If Boyd Coddington Didn't Have "American Hot Rod"

Talked to him many times. Sometimes good,sometimes bad. He's really moody. When he was at the LARS,a few years back,with his BIG set-up at the gate,he was really cool. Years later,at his shop in La Habra,he was a real dick. I walked in with my HAMB Chop shirt on,and he asked "what are you doin in here?". I looked at him and said "Bluebear says hi". He asked me to leave.
There's a guy on here that lives right next to him. He bought slddnMatts,purple Merc with the Carson top. He told me he's a terrible neighbor. He's got a bitchin hotrod,so you think Boyd would say hi,or check it out? Nope. Doesn't even wave when he's waved at. I wave at my neighbors,just to be polite,even if I don't know them.

 

That was Coddington Wheels "THE COMPANY" had nothing to do with Boyd the individual. Thousands of people can start companies, have them flop and take a lot of investors down, dust themselves off and start another. If you or I tried to do that we'd loose kneecaps, or the use of them. Those that can do, the rest of the world looks in and asks WTF?

 

I am not a big fan of the Boyd Coddington Dynasty......

But it is funny to hear alot of you guys rag about how Boyd dont do any of his own work but takes credit for it.

Funny thing is, I also se alot of the HAMB people on here Stroking up a few WELL KNOWN NAMES here on the HAMB about how bitchen there cars are & what bitchen work they do & how knowledgable they are & what great shops they have.

But they do about 20% of there own work and take credit for it themselves. Hire on guys to do stuff for them & such.

I think Boyds a Jack Ass as alot of people do, But he aint much different that a few HAMB HONERED guys on this site.

Dont ask me who they are, cus i aint saying.... Cus i know all of them

 

In order to be a frount man you have to know something about the what ever (product) my be. He has done a little of it all, But he has surrounded his name with good CARFTSMAN, Doing the craftsmanship and by doing this he and the others, Barris, Foose ect.
has helped folks like me, A 60 yr. old high school dropout to have
a way of showing not just anybody can build a Hot Rod it takes
hands own to do it! lb+1

 

This is what his website says:

"Besides his own prodigious talents, Boyd has worked on special projects with some of the top designers in the automotive aftermarket. Chip Foose and Jessie James both worked in the Boyd Coddington hot rod shop for several years and now each have their own cable TV shows. Other well-known designers such as Thom Taylor, Larry Wood (Hot Wheels designer), Todd Emmons, Chris Ito (International) and Eric Brockmeyer happily collaborated with Boyd as well. Larry Erickson, currently with Ford Motor Company (Chief Designer, Mustang), worked with Boyd in the late Eighties to develop the enormously popular Cadzzilla, a radical custom based on a Fifties Cadillac for Rocker Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top. Some would say that this is one of the finest custom-cars of all time in design and execution. Boyd's cars have won the prestigious "America's Most Beautiful Roadster" an unprecedented seven times, the Daimler-Chrysler Design Excellence Award twice, and he's been inducted into the SEMA Hall of Fame, the Grand National Roadster Show Hall of Fame, the National Rod & Custom Museum Hall of Fame, the Route 66 Wall of Fame, the Street Rod Marketing Alliance Hall of Fame, and was voted "Man of the Year" in 1988 by Hot Rod Magazine."

Hard to believe you can gain that much attention (or notoriety) without earning some of it.

 

coddington never was, never will be a hot rodder.doesn't
do anything but shop for clothes.

 

I think the biggest problem with Boyd is he represents all the guys that have tweed interiors, billet this that and the other, easter egg paint jobs and all the stuff we don't like in this hobby. Those guys think the retro look should have stayed in the 50's and 60's. They don't like our look our cars and the fact we show up at "THEIR" shows.

 

Yes.

He's a modern day George Barris.

And no... I don't want to hear how much better Sam Barris was than his brother... that's about as "Traditional Rat Rod Cool" as it is to bag on Von Dutch and all the people wearing his name that "Don't get it".

It gets PRETTY OLD listening to all you puppets bag on people and types of cars just because all the other "TRADITIONAL RAT RODDING SHEEP" do it.

Both men should be respected for what they have done for our hobby.

None of their credentials were just handed to them.

Sam.

 

Respect doesn't always come with love. Boyd when new to this and before I was very old built some very nice cars, over the years he has become a cartoon like character. So time frame has alot to do with it here for me. Much of my love for cars is due to early Street Rodders and such, even though I really don't care currently for those styles now. Besides the guy has had alot of talented help come out of his shop. Alot of those guys understand it was probably a good step into their own gig after all the anger was over.

Just my humble opinion,
Tim

 

Hmm,Fingers. Didn't know that. Funny,Billy Gibbons told me the Caddy was a 47. Not dropping names,but I asked him at the NHRA Museum Twilight Cruise.
Yes, Boyd's got a lot of awards,but he's fading fast!

 

He produced many excellent cars, especially in the early period of his business, and influenced the style of hot rods and customs as much as any single individual has. He has certainly hired a lot of very talented help.

I have talked with several guys who have worked for him, and their main criticism was that he didn't always pay on time.

I think he's damaged his credibility tremendously by acting like such an asshole publicly, and it appears that his quality standard has been compromised by such frenzied builds. I certainly wouldn't go to him to have a car built.

