Loren Lemcke of Tucson, AZ purchased 'The Moon Rat' from Steven Anastos of Red Hills Rods & Choppers in St. George, Utah. The 'hot rod spirit' then spoke to Loren and gave him a mission...drive the rat home! Home is 550 miles in 110 plus degree desert heat. What a guy! Other than the skull shifter knob coming loose and the desert heat releasing the glue on the passenger side panel, 'The Moon Rat' came through with flying colors.

Here are some trip notes that Loren sent...

• Roughly 550 miles (9 hours).
• 17 mpg average / ran out once but had two 5 gallons strapped in the bed / range appears to be 160 / 180 miles temp ranges from 55 to 112 in Marble Canyon.
• In Marble it was fan off and temp ranged from 190 to 200.
• Only need fan when in town below 35 no matter ambient temp.
• I drank about 1.5 gallons of water and splashed another 3 gallons of ice water on me every 30 or 40 mins.
• No sunburn but my hat beat my nose raw.
• One thunder storm (rain not fun).
• One haboob (dust storm).
• 70 mph side wind (it did not like this… But who does and truckers were pulling off everywhere with one tipped over after parking).
• 3500 rpm cruise is stable on smooth pavement / did not go above 3500 as the carb starts to open secondaries.
• NO bump steer (which was a pleasant surprise).
• Stops straight.
• All electrical items exceeded expectations and headlights were much brighter than I expected.
• Had to set the idle up once during the trip.
• The car just passed inspection and is now a legal Arizona driver.
• Next time – full face helmet to reduce wind buffet / fatigue and must bring a tool kit. This was not a planned purchase, I was visiting my father in Idaho and as a lark we stopped in to see Steve’s shop and went home with a ratty. But it is a blast to drive and about 75 French nationals riding rented Harleys had a great time photographing it and trying to ask me questions… No hable Fransis…
• Great car.
• By the way, Steve Anastos of Red Hills Rods & Choppers is a good guy.