"Custom" Bikes?

[sjptak]

I'm new here, an old fart, and rode my first bike, a brand new 26" Huffy when I was 8 and living on a dirt road. Dad customized the pedals with a 2X4 and some tape so I could reach the pedals. Anyway, I know that there are all sorts of styles of bikes out there and that purists can stop reading here. I just got a Raleigh 10 speed from the dump. It had no seat or stem and it was a 5 speed only. Wheels need truing, need new back brakes and a new tire. A bit of rust, actually a lot of rust. I got it for me to ride, not for resale. I immediately added a wide cushy seat and would even like to add more comfy handle bars instead of a racing style. Do others do things like this? I've looked for pics of other rat bikes but found nothing. I just want to have fun with this thing. Anyone know where I can view some pics for ideas?

[Bill]

Just go to google and type in customize bike and it should show results in the images section.

[CC Riderz]

Thought I would chime in on this post. For reference pics of custom rat rod bikes you can go to
http://www.ratrodbikes.com they have a good selection in the gallery. For doing custom paint you could try
something like this. Give your bike a marbleized look with this technique spray you paint then take some cellophane wrap and crumple it up then stick it to your paint and re-peat the process until the bike is covered. Afterwards spray clear over it and you're done except for color sanding and polish.