Just wanted to take a second to honor Roy on American Hotrod (Boyd's Cottington). I just heard about him passing away...must say I will miss him. He was definitely the best that Boyd had...true craftsman.

-Britain

Bummer for sure.

On another note, I'd fire that Dwain bone-head in a second. Talk about a worthless, bitchy, waste of money employee.

the loss of a great craftsman. i'll raise one up to him

Guess he didn't get to enjoy his retirement too much...
Sad

QUOTE (Air_Cooled_Nut @ Mar 27 2006, 10:51 PM)

On another note, I'd fire that Dwain bone-head in a second. Talk about a worthless, bitchy, waste of money employee.

dumb-fuck-boyd fired the hot looking welder chick instead
what an ass

his gf prolly made him look for an excuse

A moment of silence for a true craftsman. I owned a shop for 20 years, and nver had anyone as talented.

And I wouldn't put up with duane cry baby. I had a few like him, They soon found out who was the alpha male in my shop.

R.I.P Roy

I stopped watching the show after Charlie quit. Duane has a major case of little mans syndrome (sp?) Thinks he has to act like an ass to get respect. Maybe if he showed some the others would give him some respect back.

After watching that show I know if I ever hit it big, Boyd won't be the builder of my hot rod truck. I like Foose show, at least he gets dirty and works along side the others.

Yeah, Roy was cool to watch.

I like that about foose working. And its not always the sexy stuff you see him doing, like laying Tape for graphics, You see him doing the nasty also, pulling out 30 year old maggoty carpet, and sawsalling rust.

Not to detract from the point of this thread, but didn't Roy pass away months ago? IIRC, his wife of like 50+ years died and he followed a week later.

He was a true old school rodder with the skills only old timers have. The other guys that impressed me on that show were the family that built the alumatub body, again only an oldtimer could do that. Also, Gabes the upholestry shop seems like a tight ship.

Yeah great guy. He must have lived one hard life though because he wasn't very old.

Last season with him and Lee had me laughing my ass off.

QUOTE (jasons @ Mar 28 2006, 07:29 AM)

Not to detract from the point of this thread, but didn't Roy pass away months ago? IIRC, his wife of like 50+ years died and he followed a week later. He was a true old school rodder with the skills only old timers have. The other guys that impressed me on that show were the family that built the alumatub body, again only an oldtimer could do that. Also, Gabes the upholestry shop seems like a tight ship.

I wanna say he died last November.

QUOTE (itsa914 @ Mar 28 2006, 06:54 AM)

R.I.P Roy I stopped watching the show after Charlie quit. Duane has a major case of little mans syndrome (sp?) Thinks he has to act like an ass to get respect. Maybe if he showed some the others would give him some respect back. After watching that show I know if I ever hit it big, Boyd won't be the builder of my hot rod truck. I like Foose show, at least he gets dirty and works along side the others.

I also stopped watching after charlie left. saw him twice on overhaulin'. charlie is a damn good painter!
I would have gladly gotten fired if that duane dude yelled at me like he does those guys cause i would have landed up sock'n him in the nose! no one deserves getting belittled like that.

R.I.P. Roy

I liked the episode when he was throwing fire crackers at his new helper.

Its still a fun show to watch. That vette looked pretty sweet in the drawings. Didnt look the same once it was done though.

QUOTE (jasons @ Mar 28 2006, 07:29 AM)

The other guys that impressed me on that show were the family that built the alumatub body, again only an oldtimer could do that.

The "old timer" is Marcel. Here is some fun history/trivia that I have first-hand knowledge of. I worked at Ford Performance Solutions and the owner is Troy Bowen (still a good friend of mine). His father, Chat Bowen, was in the military during WWII - was a POW in Germany at one point and bears the scars of the beatings to this day - and while in Europe, he met Marcel. Long story short - to immigrate to this country back then you had to have a sponsor - Chat sponsored Marcel to come to the US. One english wheel they were using to do the alumitub Chat and Marcel hand built together back in the 50s in Chat's backyard.

Needless to say I was very happy to see Marcel get the recognition that he really deserves, if even for only 5 minutes on the Discover Channel.

Troy still has a car in his garage that Marcel hand built for Chat back in the 60s - front engine/rear transaxle setup with a torque tube and so forth - pretty forward thinking for a couple of dudes in the 60s (though cars like that were already around, but think about the fact that you didn't see this with Porsche until the 80s and the late model Vettes that are so awesome). Car is pretty "60s futuristic" looking, though.

So, if it weren't for Chat Bowen, you wouldn't have Marcel in the US, and Boyd wouldn't have half the recognition he has as Marcel has done a LOT of work for him over the years.

Roy was awesome too - remember that aluminum hood for the f/g vette?!

I like to watch that show to remind me how NOT to treat people. Boyd is a yahoo. You want respect = if the workers are working all night, you better be under the car with grease under your fingernails all night as well. I owned my own business and can assure you when the owner is "in the trenches and doing the shittiest job" and not barking orders the crew will respect you and go the extra mile without having to be asked. BTDT, respect is earned, not demanded. I like Foose for those reasons as well and would have a lot of respect for him based on what I have seen.

