Continuing our journey of our Stateside Shop Tour, we discovered a unique shop that has a colorful history leading to its existence today. Located in Windsor, Colorado, Pinkee’s Rod Shop has been building customs and award-winning rides since 1998.

Owned by Eric Peratt, he and his crew have realized the importance of working as a team when the time comes to build a car. However, what they value most is the customer. “I used to work behind a corporate desk at GM, prior to opening Pinkee’s,” said Eric. “All I kept telling myself is that I’m just going to have a nice, little shop out behind my house.”

Well, after building a few project cars that ended up winning accolades like the prestigious Ridler Award, the Goodguys Trendsetter of the Year, Grand National Roaster Show Builder of the Year, and also being inducted into the Detroit Autorama Circle of Champions Hall of Fame, Eric and his crew never planned for all of this success to come their way.

Even before any paint is applied, the quality workmanship is apparent.

“We’ve basically grown from working in a three-car garage into the current 10,000-square-foot shop we have today,” he said. “We grew out of the 5,000 square-foot shop in just 18 months. The showroom serves not only as a place to store four cars, but also a place to put up my numerous pieces of car memorabilia. I always said I was going to do it on my own — or maybe with one other person, but the crew keeps growing and growing.”

Eric and his team can create anything from vintage cruisers and classics, to fully-custom hot rods and high-performance musclecars. He also said that Pinkee’s focuses on keeping the customer heavily involved during every build. For every project that goes through the shop, Eric and his crew pay great attention to detail, doing everything possible to keep the customer happy, and retain the quality for which Pinkee’s is known.

Pinkee’s past projects include a 1935 Chevy coupe, and a 1964 Chevelle. In particular, the Chevelle is owned by Dave and Rachel Hendrix of Walden, Colorado. Completely built at the Pinkee’s shop, this Chevelle features Billet Specialties accessories, and Boyd Coddington wheels wrapped with Goodyear Eagle F1 rubber.

Under the hood resides a 502 cubic-inch Chevrolet Performance crate engine, mated to a 4L80E automatic transmission. The crate engine benefits from the addition of a Hogan intake manifold designed for fuel injection, and the combination fits nicely under the stock Chevelle hood. Finally, the body rests on an Art Morrison chassis with a C6 Corvette front suspension, and a 9-inch rearend supported by coilover shocks and a four-link suspension.

From rebuilding the body to the driveline installation, the crew at Pinkee’s Rod Shop spent hours fabricating this Chevelle into an absolute show stopper. After installing the driveline components, a considerable amount of time was spent sound-proofing the interior and trunk with Dynamat.

The Chevelle went on to win the Flowmaster American Thunder Award at the Goodguys Colorado Nationals. “A majority of my customers are more interested in the build than the car itself,” he said. “I let my employees have free reign over any given project, allowing them to go over any details they may have, or suggestions with the customer.”

It isn’t everyday that you run into a shop of this caliber, and and find a crew that is willing to work with their customers to bring out the best during a project build. “We like the customers, that realize that they are going to spend more than what the car’s worth, but no one can put a price on good time,” he said.

Pinkee’s Rod Shop is an absolute gem, and features both a fully-operational garage as well as a showroom to display their best builds. To find out more information about Pinkee’s, be sure to visit their website or give them a call if you want to inquire about a future project build of your own.