reading where. I think that will become self evident once I get into it. It is still a DC system so it shouldn't be too hard. The issues I am least confident about are the brakes, turn signals, and generator.

Brakes: Not as worried about. Should just be a contact somewhere on the assembly.

Turn signals: Probably where I worry worst because I have to get into the steering column and not sure how it comes a part and if I will get it back together. Although it is a 56 year old truck when things were made to be taken apart. I think of modern steering columns and cringe about taking them apart.

Generator: Not that worried but I need to do a little research. My whole life has lived in the world of alternators so a generator is somewhat foreign to me.

Once I get those, power distribution and making it work won't be an issue at all I think.

[JPBrecheisen]

Originally Posted by BlueDiver

Thanks mrolds88....I am very intimate with my voltmeter, just not sure what I should be reading where. I think that will become self evident once I get into it. It is still a DC system so it shouldn't be too hard. The issues I am least confident about are the brakes, turn signals, and generator.

Brakes: Not as worried about. Should just be a contact somewhere on the assembly.

Turn signals: Probably where I worry worst because I have to get into the steering column and not sure how it comes a part and if I will get it back together. Although it is a 56 year old truck when things were made to be taken apart. I think of modern steering columns and cringe about taking them apart.

Generator: Not that worried but I need to do a little research. My whole life has lived in the world of alternators so a generator is somewhat foreign to me.

Once I get those, power distribution and making it work won't be an issue at all I think.

As mrolds88 noted, start easy stuff first. Bulbs, fuses, fuse contact tabs, then get deeper if needed. I had one that only needed the fuse prongs cleaned.

The steering columns are not bad on the old trucks. Manuals help. Recommend you locate this book. It will have diagrams and testing procedures for things like the generator. So long as it's original, you have a generator. Alternators didn't come until "63 or so.

The three wires are armeture, field, and case ground.

[BlueDiver]

Thanks JP. I will keep my eyes peeled for one.