Huh, cool story.

One of the things I do respect about Foose is, he will lay on his back and sand Bondo even if he doesn't have to.

R.I.P. Roy!!


The one that is a bigger dick than Duane is the painter. He is a unepreciative prick! Although, Boyds kid is a close second!

R.I.P. Roy.....

Has anyone here been to witness Boyd's operation? I haven't, so I know nothing of what really goes on there. A couple of things do however come to mind (not in defense, but an objective alternative). First, TV is all about the drama, otherwise the show would be a bore for anyone other than fabricator geeks like myself. But this is Hollywood, and anyone that thinks otherwise is in for a surprise. Personalities like Duane make for drama......Notice how much air time they give him? Make you wonder? It shouldn't. Think OCC. Second, the comments about "getting dirty" may or may well not apply here. Boyd has a (presumably larger) business to run and may be better served by running operations, customer service, promotion, etc. He may work well into the night on keeping the business running. Maybe not, I don't know; anyone? Boyd is not a spring chicken, and even with his publicized business problems, he probably has done well enough to where he can slow up a click or two and enjoy life (life, not wife!).

Andys

QUOTE (andys @ Mar 28 2006, 08:35 PM)

R.I.P. Roy..... Has anyone here been to witness Boyd's operation? I haven't, so I know nothing of what really goes on there. A couple of things do however come to mind (not in defense, but an objective alternative). First, TV is all about the drama, otherwise the show would be a bore for anyone other than fabricator geeks like myself. But this is Hollywood, and anyone that thinks otherwise is in for a surprise. Personalities like Duane make for drama......Notice how much air time they give him? Make you wonder? It shouldn't. Think OCC. Second, the comments about "getting dirty" may or may well not apply here. Boyd has a (presumably larger) business to run and may be better served by running operations, customer service, promotion, etc. He may work well into the night on keeping the business running. Maybe not, I don't know; anyone? Boyd is not a spring chicken, and even with his publicized business problems, he probably has done well enough to where he can slow up a click or two and enjoy life (life, not wife!). Andys

although i can do with out the drama.

QUOTE (andys @ Mar 28 2006, 07:35 PM)

R.I.P. Roy..... Has anyone here been to witness Boyd's operation? I haven't, so I know nothing of what really goes on there. A couple of things do however come to mind (not in defense, but an objective alternative). First, TV is all about the drama, otherwise the show would be a bore for anyone other than fabricator geeks like myself. But this is Hollywood, and anyone that thinks otherwise is in for a surprise. Personalities like Duane make for drama......Notice how much air time they give him? Make you wonder? It shouldn't. Think OCC. Second, the comments about "getting dirty" may or may well not apply here. Boyd has a (presumably larger) business to run and may be better served by running operations, customer service, promotion, etc. He may work well into the night on keeping the business running. Maybe not, I don't know; anyone? Boyd is not a spring chicken, and even with his publicized business problems, he probably has done well enough to where he can slow up a click or two and enjoy life (life, not wife!). Andys

I have not worked for him, but have met people/interviewed who have (as they were looking for other work at the place I was at before). I will keep it on the surface, but suffice it to say I wouldn't work for him.

And even with a big business - if your guys are there cranking on a car at 3am, you aren't going to be doing bookwork and answering phones. Regardless of age, you treat people like shit because you can't schedule things reasonable, then get on your knees and roll around in the shit as well. I worked 12-14hr days when I had my business and I never once told someone to do something that I wasn't willing to get in there and do myself. My employees just couldn't believe that while we were closing up at night I would do the paperwork, then come out and mop so they didn't have to while I sat and watched. None of them ever had an employer that worked, just sat and watched because they felt they "earned it". BUT, they also expressed a lot of respect for me doing that.

I dunno, just my opinion - I try to treat people with respect and respect is not looking down at them or assigning them tasks because you don't want to do it.

At the chassis shop where my tube car is being built in Orange, CA about 3 weeks ago I saw Thomas (I think that was his name) - the Swedish guy that loved ice cream and hated the fans - at a little burger joint near the traffic circle. I recognized him, but didn't bother him. Strange sorta fame really. Anyway, he is no longer there either and thought about talking to him just to see where he is at and so forth, but respected his privacy instead.

Never saw the shop or the real workings of same, but am I the only one that gets concerned that these cars seem thrown together at the last minute in order to make some deadline?

It does seem that Boyd is either a crummy boss or a terrible time manager. Don't know how much of that is for the TV show though. Roy certainly was one of those craftsmen that just leave you speechless when you see what they can quietly do by themselves. RIP

not to hyjack this thread with more about boyd, but i think that show has hurt his reputation for quality. from what i have seen i wouldn't want a car built by those jokers.

