Use Existing Firewall for a Rat Rod?

[Jason_B]

I'm excited to be a member of this great site! You have some awesome builds on here and I hope to contribute with mine soon.

I'm planning a father-son project to build a 40's pickup rat rod. I want a 1930's style drop axle with the exposed leaf spring in the front.

My idea is to use a 1970s short wheel base chevy truck with a small block and to keep the engine, transmission, drive shaft, rear end, all in place. I would lower the rear to get my desired rear ride height (spring over axle maybe with a notch if needed).

I plan to remove the front clip, bed and eventually the cab (minus the floor plan and firewall).

Two questions:
-Can I shorten the front rails and add my front axle assembly and set the front ride height with the front spring perch. Anyone see any issues with this? Will the exposed rails look awful? I understand that I would need a new radiator, lights, etc.

-Can I keep the existing firewall and drop an old rusty 1940s cab over it? Has anyone tried this?

I searched for a similar setup here and wasn't able to find one. Thank you in advance for all of your opinions and input.

newbie: Jason_B