1962 C50 Viking Build questions

[BlueDiver]

Hello all,

I'm new to the forum, new to the vintage truck game, and a new owner of a 62' C50 Viking.

I saw her on craigslist and immediately fell in love. I have wanted to build a diesel rat rod for some time and this is going to be my base. She runs and for the most part is in pretty good shape to be 54 years old.

I am not much of a gear head and am a little over my head but I have a bunch of friends who know a lot more than me helping me along on my journey. What I need is some help finding parts, mainly body, to make life a little easier. I have looked around on the net the last few days and find all kind of parts but not in the C50 range and when i do it's always late 60's early 70's.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

[Grizz1963]

WELCOME...!!!

Congrats on a very cool truck.

I am sure Bomp will be here, then the rest of the gang.

I like that a lot, being a bit different is great.

[BlueDiver]

Appreciate it! I'm looking forward to what lies ahead.

[clemdaddy]

welcome to the best old truck place on the planet. neat truck, very clean... post up more pictures and let us know what parts you're missing. you might check out the 'parts for sale' in the forums section, tons of stuff there.

[BlueDiver]

Originally Posted by clemdaddy

welcome to the best old truck place on the planet. neat truck, very clean... post up more pictures and let us know what parts you're missing. you might check out the 'parts for sale' in the forums section, tons of stuff there.

Thank you! I have not made it over to that area yet but I will shortly. The truck isn't really missing anything that I know of. There are some parts on the hood and grill that I think warrant replacing rather than fixing.

My most major issue is the hood. I'm not sure exactly what it is called but on the bottom side of the hood is a curved piece that runs the full width of the hood and is joined with spot welds. It has been previously repaired and is full of holes and bondo. There is more bondo than original steel at this point. I would really like to find that piece if possible.

Plans are to shorten frame, drop a Cummins 12 valve mechanical with a 5 spd trans in it and replace the front axle and rear end for disc brakes. Eventually adding stacks and a stainless tank outside the cab rather than behind the seat.

I want to weld more and use less bondo if possible because I worry about the engine shaking the body apart. I may be way off there but its a worry I have.

I'm not sure exactly how long everything will take or how far I will take it. I am on the 'pay as you go' plan with a mostly supportive wife.... for now. We'll see how supportive she stays and the build goes on.

I am not trying to keep it original vintage or change the original lines drastically. I kind of want to make a modern truck inside a vintage body. i would like to see it be a daily driver, at least for a little bit. Maybe one day it will become a 700hp torque monster but for now I will keep the diesel going in it pretty much factory.

I will shoot some more pics out soon.

[BlueDiver]

Do the hoods for c10-c50 in the same year range interchangeable? I find a lot more c10 stuff than anything else?

For that matter, is a lot of stuff interchangeable?

[DPowers]

Originally Posted by BlueDiver

Do the hoods for c10-c50 in the same year range interchangeable? I find a lot more c10 stuff than anything else?

For that matter, is a lot of stuff interchangeable?

Nice looking truck.
Cab, hood and doors will swap with C10.
Inner fenders and fenders are an inch shorter.
Core support is made a bit different.
Grill support is an inch wider.
I believe grill will with some "massaging"

[62stepside longbox]

Am I missing something? Because that looks like a 1960 not a 62. 60 hood, 60 hood bezels, 60 grill and 60 fender emblems

[spacedebris]

yeah, front sheet metal is definitely 60. Depending on where it was first registered it is possible that it did not first sell till 62. There are a few states that registered year sold rather than year manufactured. Or someone may have swapped in 60 parts at some point.

So BlueDiver if you want to go for same look, you will need a 60 hood not 62. 60 had the bubble hood and dual headlights, 62 has the flat hood and single headlights.

For the hood, I've never seen replacement hood braces (part with all the bondo). For that matter they dont make the hoods anymore. You'll need to watch the classifieds, craigslist, and ebay for a used one or try fabing your own replacement brace.

[namloc]

Very cool find.A piece of the workin' man's history.That will be a fun build for sure.

[BlueDiver]

Well, maybe I need to change the name of the thread and everything else. I only called it a '62 since the guy who sold it to me called it a '62. guess it's a '60 then.

This is precisely why I came to this site. I really have very little working knowledge of these old vehicles. I've already figured out I gotta learn some nomenclature so I can simply name parts correctly when I ask a question.

[aerotruk63]

VIN number starts with which number before the C. That number will determine the year
0C= 1960
1C is a 61
2C get the drift?

C stands for Conventional

Third will determine the Nominal Rating ( tonnage ). It will be between 1-8

Fourth digit will determine the back of cab to center of axle measurement. Again between 1-8

Fifth digit determines the model. Between 2-45

The next letter will determine which plant it was built.

6 digits following will determine the production sequence number.

[BlueDiver]

Originally Posted by aerotruk63

VIN number starts with which number before the C. That number will determine the year
0C= 1960
1C is a 61
2C get the drift?

C stands for Conventional

Third will determine the Nominal Rating ( tonnage ). It will be between 1-8

Fourth digit will determine the back of cab to center of axle measurement. Again between 1-8

Fifth digit determines the model. Between 2-45

The next letter will determine which plant it was built.

