The only Strat I would buy would be so hyper customized with jumbo frets/scallopped neck/hot rod electronics and whatnot it would be so expensive I could never afford the thing (and if I could I'd probably spend the dough on something even cooler/more useful).

I already have the right start. The first quality instrument I ever bought, it was my main and only guitar until a few years ago when I moved to Les Paul's and SG. It's the oldest thing I own, everything else has been left behind, given away or sold.
 

 
21 years of black strat. No mod, no nothing, although she is now in dire need of some TLC. Eventually, I suppose...

In the eighties' in NYC. my friend had this beautiful, what might have once been blue strat, that was worth a considerable amount of money.  He was living with a beautiful, but very blue actress on the Upper East side of Manhattan. After an intense argument, the said, (or sad) blue actress, tossed the beautiful, but once blue strat out of their five story walk up window. Luckily, no one but the guitar was injured. After much work the guitar was restored, but was never worth the same money. Chicks, go figure...

Heheh. Look at the skinny frenchie weirdo kid!
 
;-)

Beepster
Heheh. Look at the skinny frenchie weirdo kid!
 
;-)

LOL
 
Yeah, I was quite skinny indeed - no matter how much I ate and drank. I have to be a bit more careful now. 
 

Seriously tho...
 
If she's anything like my old Ibanez (that I've been toting around since I was 15) she probably needs at least a few frets replaced.
 
Otherwise a fret grind/polish and some pot cleaning (and general electronics checkup) should get her back in order right quick.

Rain

Beepster
Heheh. Look at the skinny frenchie weirdo kid!
 
;-)

LOL
 
Yeah, I was quite skinny indeed - no matter how much I ate and drank. I have to be a bit more careful now. 
 

I hear ya. I was 28" waist (at 6'4") until my mid twenties.
 
That just ain't right.
 
lulz

Beepster
 
I hear ya. I was 28" waist (at 6'4") until my mid twenties.

 
Yep, me too!
 
Even now, with my over-sized gut (that I'd love to lose), I'm still only wearing 34" waist pants...
 

How about this one?  This is a picture I took of Walter Trout's '73 Artic White (really!) Strat on my table to have the broken D string replaced.  If someone left it next to a trash can, you might just leave it there!  But, WOW!  What tone it has!