Chevrolet introduced its Task Force generation of trucks in 1955 and sold them through 1959. The medium-duty version of the vehicle was branded as the Viking. This one has a flatbed behind it which may mean its job was to carry stuff out to job sites. Located in Great Bend, Kansas, this truck has a solid engine with transmission issues that prevent it from moving around on its own. It’s a cool old transport that will need a lot of work and is available here on craigslist for $4,500. How does T.J. keep finding these things!?
The Task Force Series brought several innovations to the Chevy truck world. Specifically, wrap-around windshields, V8 engines, and 12-volt electrical systems. They replaced the Advanced Design Series which was Chevy’s first new truck after World War II. Rebadged versions of the vehicles were sold as the Blue Chip Series at GMC dealers. A new option in 1958 was factory air conditioning!
We don’t know when the seller’s Viking was last in service. It came with a 283 cubic inch V8 and a 4-barrel carburetor when new. The seller says it’s original, but the valve covers suggest the motor is from 1971 or later. That’s when the oil filler opening in the right valve cover changed from metal to rubber (which was often a pain to get back on and would crack with age). The Chevy has its share of rust, but it doesn’t look to be too extensive. The floorboards are crusty, and the bench seat has been removed and resides on the flatbed (needing to be reupholstered).
These kinds of trucks have largely disappeared from our landscape as they weren’t previously considered collectible. They were designed to work hard and when their service was done, they ended up in the scrapyard. This Viking has escaped that fate and could be a cool restoration project, though to what purpose would you spend the time and money?
how can i get a title for it if i buy it and how can i talk to the owner
Click on the ad in the article.
A tip of the hat to Russ for posting these trucks, a refreshing change for us truck nuts from Lambos and such. Let’s get this out of the way, it’s not a cabover, it’s a Low Cab Forward. We’ve gone over this many times, and was a cross between a cabover and conventional. IH and Dodge had similar renditions, but I believe it was GMC/Chevy that officially called them LCFs. They were very popular in farming communities, not sure why, you couldn’t haul any more weight, they did turn tighter, maybe they just fit in the shed, regardless, in a rural area, you’d see these trucks twice a year. Planting in Spring, harvest in Fall. A feed mill is the best place for those sightings, even today. You’d be surprised how many old timers still run their old trucks. Not sure about the motor, Geomechs is the person for that, I do think that diaphragm thingy by the carb, is a governor. Wouldn’t take much here and could still do a days worth of work,,,whatever that is today.
I don’t travel much anymore, but for those that do, you can see, there are still a lot of sheds and barns out there, and like sand in an auto carpet, they will surface for years to come. Great find, thanks, Russ.
“They were very popular in farming communities, not sure why, you couldn’t haul any more weight, they did turn tighter, maybe they just fit in the shed,”
I can say from experience….you could see far better with the cab-forward design.
My first job, kept it three years, was working for a small-town DPW. How small? In 1977, they were still running a couple of 1947-67 Chevrolet trucks. We had 1949 and 1954 Chevy 3100 stake trucks, as well as a 1966 C-60 and a 1967 C-60 cab-forward. And a 1974 C-60 dump…it was cab-forward also, but by that time, I think that was the only way they were made.
The two Advance Design trucks, and the 1966, you could scarcely see the ground ahead in close work. And that was what we used them for – leaf cleanup, with an industrial leaf-vac bolted to the nose (separately powered) with a snorkel on a boom, pivoting on the leaf-blower assembly. A chute took the leaves over the hood and into the forward end of the boxed-in stake truck…real hillbilly engineering. We’d have a snorkel man and two poor saps with rakes, to feed the leaves. You HAD to be able to see what you were doing.
The C-60, being older, was used for dump runs. A lot of the dumping stuff was landscape waste – dead bushes, gravel removed; but again, you had to see your way around the dump area we used. They were not good.
The cab-forwards gave a much better view of the immediate road ahead. In those days, we had two dumps – the 1974 Chevy medium, and a 1977 Ford F-700. Identical dump boxes on them. The Chevy had a short hood; the Ford did not. They were used identically. Much better view and often easier with the Chev.
I’m not sure how they arrived at the term LCF, there is nothing low, or forward about these cabs. If you look at a modern Ford or Chevrolet/Isuzu LCF, it’s a totally different design, which is a true LCF.
This is what Chevrolet called Low Cab Forward back in the day, a short version of the Conventional Cab. We had one of these as a fire tanker way back. That 283 did surprisingly well hauling the full load of 1300 gallons. The truck in the ad should be titled 5100, instead of 3100, which is a half ton pickup.
We’ve got a ’59 race car that would just fit on that ’58 truck bed. That would surly get some attention at the track.
Imagine putting gas in that today? $mpg was ok when gas was 23 cents a gallon lol
Diaphragm thingy is for propane.
Hi Dave, I thought that too, but this shows it’s a governor. If I recall, it works off vacuum and pulls the throttle back at high rpms. I think a propane conversion would not have gasoline in the carb. A propane conversion has a similar diaphragm, but has a lot more plumbing.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/224097253329
It’s a governor.
Listing deleted already.
I vaguely remember tuning 427 chev’s in the 70’s , a line went from the diaphragm on the carb to the distributor below the points where a spring loaded weight would block a hole at maximum rpm creating a vaccum causing butterfly’s to close. Note if throttle does not operate properly check for broken spring on weight.
that is not a 3100 more like a 3600, 3100 was a half ton, this is most likely a 1-1/2 ton or 2 ton
should be on a ranch in Montana hauling hay