TUCSON, Ariz. - Empire Customs is a full-custom fabrication shop that specializes in bringing cars back from dead.

Their 847 N. Stone Ave. shop has been recycling used-car parts to resurrect vehicles for almost two years.

“My car was a piece of s---,” Charlie Serna said. “It had no interior; it sat in my mother-in-law’s backyard for 20 years. Stray dogs were actually living in it.”

Serna, an inspector for the Arizona Department of Transit, had his 1966 Chevrolet Impala restored to working order before taking it to Empire to begin the customization process.

Empire Customs is currently in the process of turning the one-time doghouse into a show-ready car, complete with hydraulics, a chrome suspension and a customized audio package in the trunk.

“If I didn’t have the passion to fix the car up, it’d probably still be sitting in my mother-in-law’s backyard or in a junkyard somewhere,” Serna added.

Jason Akers, the president of Empire Customs, said Serna’s case is not unusual as he estimates three-quarters of the cars he works on come straight from the junkyard.

“We’ve taken a lot of cars that many people didn’t think were salvageable,” Akers said. “They bring it to me and say ‘Do your magic’ and then we bust the magic on it.”

Akers’ magic involves very little waste as Empire Customs attempts to refurbish or rebuild everything so nothing is simply thrown away.

Akers buys and rebuilds parts from cars from as early at the 1930s. He conserves products by refurbishing parts that others shops might throw out.

Tony Vargas, the weekend shop manager, said the only parts that get thrown out are as a big as a silver dollar.

The shop recently acquired a plasma cutting table, a high-tech tool which cuts metal.

Mark Haynes, a computer-aided design engineer for Greiner Engineering, helps Empire Customs operate their new tool, while they work on his 1976 Buick Electra and 1967 Chevrolet Impala.

His Impala sits in the back of the shop looking like it just came out of the junkyard, as there is no engine and the badly-ripped interior is heavily coated in dirt and dust.

“I bought it for $500,” Haynes said. “I plan to put $20,000-$30,000 in it, I already got the colors picked out and everything.”

Akers said his shop also ensures that all used oil and potentially toxic chemicals are recycled properly.

His assistant, Vargas, specializes in other fields of recycling.

“I make sure all beer cans and bottles are recycled,” Vargas said.

Whether it is whole cars, used oil, or empty beer cans, Empire Customs prides itself on recycling and turning trashed cars into head-turning works of art.

“At least every weekend we’re cruising these cars,” Serna said. “There is nothing better than that. It’s the best feeling in the world.”