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Posted by: Midtowner Feb 27 2008, 11:48 AM

I just saw this on Jalopnik.

http://jalopnik.com/361391/boyd-coddington-hot-rod-king-dead-at-age-63

Your thoughts?

Posted by: purple Feb 27 2008, 11:51 AM

No way! that cant be true! That really sucks....

hopefully putting bling wheels on old cars dies with him, what shit that stuff is to look at. a 1970 charger needs to have 14'' cragars and that's the largest it gets, god-damnit!

hope he lived a good life :-) i wont B.S. about prayers because that seems smarmy to me.

Posted by: Phoenix 914-6GT Feb 27 2008, 11:55 AM

That's sad. He was a true artist. Even though some of the stuff I didn't like some was very cool. I would like to have some of his tools now that he doesn't need them.

Posted by: carr914 Feb 27 2008, 12:20 PM

He didn't vote for Mrs K. Coincidence?

Posted by: slackin' at work Feb 27 2008, 12:41 PM

did anyone ever watch his show on TLC??
the guy was wound so tight Im surprised he made it this far.

Posted by: ws91420 Feb 27 2008, 12:42 PM

From seeing him on his show American Hot Rod I am sure there is party going to be happening somewhere.

Posted by: So.Cal.914 Feb 27 2008, 12:52 PM

Thats to bad, now who is going to treat his crew like shit?

Posted by: jaminM3 Feb 27 2008, 01:09 PM

He didn't seem to be wound tight, his right hand man Duane was wound super tight.

I watched the show a lot, I wounder what will happen to his shop. He already sold the wheel company a couple years ago.

Posted by: ws91420 Feb 27 2008, 01:09 PM

Wonder who gets the company, the widow or the ex?

Posted by: sww914 Feb 27 2008, 01:21 PM

A heart attack sure seems likely.

Posted by: Jake Raby Feb 27 2008, 01:39 PM

In this fast paced industry where nothing is ever good enough you HAVE to be wound tight and stay that way.

Posted by: andys Feb 27 2008, 01:56 PM

Sure didn't look very healthy for a 63 y/o. I thought he was older. Sad to see him go, though it seems he's left a lot of mixed feeling behind.

Yup purple, those big wheels just don't work!! Foose, you listening?

Andy

Posted by: 736conver Feb 27 2008, 02:17 PM

Sad to see him go.

But now maybe some of those cars they find can be saved. What was that one low mileage one they cut up and "hot rodded".

I remember Mike wasnt too happy about it. Been awhile since I watched the show.

Posted by: messix Feb 27 2008, 02:20 PM

this is one of a very few guys that first took hotrods and customs to huge leap in quality and design.
i didn't like the tv show, although i watched that train wreck the cars that where turned out under his name are iconic, remember cadizilla? and the aluma coupe?

to me those things that he has done i'll respect and remember.

bitch'n rip

Posted by: 73Phoenix20 Feb 27 2008, 04:13 PM

Oh, Wow...

Another one bites the dust! I agree with Jake; life is just too damn short, and it takes way too much tension to keep ahead of the Pack...

So, I am out of the race... let the "Hard Chargers" run til they drop!

BTW... the 15" Magnum 500's were an option for the late '60's and early '70's B Bodies... And look "Just Perfect"...

Posted by: Joe Ricard Feb 27 2008, 04:25 PM

Well I hope that staying wound tight does not make your days numbered.

I did that high winding stuff as the Chief Gunners Mate on a Aegis Cruiser. I was much younger then.

I am really a lot more chill now.

Boyd made some really cool cars. I really fell in love with Shazoom.

Posted by: michaelt55 Feb 27 2008, 04:32 PM

ok. sorry OT..so you remember the change in the fire control systems if you were around in the 89-95 era....? I was one of the ones who was involved in the medical aspect. We drew stress catacolamines while the test program threw all sorts of #$%$@ at the FC's and officers doing the scenerios...


Michael

Posted by: Pat Garvey Feb 27 2008, 05:36 PM

Like him or not. Like his work or not. The guy was an artisan.

