ok now that i'm half blind from catching up on a LOT of posts, this newbie will put in his 2 cents.

no matter what year/style/make of vehicle, I have always believed that a "rat" rod was a creation made up of whatever parts you could scrounge up, and come out with a dependable driver to rely on and take pride in. Just look at Rover... started out as a couple of brothers hacking & welding up whatever Jeep parts they had around, and build some rugged as hell 4x4's. yeah, they were as sexy as a slab of pig iron, but they got the jobs done...

many topics have answered questions i had before joining the board... gasser solid axle front end setups being one of the latest "wild hairs" i had. my "affliction" (so my fiance calls it) or my addiction to classic and custom cars has ranged from 6th gen civics all the way back to 60's impalas and now my current daily driven 57 shibby ugly duckling 150 series;and i sold the 97 civic for double the purchase price of the 57!

hell i had even mulled over the idea of doing a straight axle socal VW conversion since the cars are a snap to build. too many ideas, so little time, and no garage..