You know, speaking of rat rods, I saw something the other day on the web somewhere of a rod that used a Toyota pickup cab. Now, you can laugh if you want to, but to me this makes a lot of sense. You can cut the roof off and have a steel-bodied roadster with operating doors and integral windshield. You could mount a pony keg fuel tank in the rear or a shorty bed or whatever. Use an "A" or "B" radiator shell and you're in business. I think I'd use the Toyota frame from the firewall rearward (maybe shorten it up from cab to axle) and weld on a home-built 2" x 4" frame from the firewall forward to mount a beam axle and transverse spring.

With all the talk of a $3,000 rod, I'll bet you could do it with ease this way.