Ben VanEperen & Zach Raddatz of No Coast Custom & Rod Shop

The phrase “Custom with a K” is a stylistic/branding convention used in custom-car culture. The hosts are arguing that spelling “Custom” with a K signals a particular subculture or type of build.

“Lead sleds” is a custom-car term for heavy, full-size cars—often from the 1940s–1970s—that are built to look tough and ride low. The name comes from their mass, which can feel like “lead,” and they’re commonly associated with hot-rod and custom aesthetics.

In custom-car slang, “bombs” typically refers to cars built with a low, aggressive stance and often a show/drag-inspired vibe. Here it’s grouped with “lead sleds” and other custom-car culture builds, indicating a style category rather than a specific car model.

“Barris Customs” refers to the custom-car shop associated with George Barris, a well-known name in American hot-rod and custom-car culture. In this context, it’s used as a reference point for where the “Custom with a K” branding idea might have originated.

Eric Black is referenced as someone who would likely know the origin of the “Custom with a K” idea. In this segment, he’s treated as a knowledgeable figure within the custom-car culture community.

The hosts are discussing negative feedback left on YouTube, framing it as “enemies” compared with friends. This is more of a social-media topic than a technical automotive subject.

SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association) is a major U.S. trade show focused on aftermarket automotive parts and custom builds. Builders often debut new projects there to attract attention from media and industry buyers.

“Grand National” here appears to refer to a motorsport event or show where the car was shown in a bare-metal state. Without more context, it’s unclear which specific series or venue the hosts mean.

The Buick Grand National is a performance-focused variant of the Buick lineup that’s especially known among enthusiasts. The podcast mentions it in connection with SEMA and “bare metal,” which suggests a project car in a specific stage of restoration or preparation. It’s discussed because Grand Nationals are popular targets for builds and show appearances.

Primer is the base coating applied before final paint. It helps the surface adhere properly and provides corrosion resistance, especially on bare metal or after bodywork.

The engine bay is the compartment where the engine and related components sit. Builders often paint or detail it because it’s visible when you open the hood and it affects overall presentation.

The underside refers to the bottom of the car—floorpan, suspension components, and other underbody surfaces. Finishing it (cleaning, coating, or painting) is common in restorations and custom builds to improve both appearance and protection.

Jack stands are safety supports used to hold a car off the ground while work is being done. They’re typically used in addition to a jack, and they matter because stability and safety are critical during fabrication and underbody work.

“Solvent pop” is a paint defect where solvent trapped in the coating or released too quickly forms small bubbles or pinholes as the paint cures. It’s often linked to surface contamination, improper flash time between coats, or environmental conditions in the booth.

“Fish eyes” are paint defects where the coating pulls away in small craters or round spots, leaving a “fisheye” look. They’re typically caused by contamination on the surface—commonly silicone, wax, or other low-surface-tension materials.

A “paint booth” is an enclosed, controlled workspace for spraying and curing automotive coatings. It manages airflow, filtration, and sometimes temperature/humidity to help paint atomize correctly and cure without defects.

“Chemtrails” is a conspiracy theory claiming that certain aircraft release chemicals into the atmosphere for hidden purposes. In the transcript, it’s used as a humorous explanation for shop/painting problems rather than a real technical cause.

Humidity is the amount of water vapor in the air, and it can strongly affect paint curing and surface behavior. Higher humidity can slow drying, increase the chance of defects, and change how solvents evaporate during the painting process.

Pressure drop refers to the reduction in air pressure as air moves through a system, such as ducting, filters, or airflow paths in a shop. In painting, airflow and pressure differences matter because they influence how air is filtered and how contaminants are controlled around the booth.

The hosts reference a prior project involving a “wheel hub,” likely a wheel- or brake-related upgrade or repair. In car culture, hub work often ties into suspension/brake service or custom wheel fitment.

Street Scene is mentioned as a company/brand associated with aftermarket styling parts like bumpers and grilles. In the late-1990s/2000s truck and SUV scene, it was known for catalog-style “street” appearance packages.

APC is referenced as another company tied to “street scene” trends and magazine ads. In this context, it’s likely a brand known for aftermarket exterior styling and accessories that were heavily promoted in custom-truck culture.

Belltech is brought up in the context of ads being the best and always winning. Belltech is a well-known aftermarket suspension brand, especially associated with lowering trucks and SUVs, which fits the “into trucks” theme of the conversation.

An engine swap is when you remove one engine from a vehicle and install a different one. It’s a common way to change performance, fix issues, or build a custom project, but it usually requires matching parts and wiring/controls to make everything work together.

