1961 Viking

[HeloCrewChief]

This absolutely the last thing I needed to go out and buy but, it was love at first sight! I have never even thought of owning a "Heavy Hauler" but, I could not get past how cool the front of this truck looks. Just tough! It is fairly local to me as well which I think is a major consideration as shipping something this big is pricey. It is located about 30 minutes from my house and I will have to do about 5 miles of Highway driving to get it home. Owner claims it is capable of 55MPH and runs great so we will see. I'm out of town for work until end of next month. I'm sure the wife will love it It was cheap enough that I feel pretty good about the purchase. I figure I will have some fun with it running my daughter around the Island and my nieces and nephews when they visit. It use to be a Bend, Oregon Fire Department truck. It is suppose to be rust free, just surface stuff. Previous owner does not know much about it. I'm guessing that is a 283 in there. I've combed over this section of the forum and have found some good information. The slave cylinder is leaking so, that will have to be replaced. I'm also curious about wheels and tires. I have to get it home to see what I'm, dealing with but, alot of guys seem to upgrade to the 22.5 accuride wheels. My plans are to get it mechanically reliable (previous owner says it is). Probably repaint it red. I usually try to save "patina" but, I think this is beyond saving. I will get rid of the wood sides as I think that will clean it up a bit (save them for any future dump runs). I will also clean up the interior a bit. I know this is one of the years that uses ball joints so, I'm curious to see what shape those are in. Any other things to look out for?

[Redneck Rydes]

Love it,looks like a cool project,also love the front tag!

[1976gmc20]

Nice survivor! I had a 1965 GMC C/50 with 305 V-6, about the same wheelbase as that one.

What's in the bed? It must be a heck of a load.

Those wheels can be changed safely if you know what you're doing.

[Pvmt-Pndr]

I just came across a 59 on fb marketplace for $700 this morning. It has a nice bruise where someone bumped it into something on the front fender.
It's a good looking truck!

[C10 - C90 Bill]

Nice '61. Looks solid. Like the 10-Lug Fronts.

It's a 283 for sure. The Front End will actually be a "Torsion Bar" Front.

[HeloCrewChief]

Thanks fellas. I did read that the 60-62’s have the torsion bar front but, there is also some sort of ball joints? Another member on here describes having to replace them and that it is an early truck design? I’ll have to see if I can dig up the thread. Not sure what he had in the bed in those pictures. I was happy about the 10 lug fronts as well. My concern with the split rims is the availability of finding tires. I actually deal with split rims quite a bit at work. It was cheap enough that I could justify buying it sight unseen from pictures and videos.

[1976gmc20]

Mine had 10 hole wheels but only five bolts in front.

The make 20" pickup tires now but not sure if they are heavy enough? They would need tubes and maybe they don't even make 20" tubes anymore...

[DPowers]

Neat truck.

[VictoriaHardware]

Originally Posted by HeloCrewChief

Any other things to look out for?

The hydraulic brake systems on these seem to be the Achilles Heel.

First, it is a critical system when dealing with the weight of these trucks, especially when loaded. To make matters worse, it is a single pressure system, not a split circuit like all modern (post-sixties) vehicles.

Second, it is more complicated with the Master/Slave setup and vacuum booster setup.

Thirdly, many of the parts are tough to find. Technicians with experience in these systems are also difficult to find.

[jumpsoffrock]

Unfortunately the Acurride 28160 are nearly impossible to find, A company called WheelsNow makes repro accurrides but they look funny--I own a set for my C50. $250 ish per wheel.

Original Hydraulic brakes are almost always in poor working condition and finding the part numbers is getting harder and harder.


I love these trucks but maaaaaaaaan they don't seem to love us back sometimes.

[special-K]

I can see the appeal. Looks to be in great shape. I'd imagine there'd be some way to upfit later more serviceable brakes

[C10 - C90 Bill]

Originally Posted by special-K

I can see the appeal. Looks to be in great shape. I'd imagine there'd be some way to upfit later more serviceable brakes

It would be nice if someone offered an Air Brake conversion. That would solve a lot of problems.

[HeloCrewChief]

I’m getting ready to tackle the brake system on this truck. The previous owner replaced the slave cylinder and then lost the brakes completely shortly after that. He thought it was the master cylinder so, he tracked down a new replacement. I’m getting ready to install the master cylinder and bleed the system. Is the bleeding procedure like a conventional truck? Bench bleed the master cylinder and then bleed each wheel starting from the furthest position away? It does run and shift excellent, just has zero brakes. The emergency brake does not seem to hold it either so, I will have to investigate that system.

[HeloCrewChief]

A few current pictures. I found a very nice condition original seat on craigslist for it. I’m not sure what year it came out of but, I think the color will be a nice match for the truck. After I get the brakes sorted, I need to do a few small items like replaced the drivers door glass etc. Then I need to sort out wheels tires and get some single stage red shot on the cab and front end.

[Thealien]

What a nice find.

[DPowers]

Nice

[VictoriaHardware]

Originally Posted by HeloCrewChief

Is the bleeding procedure like a conventional truck? Bench bleed the master cylinder and then bleed each wheel starting from the furthest position away?

