The recent resurgence of rat rods has led to the birth of a new line of custom car shops with a focus on originality…in more than one way. Rust, rot, and lots of weird character are more important to these wacky rat rods than the size of the engine or the time it takes to get down the quarter mile. These cars are about style, about being cool.

This video features the builders behind the Damaged Goods Customs shop, Mike Bermudez and Troy Wascher.

These two notorious custom car builders search for what they call “sun-peeled” cars that have a nice, natural patina to them. They like original paint, even primer and rust, cars that have been weathered over a period of decades. They consider it “art”, and they can tell you that you don’t get the same feel from a faux patina that you do a real one.

The real art though is in their ability to fabricate and weld new body panels for old cars. We’re talking perfect matches for parts that are more than 80 years old. The guys at Damaged Goods have a knack for chopping and sectioning cars. If you want to check out what it really looks in the back of a custom car shop, check out this video. You’ll be happy you did.