Boyd Coddington Død,27.02.08

[Atlesen]

Boyd Coddington døde i dag, bare 63 år gammel.

En pioneer innen bilmiljøet!!

 

Rest in peace!

 

 

 

World-renowned tuner and hot rod king Boyd Coddington died at 6:20 am this morning. The cause of death is still unknown. Coddington, founder of Boyds Wheels and designer of prize-winning custom cars, had recently been hospitalized twice for an undisclosed medical condition. Although he was though to be in recovery, rumors of his untimely death began circulating today throughout the forums. A spokesperson for Boyd Coddington's corporation has confirmed to Jalopnik that those rumors are true. The company will be releasing a statement later today.

 

Boyd Coddington, the hot-rod innovator whose creations won the coveted Grand National Roadster Show's America's Most Beautiful Roadster (AMBR) trophy a record seven times, died Wednesday morning after a lengthy hospital stay. He was 63.

 

Coddington was raised in rural Idaho but moved to Southern California as soon as he came of age, to pursue his dream of building hot rods. He quickly earned a reputation for subtle, stylistic innovations on what had been an almost overdone theme--the '32 Ford roadster. That branched out to '33s, '34s and then all manner of surprising twists on iconic themes.

 

Cars with names such as Boydster, Smoothster, Alumacoupe and Chezoom redefined what a rod could be. His wheels were equally well known, particularly those shaved from billet aluminum. He soon earned the nickname "Billet Boyd" for his aluminum-machining techniques.

 

One of his best qualities, realized at the height of his creative passion in the mid-1990s, was his ability to gather a talented team to produce the creations he envisioned.

 

In the early '90s, he had assembled one of the best teams ever, including builder Lil' John Buttera and designer Chip Foose, to produce some of the best hot rods the hobby had ever seen, raising the level of what could be expected from such a craft.

 

His early works were swaddled in simple, flowing lines. The Foose-designed Boydster was an early Coddington interpretation of the iconic '32 Ford roadster, but Boyd's take was stretched three inches, lowered and smoothed out beyond what anyone else had ever done. The subsequent Boydsters II and III carried that theme but with full, flowing fenders.

 

The Smoothster was a yellow, full-fendered '37 Ford riding on Corvette mechanicals and a Corvette drivetrain.

 

Corvette engines also powered Chezoom, a '57 Chevy so heavily modified that only 10 percent of the original sheetmetal remained. While the look was unmistakably '57 Chevy, it was unlike any '57 ever seen, with a lowered, channeled body and a reclining cruiser elegance not normally associated with the muscle of the original.

 

Like Chezoom, Cadzilla was a reclined cruiser take on a more modern Cadillac. Designed by Larry Erickson and built by Boyd for ZZ Top guitarist Billy Gibbons, it is one of his most well-known creations.

 

Coddington experimented with aluminum in offbeat creations such as the Mitsubishi-powered Alumacoupe, the truck-based AlumaTruck and the shiny Aluma-Dub-Tub.

 

Coddington went through his share of troubles, including a bankruptcy in the late 1990s. He is best known outside the rodding community for his Discovery Channel show, American Hot Rod, which often showed his short-tempered side. But ultimately, his influence on hot rods and customs cannot be overstated.

 

"It is my firm belief that Boyd is the founding father of this street-rod movement," said Gary Meadors of the Goodguys. "From the Boyd cars to the Boyd billet aluminum wheels . . . that whole smooth look that he brought to street rodding is what set him apart. He took our hobby to a whole other level with all the exposure he got in media outside our world. He was a forerunner, and he will be missed.

 

 

Et støkk forbilde å en ta amerikas bæste bilbyggere borte.."/

[kim-roger]

R.I.P

kordan kjem det til å gå med firmaet hannes da?

[kevinedomm]

R.i.P. Boyd Coddington

[McBitch]

Leit. Kanskje noen tar over firmaet hans og driver det skikkelig. Slik det kommer frem på American Hot Rod er hvertfall ikke positivt.

[kevinedomm]

Er overdrevet slik det er på American Hotrod, er tillaget det meste, synd for Boyd sitt firma egentlig, på Chip Foose sitt program er det jo bare skryting hele forbaskede tiden. Nesten irriterende å høre på "Chip Foose er så unik, bare Chip Foose klarer dette, bla bla bla." Selv om kanskje noe av det stemmer.