I want to send out best wishes for a speedy recovery. I don't think the Hot Rod world is ready for another past on icon. I think by all of the response this community really cherishes your knowledge, talent and most of all contributions to the cause. The cause being bettering hot rodding as a whole and keeping it alive. We all can learn alot from the likes of lil John, Jesse, Chip, Cole, Hanna and countless others.......So you need to get better and keep improving things, not too mention keep little guys like me wanting to get better. Thanks for everything you've contributed this far and what you will ahead.
Wish him well from fans out on the East coast. A good buddy of mine had a brain tumor removed too, and the thing that got him through if were his friends hanging out with him and encouraging him. So hang out and keep on him - and he'll do great.
The MAN has my prayer's. And to all his family, freind's and follower of the talented man, be strong in your heart.
Ever since I first laid eyes on some of John's work, I thought it was fantastic. Everything I have ever seen him do was a little bit radical, without going too far over the edge. He is a truly talented individual. I wish him all the best.
John - A true state of the art funnycar and rod builder that I idolize. Godspeed John you are in my prayers anyway !!!!! Goldy
Hang tough John and don't let that **** beat you. There's still a lot of highway out there to travel and I don't think you're done. Till we're a little fruther down the pike...
Thanks for posting the news Cole and thanks also for introducing me to John at the GNRS. I got the same reaction that GreenMtnBoy did when John saw my HAMB ****on but he soon got past that and was a pleasure to talk to. Of course it was Right coast hacker meets Left Coast hero and I'm sure it showed. Thanks also to Jesse and Brave for the updates. Hope you have a fast and complete recovery John. Dennis
Ive read about the legend since I was...well younger. @ 46 now and hope I get to meet him! A true hero, Get well soon.
My thoughts are with you John, your craftsmanship has inspired many over the years. I’ve been fighting the cancer battle the past seven months so I know this is a difficult time. Just remember to stay positive and surround yourself with positive people that will keep your spirits up and a smile on your face.
Here's to wishing John a speedy recovery. Cole,I feel your pain. A very good friend is going through the same thing. Hang tough better days are ahead.
Lil John - Get well All the really cool cars get my attention..... Only a few of the builders do... You are one of the greats in my book. I will always be drawn to your stuff - Get well
Wow, I hope you recover John. I know you haven't got near the credit you deserve, and not knowing you, but reading some that seem to, I'm not sure you care. I love the pic Jesse posted with he, you and Chip, it's like, I dunno, Yoda with some young Jedi's, lol, maybe that's a bad ****ogy. I see a great craftsman that has inspired a pair of great craftsmen, you all have your own styles but similar p***ion, I doubt there is any task that any of you can't accomplish and it not look amazing. I remember reading about you in my teen years in the 70's & 80's and was blown away then. I really appreciate true craftsmanship and I thank you for all you've given the automotive world.
Thanks to Cole and Jesse for sharing your relationship with John, and for keeping us up to date. Best wishes to John for a speedy and complete recovery. I imagine that he's not ready to pack it in yet, and still has stuff to build.
Lil' John removed the "gingerbread" and "hiccups" from old steel bodies so he could build on HIS budget...used recycled parts and idiot lights etc to clean up the build AND save another buncha' bucks too! What he did was so outside the box in the 70's and 80's RESTO-ROD period that it turned that whole, stagnant Hot Rod scene on its ear and in the process also showed the industry how to build the fibergl*** cars cheap and profitable...as the missing "gingerbread" saved them a fortune in parts and development. Lil' John ****era? His incredible talent CREATED a new world order simply by trying to save some bucks! Un-freakin'-real. John...get well and get back to work...and show us some more tricks like you did in the mags years ago, will ya? You rule...and you should hear it more often.
