Anthony's 53 Chevrolet pickup

[SuperBuickGuy]

A friend of mine is an increasingly well-known forced perspective photographer
He also has the super power of autism.
I met him and his family when he was 12 and was gifted a 57 Ford.
His first published picture was a 53 Chevrolet pickup... he ask me to teach him how to build a car - and this is the one he wants to build.
and yes, it has a GMC grill, but it's titled as a Chevrolet.

The plan.
LS3, 6L80e, Art Morrison frame, A/C, power windows, wood bed, patina style paint to match the truck
He already has the 57 Ford 300 and a gorgeous Studebaker SilverHawk - so this is the truck that is going to be stone-cold reliable and drive like a modern car.

If you're on Facebook, follow Anthony Schmidt photography.

I'm doing a lot of the labor and using my contacts (most importantly, teaching him how to build a car - which means teaching to weld and such stuff)

but don't dismiss his contacts - last summer he got a tour of the GM Design studio from Mark Reiss.... yeah, GM president...
It's funny, I told him when I first met him to never, ever let someone tell him what he can't do.... talk about hit that out of the ballpark.

There will be some challenges because I used to live about 5 miles from him, now closer to 250 miles. With all that said, it'll probably be 6 months before I really pick back up on this because parts take awhile.... but hopefully, this summer we'll get it together...

[2020 mustang]

Nice.
Just be careful. The internet are full of trash talking 3&%#$@@.
A long time friend that had a child that was I'll use slow, that would never be able to drive or work on anything because of motor functions was into racing and old cars.
The friend came back in a body bag during his 3rd tour of the middle east. The mother was/is a fruit cake.
Many of us promised to help care for the child. He loved going to shows and race events, and mostly enjoyed the hobby from the computer screen.
He ended himself last October from the bullying he got from a few on forums.
There is a whole Navy platoon that like to deal with those grown men that thought they are awesome doing this. God help them if they ever take the time off to take care of business.
Might be best to not bring up the spectrum part, as adults with a few drinks in them can be down right evil.

[Monster]

I saw some of Anthony's posts on FB a couple weeks ago and was wondering about this project. Glad it's still alive and he's doing well.

[SuperBuickGuy]

I saw some of Anthony's posts on FB a couple weeks ago and was wondering about this project. Glad it's still alive and he's doing well.

life has its complications, but it is happening.

[74NovaMan]

I've got boys on the extreme ends of the spectrum. It's cool to see Anthony doing so well with something he loves. Good for you for being part of it. Really looking forward to watching this build here and on Anthony's Facebook. Love the 5 window cab! Hope you can find a Chevy grill for it (I'm a little biased).

[SuperBuickGuy]

I've got boys on the extreme ends of the spectrum. It's cool to see Anthony doing so well with something he loves. Good for you for being part of it. Really looking forward to watching this build here and on Anthony's Facebook. Love the 5 window cab! Hope you can find a Chevy grill for it (I'm a little biased).

grill and hood - we're looking now.

[silver_bullet]

IMHO, I’d keep it a GMC, because it’s a rarity… but it is Anthony’s truck so let him have the choice

[SuperBuickGuy]

I think this is the same truck... but this is the basic idea of what it will look like when completed

https://anthonyryanschmidt.com/store/p/53-chevy-3100-4-of-7

[fatguyzinc]

awesome--and a reflection of you as a human being. (amazing, an attorney who might actually
get into heaven, lol...) if theres anything i can do--make a custom shiftball, or something-- please
dont hesitate to ask. id be honored to help.

[silver_bullet]

Upon looking further into the photos, By the one piece windshield, that appears to be a 1955 1st series GMC as the earlier trucks had a split straight windshield....


BTW, be careful with the windshield, it may be difficult to find a replacement!

https://www.hemmings.com/stories/article/1955-gmc-100

https://www.motorpasion.com/clasicos/1952-gmc-pickup-butterscorched

[DanStokes]

I've got boys on the extreme ends of the spectrum. It's cool to see Anthony doing so well with something he loves. Good for you for being part of it. Really looking forward to watching this build here and on Anthony's Facebook. Love the 5 window cab! Hope you can find a Chevy grill for it (I'm a little biased).

We have a Grandson on the spectrum with significant impairment. I'm afraid he'll never function at Anthony's level but it's great to see someone doing so well. Good all over Aaron for showing up in Anthony's life.

[SuperBuickGuy]

awesome--and a reflection of you as a human being. (amazing, an attorney who might actually
get into heaven, lol...) if theres anything i can do--make a custom shiftball, or something-- please
dont hesitate to ask. id be honored to help.

I hesitate to post stuff like this because we wouldn't want the trolls to change their opinion of me.... thankfully, it doesn't appear that will be a problem here...

[SuperBuickGuy]

We have a Grandson on the spectrum with significant impairment. I'm afraid he'll never function at Anthony's level but it's great to see someone doing so well. Good all over Aaron for showing up in Anthony's life.

Pictures of a child rarely show the child on a day to day level. I know what you don't mean but you bring up an issue that kills me - the child is different, nothing more, nothing less. He and I get along because I see a lot of my struggles growing up in him and so have somewhat of an insight because it's me. The diagnosis tells me how I need to act and react. He doesn't have to 'do' anything. Unlike a health diagnosis where one has to have treatments, it's me who needs the treatment... and the reward is I get to hang with a pretty cool kid.

With that said, labels are just that, labels tell us how to treat the contents. I made this comment in church class and it illustrates what I'm going to say - everyone says light is good, darkness is bad. Further, they say that those who like the dark are bad. Well, that's great except with my aural migraines, I seek the dark because the light, quite literally, hurts when I have a migraine. I'm not evil because I prefer the dark - it's just the way I am.... kids who have a 'diagnosis' aren't the diagnosis. Just because they don't process the way others do does not make them better or worse then those who do process in a 'normal' way.

And to the general public. Anthony is a kid. A 16 year old kid in whose village is teaching him all about cars. That village includes most of the employees at Art Morrison, several at GM, pretty much all in the Studebaker fan club and tens of thousands of other people....

Dan, every child has gifts. Your grandchild doesn't function like us.... but I'll give odds that he has other talents that make you smile. We're all broken, just some are lucky to have instructions... point... your grandson is better then the rest of us, he comes with instructions

[SuperBuickGuy]

IMHO, I’d keep it a GMC, because it’s a rarity… but it is Anthony’s truck so let him have the choice

yes but it's not a GMC, the truck, certainly, has a story but it was born a Chevrolet and been modded a lot over the years. The body is solid - and that's what really matters the most.
As far as body, I probably won't have much to do. Mom is an artist who does patina stuff to wood furniture, then there's also that little shop you might have hear of Valley Customs... you know the guys who paint 'real' flames? While the originator is painting flames in heaven, the shop is still quite active and they, also, are on Anthony's fan list....
fun aside, the color under the black is the right shade of green - so it may not get painted at all..

[silver_bullet]

May be able to recoup some of the costs by selling the GMC stuff then, or, store for a "Just in case" moment....