[chris mc bride]

First you can run a spool on street as long as it just a saturday night specail or for rod runs.The only problem you will have is when turning slowly you will feel a little chatter in the tires.It just takes a little getting use to.
As for the hight priced after market housings.unless your going big on the power I would worry about them.You can either buy a junk yard unit shorten it your self,if you have decent fabricating skills(do some research there are tons of articles on it).Once you have new ends welded in you will be good to go.If you want you can spend some time very little money and fabricate some bracing across the back just like the high price units.
I know it sounds like a lot of work.It is but you get lots of rewards.Pride that you built it is number one. Probaly a few comment about it and more satistfaction of sayinf yea I did it my self.Plus you have more money to build more power to see if you can break what you built. Yea but you always push for more,beleive me 25 years of playing with this $hit has shown me this.