Kawasaki is a major industrial manufacturer known for motorcycles and a wide range of industrial equipment. In this segment, it’s mentioned as the workplace where the speaker worked as a welder.

Roll bars are structural safety components designed to protect occupants during a rollover or hard cornering. They’re also used in some builds to add chassis stiffness, especially when tied into the rest of the cage.

“A-arms” is short for control arms (often shaped like an A) that connect the suspension to the chassis. They help locate the wheel and allow the suspension to move while maintaining alignment.

A plasma cutter uses an electrically heated, high-velocity jet of ionized gas to cut through metal. It produces a distinctive slicing sound, which the speaker compares to the robot’s operation.

“Auto body” refers to repairing a vehicle’s exterior structure—things like dents, collision damage, and panel alignment—before paint. It’s a common trade path in collision repair shops and vocational programs.

A “body and paint program” is a training track that teaches both collision repair/bodywork and how to apply paint correctly. The goal is to restore damaged panels and then finish them so the color and surface match.

Welding is the process of joining metal parts by melting and fusing them, often used in collision repair and fabrication. In bodywork, it’s used to repair or replace damaged structural sections and brackets.

A “body program” usually refers to a structured training track focused on vehicle bodywork—things like panel repair, prep work, and getting a car ready for paint. In collision and custom shops, it’s the step before painting because the surface quality largely determines the final finish.

A collision center is a shop that repairs cars after crashes. Work often includes structural repairs, panel replacement, and refinishing, so painters and metalworkers are both heavily involved.

In automotive work, a painter isn’t just “someone who paints”—they’re responsible for surface prep, masking, mixing coatings, and applying paint so it cures correctly and matches the intended finish. The job quality is judged by things like smoothness, color match, and how well the clear coat holds up.

A “paint scale” is a reference system used in body shops to match and mix paint correctly. It helps technicians identify the right color formulation and sheen so the repaired area blends with the existing paint.

In collision repair, “seal” usually refers to applying a sealing layer (like a sealer or primer) to prepare the surface and prevent issues like moisture intrusion or paint adhesion problems. Skipping proper sealing can lead to repairs that don’t hold up.

“Gun metal gray” is a specific paint color/finish description used in automotive refinishing. It typically refers to a darker, steel-like gray tone that can be achieved with particular basecoat colors and clear-coat settings.

A “hot rod shop” is a performance-focused garage that builds, modifies, or restores older cars for a more aggressive look and driving feel. In practice, these shops often do custom fabrication, paint, and mechanical upgrades.

“Out the door” is shop shorthand for completing the repair and delivering the vehicle to the customer. It highlights the production/throughput pressure collision shops face—keeping enough staff and workflow ready so cars don’t stall.

Before painting, collision shops do surface prep and cleaning so the new paint can properly stick and look even. This usually includes washing, degreasing, and sometimes sanding or other surface conditioning depending on the damage and paint system.

“Buffing” is polishing the paint surface to remove minor imperfections and improve gloss. In a shop workflow, it’s often part of finishing after paint or between steps to get the surface looking right.

“Paint school” refers to training programs that teach painters the workflow and technique for applying paint consistently. The transcript suggests they were taught a very controlled, step-by-step process for handling the spray equipment and paint.

In this context, “the gun” is the spray gun used to apply paint. Painters coordinate with someone who loads or feeds paint into the spray gun so the painter can focus on consistent spray pattern, distance, and overlap.

In hot-rod slang, “blown” means the engine is forced-inducted—typically with a supercharger—so it makes more power than a naturally aspirated setup. The term is often used in paint/build references because “blown” engines are strongly associated with classic drag-racing styling.

Single-stage paint is a system where color and gloss are handled in one product layer, rather than separating basecoat color from a clearcoat. It’s often used for certain custom or restoration jobs because it can be simpler to apply, though it behaves differently than modern two-stage systems.

PPG is a major automotive paint brand. In this context, the speaker is describing a paint system they used—specifically a single-stage concept PPG setup—so it’s relevant to how the finish is achieved.

Metal fab (metal fabrication) is the process of cutting, shaping, and welding metal to build custom parts or repair structures. In a shop context, it often includes making brackets, panels, mounts, and other fabricated components for custom builds.

“Pancake the roof” is shop slang for aggressively crushing or flattening the roof area, usually as part of a custom build or a demolition step before a new roof/fabrication. It’s not a standard repair term, but it signals a major body modification.