QUOTE (messix @ Mar 30 2006, 09:18 PM)

not to hyjack this thread with more about boyd, but i think that show has hurt his reputation for quality. from what i have seen i wouldn't want a car built by those jokers.

If you watched NASA build the space shuttle, you wouldn't go up in that either. If you helped build the stratosphere tower in Vegas, you probably wouldn't want to take your kids up there.

That's the way it always is. It's virtually impossible to build custom cars at a semi-production pace, and not have some quick fixes and fitting issues. I seriously doubt anyone can build a perfect, full custom car, to show standards, that will turn a profit in the end. Even if you pay everyone minimum wage, it would still be tough if you accounted for every hour spent on the car; and we are talking about $100k+ cars. To not have any issues at all, you'd have to have a team of veteans that command $50 an hour, what would the car cost then? You'd spend $100k on labor before you bought the car or the first part.

Oh, and with regard to Roy: He welded the door shut on one of the cars as a joke, using oxy fuel. He was standing outside the car, holding the torch way out, and the filler rod about 30" from the end, and managed a very nice clean bead, it's difficult to comprehend how hard that is, and with the camera rolling to boot.

QUOTE (LvSteveH @ Mar 31 2006, 09:36 AM)

If you watched NASA build the space shuttle, you wouldn't go up in that either. If you helped build the stratosphere tower in Vegas, you probably wouldn't want to take your kids up there. That's the way it always is. It's virtually impossible to build custom cars at a semi-production pace, and not have some quick fixes and fitting issues. I seriously doubt anyone can build a perfect, full custom car, to show standards, that will turn a profit in the end. Even if you pay everyone minimum wage, it would still be tough if you accounted for every hour spent on the car; and we are talking about $100k+ cars. To not have any issues at all, you'd have to have a team of veteans that command $50 an hour, what would the car cost then? You'd spend $100k on labor before you bought the car or the first part. Oh, and with regard to Roy: He welded the door shut on one of the cars as a joke, using oxy fuel. He was standing outside the car, holding the torch way out, and the filler rod about 30" from the end, and managed a very nice clean bead, it's difficult to comprehend how hard that is, and with the camera rolling to boot.

i do agree with the custom production, but that wouldn't be what i would chose to have featured for a tv show.[ he does pick what cars get featured ]

QUOTE (messix @ Mar 31 2006, 10:08 AM)

i do agree with the custom production, but that wouldn't be what i would chose to have featured for a tv show.[ he does pick what cars get featured ]

I think Boyd's ego got in the way. Everyone that knew him before he did the show probably thought he was a boob, now the whole world knows. Not the greatest marketing strategy is it.

I saw the episode where Boyd found out about Roy's passing.

If he was such a good friend, wouldn't he have said to everyone to take the day off out of respect?

I agree Roy was one of the good ones! I was excited about the show initially but after awhile I just could'nt take it anymore. To much BS and all the good people left.

more, re. Boyd:

I dunno, having watched that show 8-10 times last year (while on travel for work - no cable tv at home for me)(..cheap b#std that I am), I think Boyd is a very poor manager. For one thing, he chews out people, regularly, right in front of the other workers (something that would get a manager FIRED in my co.). Yeah, real smart - take your project lead and undermine his authority and credibility in front of everyone else...

and yeah, it's tv, but if he's doing that just to 'add drama' to a show he's obviously being paid well to take part in, that makes him double an a$$hole for the way he's going about it. And, as has been said above, he expects everyone to give 130% and only rarely shows token appreciation for their hard efforts.

it's almost routine: When the newest project starts up, and the new (..whatever) car comes into the shop, you could make it a contest - how quickly will the project lead get on Boyd's sh!t list. Usually it's within the same show, a day or less in real life.

Compare to O.C.C. ("American Chopper" show, for you less than cable-savvy folks): Sure Paul Sr. regularly gives people flak - mainly his son Paul Jr - but while it seems even more obvious he's doing it for the theatrics, it doesn't seem like there's hard feelings involved - they usually end up laughing it off and they're all buddies again, within a short while. While on American Hotrod (A.H... hmmm interesting initials there...) you have people talking about quitting pretty damned often. That right there says you are dealing with a bad boss (IMHO).

I stopped watching the A.H. show because by the end of each episode, I'd found I was getting rather wound-up by the pointless stress being shared by everyone on that show (even when a project got completed). Whereas at OCC/A.C., you see people busting a gut, getting stressed, sharing some terse words, but when all is said & done you can tell that everyone feels they are on the same team & they act that way. Maybe because it's more of a family operation - you don't get that sense of constant antagonism like on the A.H. show.

And frankly, all of A.H.'s creations end up looking like the 1980's ZZ Top -mobile. Sure it's some mighty fine looking work, but that is so two decades ago...

anyway I dunno what set me off, I guess I haven't ever vented on that show with anyone - and perhaps I needed to! - so there's my $0.02 -

mike
p.s. AHEM. Anyway, too bad about Roy - I think I remember which guy that was - I too am sorry to see him go.