So, does he deserve respect? He's produced many cars that deserve respect, but no, as a person I don't think he does.

 

respect for coddington? no way, imo he's riding craftsmen's reps that aren't his.

i watched about 15mins of the show once and got up and left when they started bondoing the frame up. if he lets that type of work out of his shop there's nothing good to learn there. frames flex and bondo pops, filler's got a place and it's not there.

re the comment about leading, lead'll take a lot more abuse than plastic.

i really doubt coddington's had more than a couple original ideas of his own.

my opinion,

mike

 

I like Hot Rods!!

 

This is depressing !! If Boyd just could remember where he came from , and who helped him get where he is (was) , then everything would be AoK! "He" sure did build some fine cars back in the early eighties !! In general .... I , for1 do not like this "Hang Boyd" party .
Can`t we just try to consentrate on " ON Topic" Posts ?
Klaz

 

Now THAT is funny

 

i met dwayne when he and the crew came to tulsa for the buried car..guess he thought he was still on TV !!!!!!!

 

Dwayne lives by me,here in Anaheim. Ran into him a few times. He's cool,meaning ,alright. Not like on TV.

 

He's built a few nice cars over the years, but this is the same old shit in a different thread.

 

i think his cars are ok, i'd have more respect for him though if he didn't dye his hair, it looks really bad!

 

so how quick did they run when they saw the rust on the plymouth?

whatever happened to the belvedere anyway?

mike

 

you know its kinda funny,ole boydster gets more air time on here than anybody!

 

I worked for Boyd for two years, I really enjoyed it! I learned alot, building chassis for him. It didnt bother me that his name was on it, he deserved it. Most people dont know that Boyd did work in the shop, he knows how to Tig weld, Run a Lathe and a mill. I have to agree that he has always been good at hiring the right people, when he was at his strongest he had a really strong crew (late 80s to mid 90s). Now that I have my own shop, I wish I could be kind of like Boyd, and have a crew of good craftsmen working for me!! I have to put in 10-12 hours every day running a shop, welding, machining and everything that is involved in running a shop. I have 2 full time guys that work for me, but I still have to oversee them. They do a good job but I still do most of the Fabricating, and engineering. Having a shop is a hard business and Boyd has been successfully doing it for a long time! That says something right there.
Jimmy White
P.s. I also have some really good friends that help out in the shop. My friend Skinny Jeff helps with the wiring and just about everything. I also have a friend Fernando Alonso, that I trade fabrication work on his Model A for his engine building expertise. In case you were wondering I always give credit to my employees and people that help at my shop, It would be rude not to!
P.s.s. Duane isnt really an asshole, and he is plenty capable of doing anything in the shop.

 

It is his business building the cars. He hires the help. Nothing at all wrong with him taking credit. Nobody believes he works all day building every car himself. His business, his reputation, he gets credit for the builds. He does give credit to his help though.

I believe they must do a good job to get the bucks and recognition they get. Not much they have built (that I can reecall seeing) does much for me though. I think Chezoom is lame.

 

BOYD autographed my arm one time,,,,it didnt look good to him,,so he told his wife to get the windex,,,he wiped off my arm and then resigned it,...the cammeras werent even rolling,,,,hahaha,,,then the HAMBERs were looking at me weird cuz i had a BOYD autograph on my arm...,,,hahha

...BOYD, ,nothing against him,,,he's been cool to me in my personal interaction with him,,,cooler than some of the so called HERO's here on the HAMB who never reply to my PM's because they are to cool...

,,,i respect him as the "PRODUCER" or "DIRECTOR" of the ars they build,,,in the same way i RESPECT George Lucas or Steven Speilberg...

...

 

Like many successfull people its part talent and part good promotion. I think after the sucess of the early work that made him a "name" he been just riding the wave. Personally, I haven't seen anything out of his shop that I feel justifies the hype and price in years. Hmmm.. I feel the same way bout Barris.

 

i dont know if i've seen a car that boyd build strictly by himself... or at least one that is traditional, i respect the man for the ideas he comes up with... i mean it takes some brains to think up some of the stuff he does.. i dont like the style of his cars, never will, dont like digital dashes in my rods.. but like i said.. still a good thinker

 

Tall poppy syndrome.

I honestly think he does not know how to handle fame, not everyone is nice all of the time. Thats life. Isn't the whole idea of any successful business is to sorround yourself with good people? Whats the problem with that?
I think he has one too many hi speed crashes or something, he isn't all there in my opinion. He is eccentric, thats all. He reminds me of an old aussie drag racer Graham Withers, one smart dude, but often misunderstood due to his eccentricity, or it could of been all those top fuel rear engined dragster crashes in the 60's and 70' thats cought up with him!!

Does Boyd effect anything you do you your ride? I doubt it, so who cares

 

you HAVE to give credit to a DUDE who lets his ex-wife keep his books! that dude is gangster,,,not even SCARFACE lets his old lady check his books!


..BOO-YAH!

 

I 've still got the HAMB T-shirt,that he signed for another HAMBer in some resturant. It was auctioned off and Safariknut won and sent it to me,so I could give it to my son for X-mas. He wears it all the time. In fact,I think he took it to Switzerland for vacation.