Wheel tubs are shaped inner fender structures (often fiberglass or metal) that create extra clearance for the wheel and tire. They’re commonly used when a car is fitted with wider wheels/tires or when suspension changes require more room.

“Pole max” refers to a frame/structural repair measuring and pulling system used in collision repair. It helps technicians align and pull bent body structures back to specification using reference points and controlled pulling force.

“Car lot jobs” refers to service work done for dealerships or vehicle lots, often to get cars ready for sale. In this context, it’s part of how the shop stayed busy early on.

An “Enterprise rental car account” means the shop had a contract to repair rental vehicles for Enterprise. That kind of account can drive steady volume because rental fleets need ongoing bodywork and maintenance.

“Bumper jobs” are body-repair jobs focused on the front or rear bumper area, typically involving damage assessment and replacement or refinishing. The speaker contrasts these with more involved repairs like roofs.

“Roofs” here refers to collision repairs involving the vehicle’s roof structure and body panels. Roof damage is usually more complex than simple bumper work because it can affect alignment, sealing, and structural integrity.

“Turn and burn” describes a fast, high-throughput workflow—getting vehicles repaired quickly and moving them out to make room for the next job. In collision/body shops, it often implies tight scheduling and repeatable repair processes.

“Enterprise rental cars” refers to rental vehicles supplied by Enterprise Rent-A-Car, which are often used as a steady source of repair work after accidents. In shops, rental-car fleets can create repeat business because damaged vehicles need timely repairs to get back into service.

A “collision background” means the person’s experience comes from repairing cars after crashes—often involving bodywork, insurance processes, and coordinating parts and labor. That kind of experience can translate well to custom builds because you understand damage repair and fabrication workflows.

“High-rots” is almost certainly shorthand for “hot rods,” meaning modified classic or non-stock cars built for style and driving feel. The speaker contrasts small-lot car sales (staying afloat) with the bigger effort of building custom/hot-rod projects.

A “Riddler” refers to the Riddler Award at the Detroit Autorama—one of the most prestigious custom-car trophies in the U.S. The comment highlights how rare it is for someone to request a top-tier, award-level custom build without the shop already having credibility and a pipeline of clients.

The “1,500 square foot building” is a reference to shop size—how much space a small custom shop has to store cars, stage parts, and perform fabrication/paint/bodywork. It underscores the scale challenge of producing high-end custom work from limited space.

“Paint and body” is the shop work focused on restoring the vehicle’s exterior—repairs to sheet metal/body panels and applying paint finishes. It’s distinct from the mechanical work (engine, drivetrain, suspension) that may be handled by the owner or another shop.

A “full build” generally means the project expanded beyond just paint and body into a more comprehensive restoration or customization. In this segment, they start with paint and body and then it “kind of turned into a full build,” with the owner handling much of the mechanical side.

“69 AMX” refers to a 1969 American Motors AMX. The AMX is a classic American muscle car, and this episode segment focuses on building/restoring one under a tight deadline.

“Sheet metal” here means the stamped metal body panels used to form the car’s outer structure—things like fenders, quarters, and other body sections. In collision/restoration work, replacing or reshaping sheet metal is often a major part of getting the body back to correct shape before paint.

“Body paint” refers to the full paint process for the car’s exterior panels after bodywork—typically involving surface prep, priming, color coats, and clear coat. In restoration timelines, paint is a critical step because it depends on proper curing and careful surface finishing.

Bruno Masal is referenced as a person involved with the project discussed in the episode. The hosts mention his name as part of the story behind the car detailing work.

“Wet sand and buff” is a two-step paint-correction process. Wet sanding uses water with fine abrasive to level out surface defects, and buffing (usually with a polishing compound and machine) restores gloss and smoothness.

Mike Phillips is mentioned as the person involved in teaching the wet-sanding and buffing process. In detailing circles, he’s known for paint-correction and detailing education, which is why the hosts frame it as “having to teach him.”

A body line is a raised crease or contour in a car’s sheet metal that helps define the car’s shape. When paint is corrected and polished, highlights along these lines become more pronounced (“pop”).

They’re working on a 1969 Chevrolet Camaro. The “69” is shorthand for the model year, and it’s a classic first-generation Camaro era.

The Chevrolet C10 is a classic pickup truck from the C/K series, widely known for its simple, customizable platform. The podcast mentions donating and labor rates in the context of a C-10, which points to how these trucks often show up in enthusiast events and projects. It’s a common base for restorations and modifications because parts and knowledge are widely available.

A “labor rate” is the hourly (or per-job) price a shop charges for the technician’s time. When they say “at my labor rate,” they’re estimating the cost of the work they put into the build.

