Every time I visit Vegas, I never have enough time to do all the things I want to do.
And during this last visit, I wasn't feeling well and it was raining—so that really curtailed the amount of adventures I could have.
But it gave me the opportunity to do an indoor activity that wouldn't require much energy on my part: take the free tour at Count's Kustoms car shop.
Probably best known for The History Channel's reality TV show Counting Cars, it's the headquarters for self-taught mechanic Danny "Count" Koker (also seen on the reality show Pawn Stars)—and one of the biggest custom hotrod shops in the country.
The showroom doesn't just display classic and custom cars...
...but also hot-rodded golf carts (featuring flames by by Count's Kustoms lead painter Ryan Evans)...
....motorcycles, and more.
Count's Kustoms has designed and built custom choppers for such musicians as Ozzy Osbourne, Tim McGraw, Keith Urban, and members of Motley Crüe.
But sometimes they do projects just for the love of the art—like the "beastly bike" (a.k.a. the "Jaw Dropper") by airbrush artist Horny Mike, who used 3D printing to customize a 2005 Harley Davidson Electra Glide motorcycle into a bona fide sculpture.
Ryan Evans also customized an SFD drift trike into a C-cab with a 1970s-inspired fiberglass body, now known as "The Von Ryan Express" (named after the 1965 film starring Frank Sinatra, Von Ryan's Express).
The pièce de résistance of Evans' work is a 1955 Chevy 210 2-door post Gasser, a street legal drag car with a front end that fully tilts up in one piece. It's all steel with lots of chrome—and it's a real showpiece for its paint job.
Koker bought the dragster in Oregon and then drove it as a street car before "kustomizing" it for the SEMA Show in 2018 (SEMA stands for Specialty Equipment Market Association).
Evans' paint job features lots of panel work, pinstriping (including a spiderweb pattern), gold leafing, and more.
The lead painter is probably best known for his flames, which you can see on a satin black 1941 Ford 2-door convertible with sparkly white "ice pearl" flames (first customized by George Barris)...
...and on a white 1991 Chevy Caprice 9C1, a former cop car that Koker got directly from a police auction (and kept its original engine and factory-issued brakes but added chrome "fangs" to the front bumper).
Koker says one of his favorites in his collection is the 1971 Cadillac Eldorado, which was originally customized by the New Jersey custom shop Dunham Coach (with an oversized chrome grille, headlight covers, hood ornament, etc.). Founder Les Dunham became known as "The Father Of The Pimpmobile"—and he leant a white version of this convertible to appear in the 1972 movie Superfly.
Koker and his team embarked on a complete restoration of the Caddy, inside and out—including re-chroming it and adding a paint job that includes super glittery gold flakes (clear-coated in piano resin). Count's Kustoms also lowered the car and added custom "spinners" to the wheels that look like something out of Thunder Road.
The custom car began as a 1932 Ford Roadster but was "hot-rodded" in 1949, spent years on the drag strip and salt flats, and was custom-painted and "flamed" by Von Dutch in the 1970s. That's when it was used as one of the models for Mattel's Hot Wheels toy collection—and after Koker acquired it in 1983, he preserved (most of) its original steel frame and body, as well as its lacquer paint and "candy" flames. It still serves as one of his personal cars—and a crown jewel of the museum collection.
The show Counting Cars ran for 10 seasons and wrapped up the series in 2021—but Count's Kustoms remains in business (and open to the public for tours, where you can see some beauties like the 1959 Cadillac above for yourself).
While Koker occasionally sells his cars, the ones in the showroom mostly help advertise the types of services he and his team can provide for customers' own projects—limited only by their own imaginations.
Meanwhile, "The Count" is also spending his time being a rock star (as lead singer of his band Count's 77) and running a tattoo shop at the Rio and a vampire-themed rock 'n' roll bar & grill in Vegas. (Why I didn't already know about the latter, I have no idea—but now it's on my list to visit for next time.)
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