1974 Alyeska yellow trucks

[SilverMiner]

Any Alaskans here that can tell me if there are any 70's Alyeska yellow trucks still running on the road? Pics would be great too!

Being in high school in NW Montana in the late 70's/early 80's, there were more than a few running around and I swear every one of them came with a different BS story, usually involving unprovable claims about the heater or even more improbable BS about how the truck happened to arrive in Montana. Usually told by a log truck driver who may have never set foot outside the state of Montana.

I have just been re-reading a book by Dermot Cole titled "Amazing Pipeline Stories" in which he devotes an entire chapter to the famous Alyeska yellow chevy trucks that clogged the streets of Fairbanks in the summer of 1974. According to Cole, Alyeska placed a $3M dollar order for 450 3/4 ton pickups, 97 Suburbans, 30 Blazers, and six ambulances with Tip Top Chevrolet in Fairbanks (pg. 186), all 4x4 and bright yellow. Apparently by 1975 there were more than 1,700 Alyeska Chevy trucks running around Alaska, but the yellow paint scheme was abandoned for "more subdued colors" when the yellow trucks became too notorious and recognizable. Apparently Fairbanks youths considered a stolen yellow Alyeska gas cap to be a special prize.

[bikeman59]

Wow - never heard of this. Very interesting, keep us informed if you find one.

[Squareforceone]

ttt

[chebyshortbox65]

My dad had one when i was a kid long bed 1ton damn thing was built like a tank wish i had some pics
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[chebyshortbox65]

Maybe it was a 3/4 ton
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[59bones]

Man I would love to learn more about this story!

I bet those trucks were really worked hard and that not many survived.

[Big-Sexy907]

Tip Top Chevrolet, I haven't heard that name in ages.

The last time I lived in Fbks back in the early 2000's I hadn't seen one. However when I was younger during the mid 80's I do recall seeing a lot of the same colored trucks.

[BLE 'BURBAN]

There is/was one parked on a side street off wisconson dr. a few years ago. Owner had a racerback on it and a lighted visor.
Sorry no pics.

[TwoSmoke]

Every once and a while I will see one parked. My boss still has a red one with numbers on the roof still.
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[terryj]

Having worked in Prudhoe Bay and lived in Fairbanks for a number of years I can say that those truck were some of the most abused trucks in the history of Chevy truck production. Yet they kept on going until they either burnt to the ground or just could go another foot futher.
I had two trucks while in Prudhoe Bay that caught fire due to the heater switch, needless to say the dash didn't fair well.

[SilverMiner]

terryj- YES that is the sort of story I was looking for, from someone who actually drove those trucks.

So what exactly was the deal with the heaters anyway? For some reason those Alyeska trucks were rumored to have legendary if not mythical heaters. Was this true? What made them different from the regular trucks? Why were they prone to starting on fire?

In Montana in the late 70's early 80's it was very common to see trucks for sale in the newspaper classifieds that said "pipeline truck GREAT HEATER". Now, this was back in the day when you paid dearly for every word so the sellers clearly thought it was worth mentioning.

[terryj]

Silverminer, I don't really think there was a big difference in the heaters in these trucks, a heater is a heater, the biggest difference is the heaters ran 24 a day in Prudhoe Bay from September to May, this I think is why the heater switches caught fire. Like I said in my last post, I had two trucks catch fire from the heater switches. Most of the pickups that I drove in Prudhoe Bay were diesel pickups and when the temps hit -30 the trucks were left running and the heaters going full speed. Chevy learned real quick that pickups headed for the arctic had to have cloth seats, vinyl just didn't hold up when really cold. These trucks were equiped for arctic wear and tear, different fluids and grease were needed. Block heaters, transmission heaters, battery blankets and heaters for the diesel tanks.
I can see why they might have been a good buy in areas like Montana, Wyoming and the Dakotas where the temps drop to below zero.

[terryj]

So I'm in Prudhoe Bay and I get a Chevy truck to drive, this truck is a real piece of crap, I mean it should have been put out to pasture miles ago. The temps are about -45 and I have to go to my shop, so I bundle up head out of the hotel and look at my truck that I had left running the night before, the windows are black. I open the door and flames from the burning dash leap out of the door, so I shut the door, walk back into the hotel and after a couple of minutes I ask for a fire extinguisher, mind you I'm in no real hurry to put this fire out, this truck should have been burnt down miles and miles ago. I put the fire out, call the shop to tell them their truck has burnt up and I need a replacement. The mechanic shows up with another truck looks at the one I just put the fire out in and says, "We'll have this truck fixed in no time", anyway, the truck he gave me lasted about 3 weeks before it also caught fire.