6 digits following will determine the production sequence number.

That is handy to know. I checked my VIN and sure enough it says S0C533A110809.

So, she definitely is a '60 vice a '62. A few questions on the rest of it... 5 ton (is that the load rating she can carry on her back?) 3 is the measurement of back of cab to center of axle (is that the number on a chart or is it a measurement in feet?) Model #3 (not sure what that refers to) Built in Plant A (Be neat to know what plant that was.) Then the sequence #.

Now I know a lot more than I did before.

THANKS!

[BlueDiver]

What are my options for finding replacement parts for the side window rolling mechanism?

[spacedebris]

Window regulators are still being made so...

1. You can rebuild the ones you have if not too bad
2. Source used ones from familiar sources (ebay, craigslist, classified section)
3. Purchase new ones. My catalog from truckandcarshop.com is a few years old (2012) had them listed for $62 each. part numbers
60-02410 Left
60-02411 Right
4. convert to electric windows. There are several options for these, most seem to have good results albeit a bit expensive.


EDIT.

I just checked their new catalog and they are now $64 each. Page 22 of the catalog. http://truckandcarshop.com/trucks60_72/t60_022.html

[plainred65]

This is gonna be a cool build, I'm in.

[BlueDiver]

Originally Posted by spacedebris

Window regulators are still being made so...

1. You can rebuild the ones you have if not too bad
2. Source used ones from familiar sources (ebay, craigslist, classified section)
3. Purchase new ones. My catalog from truckandcarshop.com is a few years old (2012) had them listed for $62 each. part numbers
60-02410 Left
60-02411 Right
4. convert to electric windows. There are several options for these, most seem to have good results albeit a bit expensive.


EDIT.

I just checked their new catalog and they are now $64 each. Page 22 of the catalog. http://truckandcarshop.com/trucks60_72/t60_022.html

Thanks spacedebris! I hadn't seen that site before. That'll help for sure. I'm not sure if I can rebuild them or not. I'm still feeling around and figuring out my sources for parts.

Do you know if there is anywhere I can find just the lower piece of the hood below the turn blinker bezels? My hood is in good condition except for that piece which is more bondo than steel and. It is spot welded to the main top of the hood and I'd like to just re-weld a new one there if I could.

[spacedebris]

Originally Posted by BlueDiver

Do you know if there is anywhere I can find just the lower piece of the hood below the turn blinker bezels? My hood is in good condition except for that piece which is more bondo than steel and. It is spot welded to the main top of the hood and I'd like to just re-weld a new one there if I could.

Nope. Replacement pieces for hoods are few and far between but only on the 62-66 hoods. The 60 and 61 hoods are not supported at all in the aftermarket. (or at least I've never found any)


as for parts supplies some of the ones you want to keep on your list are..

www.LMCtrucks.com
www.brotherstrucks.com
www.truckandcarshop.com
www.steelerubber.com (good source of seals)
www.topbananaparts.com
www.classicchevroletparts.com
www.classicindustries.com


Now there are many others but typically if your looking for a part, if they are made, one of these will have it. These are the ones I have bookmarked and where I typically start my searches. Then once you find it you can get part numbers and the proper name of the part so you can google it and see if you can find it cheaper somewhere else or maybe find a NOS or good used one.

[BlueDiver]

Originally Posted by spacedebris

Nope. Replacement pieces for hoods are few and far between but only on the 62-66 hoods. The 60 and 61 hoods are not supported at all in the aftermarket. (or at least I've never found any)


as for parts supplies some of the ones you want to keep on your list are..

www.LMCtrucks.com
www.brotherstrucks.com
www.truckandcarshop.com
www.steelerubber.com (good source of seals)
www.topbananaparts.com
www.classicchevroletparts.com
www.classicindustries.com


Now there are many others but typically if your looking for a part, if they are made, one of these will have it. These are the ones I have bookmarked and where I typically start my searches. Then once you find it you can get part numbers and the proper name of the part so you can google it and see if you can find it cheaper somewhere else or maybe find a NOS or good used one.

Cool, thanks man. I will give that part a good look and see if I can make it work or if I should start lookin for a hood.

BTW, do you have any pics of your C-30 on here any where? I'd like to check it out.

[spacedebris]

Originally Posted by BlueDiver

Cool, thanks man. I will give that part a good look and see if I can make it work or if I should start lookin for a hood.

BTW, do you have any pics of your C-30 on here any where? I'd like to check it out.

You know, I thought I had put it in my sig. LOL shows how often I read my own posts. Here your go. But unfortunately I've been out of work for quite a while so I have not worked on it for a long time. I live vicariously through all the trucks here on the board.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=523009

[BlueDiver]

Originally Posted by spacedebris

You know, I thought I had put it in my sig. LOL shows how often I read my own posts. Here your go. But unfortunately I've been out of work for quite a while so I have not worked on it for a long time. I live vicariously through all the trucks here on the board.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=523009

Heck yea man! I like it. Nice hood, lol!