The Shop Manual doesn't have any specific directions other than that. However... most old timers say you must pressure bleed it.

[cwcarpenter98]

Sweet truck! That seat looks to be a 63 Deluxe seat. The red seat is a somewhat rare piece

[Pick121]

LOVE your new truck! Hey here is a link to the GM Heritage Center, someone here told me about this when I was looking for info on my 1963 C50. This will be super informative in VIN decoding, finding your truck specs, brake info, you name it. It does cover all light/med/heavy models so you have to pick through it but it’s pretty well organized
https://www.gmheritagecenter.com/doc...olet-Truck.pdf

[HeloCrewChief]

Thanks for the great info. I think I will start by bleeding the wheels cylinder first and then the hydrovac last. I also found a few places that rebuild the hydrovac. I have a good hose manufacturer by me and I may take all the rubber hoses there to be reproduced. Non of the wheel cylinders look like they’re leaking so, hopefully I’m good there. I found this sticker to be pretty cool. It’s in the drivers door jamb.

[Southcity]

Love your truck! I personally am a fan of the way the paint/patina looks on this truck, many spend a lot of time attempting to achieve that look with fautina paint jobs. I'm also a huge fan of those original 10 lug wheels. Congrats on obtaining such a nice example!

[Pick121]

Originally Posted by HeloCrewChief

Thanks for the great info. I think I will start by bleeding the wheels cylinder first and then the hydrovac last. I also found a few places that rebuild the hydrovac. I have a good hose manufacturer by me and I may take all the rubber hoses there to be reproduced. Non of the wheel cylinders look like they’re leaking so, hopefully I’m good there. I found this sticker to be pretty cool. It’s in the drivers door jamb.

This reminded me of a guy’s personal page I found where he describes overhauling his ‘64 C60 hydrovac booster himself. He used Reman Inc. for brake parts. Check it out here http://www.chevyc60.com/bendix_hydrovac_overhaul.htm
If you are a DIY guy it might be a cool project and his turned out really great. His restoration site is full of info even though it’s a ‘64 you will find plenty to work with for your ‘61
PS love the sticker, I’m a retired Firefighter and I remember barcode stickers on every piece of equipment for tracking asset location, maintenance records, etc you should definitely keep that sticker in place after restoring!

[Pick121]

Originally Posted by HeloCrewChief

I’m getting ready to tackle the brake system on this truck. The previous owner replaced the slave cylinder and then lost the brakes completely shortly after that. He thought it was the master cylinder so, he tracked down a new replacement. I’m getting ready to install the master cylinder and bleed the system. Is the bleeding procedure like a conventional truck? Bench bleed the master cylinder and then bleed each wheel starting from the furthest position away? It does run and shift excellent, just has zero brakes. The emergency brake does not seem to hold it either so, I will have to investigate that system.

Another note, if you don’t have yet I recommend getting the “1961 Chevrolet Truck shop manual” you can get it in pdf and view on iPad, laptop etc. In this I read that you should pressure bleed brakes on anything over 1 ton models. I’ve seen pressure bleeder systems for around $60-80. Well I guess I should stop giving advice and get to work on my own brakes haha

[1976gmc20]

All I know is that for a while I had a trailer brake controller teed into the MC to tow a mobile home, and started having brake pedal problems. I took it off and bled the system a bunch of times but I never got it completely right again. It was fine going downhill but you would have to pump it back up when stopping uphill / engine under load.

I did bleed the unit under the cab, but maybe I never did all of them at the same time in the right order? It would be good solid pedal but then would go to nothing after pulling a load with the engine.

[HeloCrewChief]

Originally Posted by Pick121

This reminded me of a guy’s personal page I found where he describes overhauling his ‘64 C60 hydrovac booster himself. He used Reman Inc. for brake parts. Check it out here http://www.chevyc60.com/bendix_hydrovac_overhaul.htm
If you are a DIY guy it might be a cool project and his turned out really great. His restoration site is full of info even though it’s a ‘64 you will find plenty to work with for your ‘61
PS love the sticker, I’m a retired Firefighter and I remember barcode stickers on every piece of equipment for tracking asset location, maintenance records, etc you should definitely keep that sticker in place after restoring!

Thank you for all the information. I did read about pressure bleeding them on another website but, the guys seemed to have an issue getting a seal on the master cylinder with the pressure bleeders that are currently available. I may order one up and see if I can make it work. Agreed on the sticker. It will stay in place I think that is a government thing in general to barcode every piece of equipment for inventory. I wonder when the truck came out of service? I was told it was the Bend, Oregon Fire Department. I may contact them and see if they have any information on it. I appreciate good patina just as much as the next guy but, the truck has had 1 repaint (obviously a very long time ago) and it is flaking off in pretty big pieces to the primer underneath. It looks like a gray or white primer over the original paint and then another coat of red. There are also bare spots of metal that are starting to surface rust so, instead of preserving what is there I think it is in this trucks best interest to get a fresh coat of paint. Also, my wife would probably hate it less!