Anthony's 53 Chevrolet truck

[SuperBuickGuy]

I have a friend who is 16 years old, is on the autism spectrum, and takes forced perspective photographs. What is forced perspective.... every single one of those pictures below is a 1:18 scale model car. I met him 3 years ago at a car show where he was given a 57 Ford 300 - somehow I ended up as his friend friend of the family.... maybe because I drove the FJ40 to the show rather then my C3? We are building a truck that is full size but will look like that one below. It will be easy to drive, reliable, new, and be the vehicle which he drives while he's getting parts for his fleet of vehicles. What vehicles, you might ask. A 57 Studebaker silverhawk, a 57 Ford 300 and now a 59 Buick Electra 4 door (evicta?)
but to this build, we've ordered a full frame from Art Morrison, I have a new LS3 and 6L80e in my shop, and the actual truck arrives probably at the end of March or early April....

yes, I know it has a GMC hood and grill.... it's titled as a chevrolet

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

and for those curious... it will be pretty much stock height - which will probably be the only Art Morrison frame that isn't slammed...
if you're curious about him...

Anthony Schmidt Photography – Vintage Car Forced Perspective 📸

Explore the exceptional world of Anthony Schmidt Photography, where the youthful creativity of photography transforms model cars into art. Delve into Anthony's journey and his remarkable ability to capture the essence of vintage cars through his lens.

www.anthonyschmidtphotography.com

 

[BBShark]

That will be super nice. Pretty clean truck for 70 years old.

 

[bobs77vet]

that will be a fun build, he is quite talented

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

his truck is here... but I'm not taking it out of the trailer so this is what you get
I'm impressed with it... solid solid truck



what wasn't fun was getting it into the trailer.... it's maybe 6" shorter overall. Add to this, no steering wheel and no brakes - and on a hill (the wrong way)... ah well, it gets to sit for a bit (we're still waiting for the frame).
Anthony was concerned I'd want his truck... it's not a Studebaker, he's safe... but it is a solid truck

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

it's here, it's rough but it is a start
floors good (which is ironic since we need to replace them all for the motor/trans)

bed is a bit hashed but it's got good lights (not using either)

driver side a/c

that hood color

and the rest

 

[bobs77vet]

this will be fun project

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

a big bit arrived today... 2 months early... argh!

there will be an unboxing, just not quite yet


still, that's the big pieces....

 

[bobs77vet]

early is good right???

thats nice any fabrication required with it? are you going to paint it, powder coat it,or something else?

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

early is good right???

thats nice any fabrication required with it? are you going to paint it, powder coat it,or something else?

I was going to powder coat (and may yet) but I've also had very good luck with KBS coating - so that may be the choice here too.... nice thing about KBS, it can be touched up.

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

video
[VIDEO]

and pictures
mom cleaning windows

and Anthony checking boxes

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

As promised.... we started today
first remove bailing wire and removed bed

removed the last bolts and removed the cab

Anthony helping install the transmission

then finding it doesn't fit.... which I kind of suspected

nothing huge, wrong motor mounts and wrong trans cross member but at least we got it set in place

so I could set the cab about 4" high onto the frame

now the metal fab begins.... and you're curious. Not getting paid to do this - I figure it's like helping a kid with his first car, just he is spending a lot more money on it... it's not the first nor will it be the last.... and just you folks know this. I get the experience and some kudos (which embarrasses the hell out of me).

 

[bobs77vet]

this is win win and we get to watch, i like it

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

I love the smell of metal which has survived 70 years being cut up and discarded

oh hole!

oh brother

doors are off, starting to make things fit

was supposed to call Art Morrison today... oops...

 

[bobs77vet]

nice how are you going to do the shift linkage?

 

[BBShark]

Was the chassis made for the car specifically or do you specify wheelbase, track width etc?

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

nice how are you going to do the shift linkage?

column shift normal linkage

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

Was the chassis made for the car specifically or do you specify wheelbase, track width etc?

it was made specifically for 48-54 Chevy trucks

 

[bobs77vet]

in my 37 I made the floor board panels all removable from the top side.

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

worked on his truck today

then we did some CAD design

he cracks me up, he really does. He was telling me how to do metal work, so I handed him the piece was working on then said "okay, show me" He looked at the snips and piece then said "maybe I should watch you do it" lol
alrighty then, this is what WE did.