1196 Wigwam Parkway
Henderson, NV 89074
702.369.7037
Reach us at
Mon - Fri: 9:00am - 3:00pm
Our shop is open
Henderson, NV 89074
Reach us at
Our shop is open
What happens from the first call to the day your car ships, what shapes the quote, and how owners in other states follow along. Shown on builds we’ve documented, not on promises.
Nostalgia Hot Rods builds custom cars, hot rods and restomods at 1196 Wigwam Parkway, Henderson, NV 89074, just outside Las Vegas, and at our second shop in Cedar City, Utah. Call (702) 369-7037. Most of the people who commission a build from us don’t live nearby. Dustin said so on camera in June 2024: most of our customers are from out of state. This guide explains how that works.
Commissioning a custom car build means a shop builds a car to your plan. It isn’t buying a finished car off a lot. You decide what the car should be, and the shop does the fabrication, the mechanical work, the paint and the interior.
Some owners start with a car they’ve had for years. One owner in Washington sent us their car after seeing our widebody 1966 Chevelle on Autotopia LA’s YouTube channel, as Dustin told it on camera in May 2023.
At our shop, the work stays under one roof. Street Trucks reported in October 2023 that we do everything in-house, from fabrication to interior and paint. So one team plans the engine, the chassis and the cabin together, instead of handing the car from shop to shop.
The first question isn’t about parts. It’s about you: how often you’ll drive the car, how far, and how hard. The answer changes the build.
Our 1969 Dodge Charger shows how. Its automatic has a manual valve body, so it shifts up on its own but never drops a gear by itself. Put your foot down at cruising speed and it stays in gear instead of breaking the rear tires loose. Dustin explains it in Autotopia LA’s video of the car.
Dustin also builds what he calls driver series cars, made for daily use, separate from the show cars. All Chevy Performance put it plainly in June 2024: his builds are meant to be driven.
We don’t publish prices. Every build has too many variables, from the starting car to the parts you choose. What we can show you is what moves a quote, using cars we’ve built.
| What you decide | Why it moves the quote | On our builds |
|---|---|---|
| The starting car | Rust and old repairs take time to put right before anything new goes on | Bare steel is media blasted, then acid etched and epoxy primed before fabrication starts, as Dustin explains in a 2023 shop video |
| How much fabrication | Custom metal work is the biggest variable in hours | Our widebody 1966 Chevelle was widened 6 inches, and its video says it took over 10,000 hours |
| Engine | A stroked original engine and a new big block are very different jobs | The 1969 Charger keeps a 440 stroked to 513 cubic inches. The 1966 Chevelle runs a 565 cubic inch Dart big block |
| Chassis and suspension | A new frame is a bigger job than upgrading the factory one | The 1966 Chevelle sits on a chassis we built, on air ride. The Charger keeps its factory frame rails with a tubular K member |
| Paint | Show paint is mostly sanding, and sanding is hours | Our three stage method includes about 200 hours of wet sanding on one car, per Dustin in 2023 |
| Interior | Custom panels, seats and electronics add design and build time | Our interior department works with laser and CNC machines, and keeps C2 Corvette panel designs in CAD to reuse |
A commissioned build isn’t decided all at once. Some of the biggest choices come once the car is in the shop.
Paint is a good example. We mix colors in-house on our own mixing machine, and spray out samples so the owner can choose from real panels, not a screen. Our own shop videos show it.
Fit is another. One owner made a first visit in June 2024 to sit in the car and check the seat, steering column and pedal positions before body and paint. It’s far easier to move a pedal before the paint goes on.
If you’re still deciding what kind of car you want, start with our guide to restomod vs restoration vs pro touring. It explains what each one changes and how each one drives.
All Chevy Performance reported in June 2024 that a car typically comes out of our shop 9 to 12 months after it arrives. Dustin has put it longer himself. In March 2023 he said our average build time was about a year and a half to two years, and in a June 2023 video he talks about builds taking 11, 12 or 13 months, and some 24.
The difference is mostly fabrication. A car that keeps its factory shape moves faster than one that gets widened, chopped or rebuilt in new metal.
We’d rather take the time. In the same video Dustin puts it this way: “some things just can’t be rushed.” He’d rather miss a deadline than cut a corner.
Every build in the shop runs to a timeline on a daily job board, and the crew reviews it each morning, as Dustin shows in our April 2023 shop tour.
You don’t need to live near Las Vegas or Cedar City to commission a build from us. Some owners come in during the build, and some first see the car finished. Here’s what our published videos and our partners’ coverage show.
| What happens | Where it’s documented |
|---|---|
| Some owners never see the car until it’s done. Dustin says many clients live across the country or abroad and trust him to build the car, and a finished car is usually shown at SEMA, a Goodguys event or World of Wheels, where the owner sees it. | Dustin, Ranas Radar video, December 2024 |
| Owners sit in the car to set the seat, steering column and pedals before body and paint. | Road to SEMA ’24, June 2024 |
| Some builds are filmed as they happen. We posted a six episode Road to SEMA ’24 series on YouTube. | Our YouTube channel, 2024 |
| Some builds are documented step by step online. BendPak followed the Valor C10 that way. | BendPak press release, October 2025 |
Finished cars are detailed and shipped to their owners. Dustin shows it in a June 2024 video, with a 1958 Corvette and an FJ60 heading to New Jersey.
Distance isn’t the limit. A press release in April 2025 said our builds ship to collectors, racers and enthusiasts across the world.
A new build also needs some miles. Dustin said in a May 2023 video that owners put 500 to 600 miles on a car after delivery, and anything they don’t like comes back to the shop.
You don’t need a finished plan to call us. These four things make the first conversation useful.
| Bring | Why it helps |
|---|---|
| The car, or the car you want | Year, model and condition tell us where the build starts |
| How you’ll drive it | Weekend cruiser, long trips or shows: it changes the engine, gearing and suspension |
| Photos of cars you like | The fastest way to show a stance, a color or an interior |
| What matters most to you | Power, comfort, a factory look or something nobody else has |
Tell us about your car and how you want to drive it. We’ll walk you through what we’d build and give you a proper quote.
See how the pieces come together on real cars: our widebody 1966 Chevelle, our custom Chevelle builds and the 1963 Corvette split window.
For everything we build, from chassis to paint, start with our custom hot rod and street rod builds.
No. Dustin said on camera in June 2024 that most of our customers are from out of state, and our builds ship to owners across the world.
We don’t publish prices. Every build has too many variables, from the starting car to the parts you choose. Reach out for a proper quote at (702) 369-7037 or use the quote form.
All Chevy Performance reported a typical 9 to 12 months in June 2024. Dustin has put our average closer to a year and a half to two years. Builds with a lot of custom fabrication take longer.
Many owners do. One came in to set the seat and pedals before paint. Others live far away and first see the finished car, often at a show. Ask us about it when you call.
Yes. Owners send us cars they’ve had for years. One sent theirs after seeing our 1966 Chevelle on Autotopia LA’s channel.
No. We build Chevys, Fords and Mopars, from Corvettes and Chevelles to F100s and our 1969 Dodge Charger.
Tell us about the car and how you want to drive it. We’ll take it from there.
Nostalgia Hot Rods · 1196 Wigwam Parkway, Henderson, NV 89074 · (702) 369-7037