How many out there have coverted a four to a six? How many have conerted a four to a subie? How many have plopped a 928 motor in a 914? How many have radical bodywork on a 914?

Yeah, he had a big head and treated his employees like dirt, but he did turn out some gorgeous abominations! And he actually made some money doing it.

Give the guy some credit!

Oh, by the way. William F. Buckley died today also. One of my heroes.
Pat

Posted by: Gint Feb 27 2008, 05:43 PM

with Pat.

It is a bummer.

Posted by: byndbad914 Feb 27 2008, 07:36 PM

I too agree with Pat about Boyd. When I lived in SoCal and worked in Hot Rod shops, guys were always interviewing trying to leave there (including some on the show). He was, in general, an ass and I frankly didn't like him.

BUT, Foose et all these days are all following what is generally his lead. He WAS the guy in the 80s and early 90s. Foose worked for him, hint hint nudge nudge. I couldn't have worked for him but respect his imagination. The show was pretty accurate and not scripted; it is really that F'd up there apparently from what I was told by people interviewing with me.

What I really liked about the show is they actually showed Marcel, my good friend's dad (sounds like Ferris Bueller) actually sponsored him to come to this country and they build an insane car from the ground up in his garage in the 60s and the English wheel shown on the show was built my Marcel and him in his back yard. Marcel built Alumacoupe... period. A lot of Boyd's ideas came to fruition thru Marcel, and he still works with Foose and others in SoCal, so innovation will still exist... but Boyd should be revered as a fore-father of the modern hot rod.

Posted by: jasons Feb 27 2008, 08:02 PM

That was the absolutely best episode of that show ever. That guy (Marcel) is an artisan.

Posted by: scotty b Feb 27 2008, 08:13 PM

I disagree. Chip Foose, Troy Trepanier are two names most would notice and I can guarantee they aren't "wound tight" Not in the same way as Boyd was. I respect the guys werk, and grew up admiring him BUT I then saw his true side. There is no reson at all to treat employees like he did. That show IMHO was the worst thing he could have done to his image. Leave that dirt under the rug. Sorry he is dead but I do not agree with the way he ran his shop, but maybe that is why I'll never be that "great".

Drive, skill and aspiration do not go hand in hand with piss poor attitude !

Posted by: rktmn247 Feb 27 2008, 08:18 PM

I like many of the cars he put out over the years and was really excited when they announced the TV show. After seeing the first few episodes I decided he was an ass and stopped watching.

Bottom line he was a true car guy and innovator, and those attributes have my respect.

RIP

Posted by: byndbad914 Feb 27 2008, 08:20 PM

a little hijack here, but to give you an idea about Marcel, the car Chat (my friend's Dad) asked Marcel to build was an idea he had... I don't have pics but the car pretty much looks 60s concept car, had a 1963 (IIRC) Tempest IRS and rear transaxle, a V8 of some sort, every single panel was hand-formed and welded together by Marcel to build the whole structure and body (and using the aforementioned English wheel they built together). The doors self-close and latch with just a slight angle built-in, precision hinges and gravity to this day (30+ yrs later) whether you open them a couple inches or all the way. Just cool IMO and I consider myself lucky to have see/touched/sat in the first car Marcel ever built in the USA... and in his sponsor's garage. Troy (my friend) has it in his garage to this day.

Posted by: boxstr Feb 27 2008, 09:02 PM

I just talked to Dwayne at Boyd's, he said everything just shut down he had been fighting a blood infection of some sort. They thought it was under control a couple of weeks ago and he was coming home. He had been in the hospital since Xmas.
Ken Thurm

Posted by: Brett W Feb 28 2008, 03:28 PM

No great loss. All Boyd could do was flap his gums about how great he could build cars. Never saw him build anything. He had talented people do the work for him.

Posted by: messix Feb 28 2008, 03:53 PM

sorry brett but your statement is akin to saying that dictka, flores and many other nfl coaches couldn't play football!
these guys were greart players before they were coaches.
just because boyd didn't set hand on all construction of the cars that have come out of his shop lately dosen't mean he couldn't/didn't build great cars.