Yeah what these guy's said, plus my 2 cents. Hi John, hope your feeling better. My name is Eric, I'm the son of a machinist, who is/was also a machinist. Plastic injection mold makers actually, but thats just an expensive, high tolerance guy, no big whoop. I was trained from diapers to mill, turn and precision grind metal, to tolerances that are insane, but necessery for the desired outcome. My father was very patient and meticulate in his training of my skills, and it showed in my work. I guess it's in my blood I excelled at mold making and was building molds that some off the more experienced mold makers didn't feel they could handle. It was my eye for details that made my career. You helped develope my eye's My pops was always into the drags and hot rods, and I gotta tell ya John, you were then and still are to this day his HERO!!!!! Mine too He often used examples of your work to teach me there's more to machining a chunk o metal into a finished part than just finished #'s, There's the overall look, proportions, function, fit, everything your work has always had, in spades. I've grown up (born in '68) seeing the cars and work you've done, in every aspect of building one off parts, you sir are incredible. Your work inspired me to build better, more accurate and more cosmetically appealing molds. I thank you for that. I for one LOVE BILLET PARTS!!!!!!!!!!!!! As long as you built them yourself. Or at least designed the part and had only 1 made. I understand that not everyone can make there own "1 off" billet parts, but I'm willing to teach any HAMBer or anyone that wants to learn, how to do it. I hope one day to reach your skill level, But I ***ure you, because of you, I won't stop trying til I get there. I hope to meet you some day, to shake your greasy, metal chip covered hand. Best wishes for a speedy recovery, John. Eric
Good news, sounds like he'll be back to *****in' and buildin' in no time! "Left side is not a problem." True, as I remember, he only uses his right foot!
....So I go to see him the day after surgery and sneak him a carton of Camels ...(which I opened and stuffed with green tea bags..Inside joke between him and my wife) .....He takes one look at the box and says " Filters?? What the **** did you bring Filters for?"..... somthing tells me he is gonna be just fine!......
I was at the Winter Nationals (Pomona) about ` 80 or `81. Me and a friend were in the pits just looking around , lil John rolled in ,He was in the white car ,I couldn`t believe my eyes . .He was the coolest thing in the pits that day.Will never forget that day. Get well soon.
Jesse, This green tea in a Camel carton is a very funny joke!!!!!! Tell Sandy that it'll make him well!!!! Cigs on the other hand will send him to the grave Both my Father and my older brother Fiji Bob are going through the terminal cancer deal, My Bro just keeps on smoking. Dad on the other hand never smoked a day in his life Bro just thinks he's headed down that road anyway, so he might as well enjoy it while he can. Dad is just aching all over. I met John back in 1977 @ Pete & Jakes when he was whitling a set of windsheild posts Pete's Dads gift roadster (SIROD2). He was/is very inovative. I personally am not a puveyor or Billet (couldn't afford it then or now). The Indy effort that you speak of was truly a test of John's immense talents. I was around in the late 80's when he got bumped off the grid and ended up having to pay for all of that fuel & tires and it nearly cost him his business. It takes a REAL Hot Rodder to come back from a blow like that! I remember when he built Chris the Novette, That was a truly awesome ride, The last time I saw it was cruising out of the LB Hi Po swap back in the early 90's after not seeing it for a very long time. Boyd got the fame for the wheels,but like many of Boyd's employees they are the true talent and he just takes the credit. Godspeed to both John & Chris in a speedy recovery. If there is ANYTHING that I may be of ***istance with, please don't hesitate to ask. Sincerely, Kevin
Although I've never had the pleasure to meet John ****era I've always admired him long before I even had a driver's license. The white '33 Willys that was built for Joe Hrudka is one of my favorite cars of all time and after having the absolute pleasure of getting to admire it in person back then, I have to say that that particular car was a factor in helping me decide my career choice in my life. I wanted to be a machinist and whittle on steel and aluminum just like John. To this day, the wheels on that Willys are the coolest set that I have ever seen. All this from a man that I have never met and probably never will. John, we live 2,000 miles apart but you made a difference in my life. If you read this, thank you and get well.
The Jalopy Journal
