JeffC Posted February 27, 2008 Posted February 27, 2008 Rip QUOTE Car-building legend Boyd Coddington, whose testosterone-injected cable TV reality show "American Hot Rod" introduced the nation to the West Coast hot rod guru, has died. He was 63. Coddington died at Presbyterian Intercommunity Hospital in suburban Whittier at 6:20 a.m. Wednesday. His La Habra office spokeswoman Amanda Curry wouldn't disclose the cause of death. Coddington, who started building cars when he was 13 and once operated a gas station in Utah, set a standard for his workmanship and creativity, with his popular "Cadzilla" creation considered a design masterpiece. The customized car based on a 1950s Cadillac was built for rocker Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top. "That was a groundbreaking car. Very cool," said Dick Messer, executive director of the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles. "This was your modern era George Barris," Messer said. "He did things to hot rods and customs that weren't being done by anyone else. But the main thing is he designed cars that were drivable." Coddington was a machinist by trade, working at Disneyland during the day and tinkering with cars in his home garage at night and on weekends. His rolling creations captured the imagination of car-crazy Southern Californians and soon he was building custom cars and making money. Most often, he customized 1932 Ford "little deuce coupes." "It was one of those things when a hobby turned into business," Messer said, noting Coddington was also "one of the first guys to get into the custom wheel business." Wheels by Boyd were fetching $2,000 apiece, which was unheard of two decades ago. Coddington also surrounded himself with talent. Alumni from his shop include Jesse James and Chip Foose, who went on to open their own shops and star in reality TV shows. Coddington twice won the Daimler-Chrysler Design Excellence Award and he was inducted into the Grand National Roadster Show Hall of Fame, the National Rod & Custom Museum Hall of Fame and the Route 66 Wall of Fame. Always dressed in a Hawaiian shirt, Coddington said he loved his "American Hot Rod" Discovery Channel show, which featured ground-up construction of $500,000 hot rods. "The viewers are ... people who lived in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s and loved these cars. Now, they have money," Coddington told The Associated Press in a 2004 interview. ___ Quote
peterg Posted February 27, 2008 Posted February 27, 2008 Very sad, I had some of his bits on my Harley... Also heard than motorsport journalist and racer Paul Frere died earlier this week aged 91 Quote
moochofun Posted February 27, 2008 Posted February 27, 2008 Must admit that American Hot Rod was one of more favoured shows on the telly. Another great talent lost Quote
perksy Posted February 27, 2008 Posted February 27, 2008 Will be Sadly Missed He did some lovely work and the attention to detail was superb Quote
cidersurfer Posted February 27, 2008 Posted February 27, 2008 The man was nothing short of a genius, many have copied his work but few have been as original. I must add that I would bet that the funeral cortege will be a site to behold. There will almost certainly be some fantastic machinery on show. RIP Quote
JeffC Posted February 27, 2008 Author Posted February 27, 2008 watched all the series twice now, would be my ideal job working in his bodyshop on stuff like he did,not sure I could work to his deadlines saying that though Rip Quote
spence Posted February 27, 2008 Posted February 27, 2008 Always lusted for a Boyd 'Billet' steering wheel to fit to my beetle years ago. Totally innovative at the time and nothing else like them. Could never afford one then and probably still can't. Even had a go at making one once, i won't dig out the pics. A great loss to the scene. Quote
a4gom Posted February 27, 2008 Posted February 27, 2008 Gutted, I agree Jeff would be cool working there. Question is could you work for that to$$er dwayne Quote
Mark Stanton Posted February 27, 2008 Posted February 27, 2008 and Old Roy the metal worker ....... what a character sadly passed away a few years ago Quote
JeffC Posted February 27, 2008 Author Posted February 27, 2008 Gutted, I agree Jeff would be cool working there. Question is could you work for that to$$er dwayne yeh good point always thought it was a strange situation his x wife working while he had his new boiler with him , am I right in thinking in the last series he booted her out and did he have offspring to take over Quote
JeffC Posted February 27, 2008 Author Posted February 27, 2008 and Old Roy the metal worker ....... what a character sadly passed away a few years ago yeh he was a wizard with the metal, that guy that worked with him cracked me up reminded me of donkey and shrek Quote
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