It's been a hoot watching Dan evolve his tastes and talent. It's probably added to the frustration of the build to keep changing (frame, body, etc.) things, but in the final analysis he's built a car at the leading edge of his peer group.

While many young guys his age pretend they "know" what real hot rods are/should be, he's built a car that melds the timeless and the practical. A well done blend of traditional notes from 60 years ago with finish, attention to detail, materials and styling/function elements (alternator, fan shroud, etc.).

A few years back we here were talking about the "rat rod" craze and how the young guys who embraced it were a mix of crappy to somewhat better builders. It was speculated that a few of them would take the hobby to heart and improve their cars as their skills grew. Danny is one of those, though he never intended to build a true piece of rat crap. I suspect Pop's influence and mentoring had a lot to do with that higher level of vision and achievement.

Though I have a couple flathead powered cars, I'm not in that "if it don't have a flathead, it ain't real" crowd. The constant criticism of the SBC (brand loyalty aside) over the past decade or so has bordered on hysterical. I notice now that some of the other young guys that share the leading edge with Dan are beginning to embrace the older SBC's (265, 283, 327) as they become aware that that engine IS part of the tradition of REAL hot rod history. Some of them are replaying in a way what happened in the mid '50s. Others, like Dan, are creating a combination of that era with little bits of later eras. The evolution continues. Good job Danny!