Projects Anyone ever see one of these chevy panel trucks?

It's for sale in our local deal. Must be a 1 ton or heavier. Lippy

 

They made 1 ton panels for decades....longer wheel base, 8 lugs, etc. I think the dually conversion might not be original?

 

Yeah I've seen 1 ton ones but never with the little fenders and duals. Looks pretty cool. Lippy

 

A buddy of mine lived in one for a couple of months while traveling the western US in the late 80's

 

I've been looking for one that runs and is close to home. Most hot rod people pass on the long ones because they are sort of ugly. But I have a plan....

 

Nationwide Danger Ride

 

For some reason this one looks heavier than a 1 ton? The wheels look bigger, like a wheat truck. Lippy

 

This ones earlier year , not bad if done right. Not factory either. Seems useless unless a tow rig.

 

Next door neighbor had one, when I was a kid.

It was like the first dually pictured.

 

Just like the Suburban`s of the 70`s and 80`s. They had duals with fenders. Often used by racers for pulling trailers, it wasn`t considered as a pickup or a truck so you didn`t have to stop at weigh stations.

 

Someone beat yo momma with the ugly stick - twice!

 

around here the carpet companies used them

 

Nothing in the GM archives for 60 or 61 on those as far as drawings or specs. The plumber/electrician keep your tools and equipment out of sight rigs of the time period. That could be turned into a pretty serious tows rig though. Remember vans as we know them now hadn't been built yet nor were box trucks popular with contractors.
That tow ring on the front bumper says it may have lead a pretty hard life even as straight and cancer free as the body looks like.
Sure would look great painted up and towing a slingshot dragster though.

 

Dual wheels were aftermarket, not factory GM. I recall seeing ads for the dually kits for pickups in magazines, as well as seeing them installed. I imagine the same kit could be adapted to fit a one ton van. Without much effort.

No factory GM literature of the era shows a dually option, except the c30 chassis cab models, and stripped chassis.

 

Ski resorts use the LWB duelly suburbans as airport pickups. Usually have a small trailer for luggage.

 

I had a '65 C30 panel with a great clean body. Regular single rear wheels, extremely HD. I did live in mine for 3 weeks when I was between apartments. Added a roof vent to cool it off inside.

 

Seems as though I remember railroad and military had some odd ones. Lippy

 

Now I want one.
But y’all would not want it here when I was finished with it

 

I have never seen one with Bud type wheels. Being a very early C-10 with those wheels I would suggest that it is a one ton at the very least. They used a common truck split rim on the 3/4 ton trucks in that era.
I have a ton '62 C-10 and it is running those same wheels.

 

I wondering if someone did a frame swap?.

 

Sacrilege to mention here, I know, but weren't and aren't most of those oil burners?

 

as in diesels? no. Or do you mean the engines wore out quickly?

 

Mine had a Pontiac 215 swapped into it, like a 230 Chevy. It burned and belched oil from everywhere. A 20 mile round trip to the beach = 3 quarts of oil. I started straining waste oil from work through a rag and using that.

 

I am guilty of writing too cute and too unclear. I was meaning 'weren't they usually diesel'.
I'm ignorant of what the ratio would be between gas and diesel. Being that the subject truck is a dually conversion, I can see the odds tilting a little more in favor of petrol.
But, yea. A lot of us have those 'oil burner' experiences. I recall a road trip in '62 with my brother, from Chicago to Juarez, Mexico in his clapped-out '55 Chevy. It had a case of oil and a case of Motor Honey in the trunk. At every fuel stop, it got 2 of each.

 

I'm not aware of any diesel chevy light duty trucks before the Olds 350 thing in the 70s. Some chevy trucks from the 60s got Detroit diesels, but they were medium duty trucks, not little one tons.

edit: I looked it up...could get a 3 cyl diesel in step vans from 67-69. But that's not a panel truck, like we're talking about.

 

You have expanded my education. (Unfortunately, I am already educated beyond my intelligence, but you can't have everything, as they say.)
Growing up, I never paid attention to anything that wasn't a 2-door hardtop. When I see wheels that aren't 5 x 4.xxx, I just automatically think 'Heavy Duty' and pulling tree stumps.

 

Railroads ruled in those years....they could get anything.....and still do !

 

Believe it or not most of the ton trucks were 6 cylinder 4 speed trucks. This is just conjecture but I believe that they were basically a Chevy badged GMC.

 

No, they were Chevys. GMC had their own stuff in the 60s, with that funky V6, etc.