“Redoing everything” implies a full restoration/customization approach rather than a small repair. That usually means multiple systems and finishes are reworked—parts replacement, reassembly, and re-finishing—so costs and labor add up quickly.

“Facing the bolts” is shop talk for preparing fasteners so they look clean and consistent—often by machining, trimming, or finishing the bolt heads. It’s typically done to improve the visual “fit and finish” on a custom build.

“Seracoding” likely refers to a surface-coating process used to protect and finish metal parts, often for a durable, corrosion-resistant black look. In custom builds, it’s commonly used on hardware so bolts and brackets match the overall theme.

“Everything black” describes a cohesive exterior/interior hardware finish goal—painting or coating many visible components to a uniform black. In custom truck builds, it drives decisions about coatings, trim, and even how fasteners are finished.

Flush glass means the windshield is mounted so its outer surface sits nearly even with the surrounding body panels. That alignment is usually done to improve appearance and reduce aerodynamic drag and wind noise compared with more recessed glass.

“Machine vents” are vents that are cut or fabricated with precision (often CNC-machined) rather than being simple stamped openings. When they’re described as functional, they’re intended to provide real airflow for cooling or ventilation, not just styling.

A lower valence is the body panel area under the front or rear bumper that helps manage airflow around the car. A “setup” implies the valence has been shaped or fitted as part of the build, often to improve cooling, reduce turbulence, or enhance aerodynamics.

In this context, “intake” refers to the air path from the intake opening through to where it enters the engine. Intake design affects airflow, throttle response, and how well the engine can breathe under different conditions.

A 3D scanner captures the shape of a physical object and turns it into a digital model. In custom fabrication, it helps designers measure existing parts accurately and then design components that fit precisely.

“Welded together” indicates the intake pieces are joined by welding to create a sealed, rigid assembly. For intake manifolds and ducting, welding quality matters because leaks or poor alignment can hurt airflow and drivability.

“Frame needs to be pulled” means the car’s structure is bent and must be realigned using a frame-straightening setup (often with pulling chains/anchors and measurement points). This is common after more serious impacts and is a major driver of repair time and cost.

The Cadillac CT6 is a luxury sedan from Cadillac, introduced as a flagship-style offering. The podcast mentions it “when CT-6 had just came out,” which suggests they’re talking about the early days of the model’s release and how it was received or used. It’s discussed because new-model timing often matters for features, ownership experience, and market perception.

A rollback is a type of tow truck with a hydraulic bed that can “roll back” to the ground for loading and unloading vehicles. Shops often use rollbacks to move cars that can’t be driven safely or need transport from a dealership or auction.

In custom bodywork, “skirts” usually means side skirts—panels added along the lower edge of a vehicle’s body. Here, the shop had to hand-form aluminum skirts, then fasten and paint them, to meet a specific requirement from a local funeral home.

A diffuser is an aerodynamic panel (usually at the rear underside) designed to manage airflow under the car. It can improve how the car’s rear end “flows” aerodynamically and is also a common styling cue on performance and custom builds.

A valance is an exterior trim panel—often on the front or rear bumper area—that helps shape airflow and visually “finishes” the bodywork. On custom builds, it’s commonly used to create a more aggressive, integrated look.

A body kit is a set of aftermarket exterior parts—like bumpers, side skirts, and spoilers—used to change a car’s appearance and sometimes its aerodynamics. The speaker contrasts generic kits with one-off fabrication to keep the build unique.

“Fabbing” refers to fabrication—building parts from raw materials or modifying components to fit a specific vehicle. Here, the hosts describe custom metalwork (aluminum) to create unique exterior pieces rather than using mass-produced parts.

They’re describing a build that started with a high-end Mercedes-Benz SUV as the base vehicle. The hosts then modified the interior layout to create more usable space for the customer’s goals.

In this context, “means to an end” describes treating the job as a step toward a bigger goal rather than enjoying the work for its own sake. It’s about motivation—getting paid now while aiming for a bigger dream later.

In a shop context, “comebacks” are jobs that have to be revisited because something didn’t come out right—like fitment issues, paint problems, or incomplete repairs. They’re costly because they tie up labor and can damage customer trust.

A bumper cover is the outer plastic (or composite) panel on a car’s front or rear bumper. It’s often removed for repairs, painted to match the car, and replaced if damaged—separate from the underlying bumper structure.

The dashboard warning lights are part of the car’s instrument cluster and are used to alert the driver to system status or faults. When multiple lights come on at once, it often points to an electrical or sensor issue rather than a single mechanical problem.