A lot of people remember Duane Mayer as the hot headed foreman of Boyd Coddington’s Garage on the hit Discovery Channel show , American Hot Rod. What most people don’t know is that Duane’s history and relationship with Boyd goes back into the mid-eighties when Duane dropped everything he had in Wisconsin to head out to California to live the American hot rodding dream. We sat down with Duane and he took us through that long history to give us some insight on himself, Boyd, and the evolution of hot rodding in California in the 80’s and 90’s.
HRBB Podcast Episode 8 – Duane Mayer
1955 Chevy with Centennials
The latest build coming out from Duane Mayer and American Hot Rods is this 1955 Chevy sporting some new Gotcha Series Centennials. 17×8 up front with a standard profile and 18×10 with the concave profile. These Centennials have the combination Charcoal and Polished finish. Some more things to get done before the build is finished but at least she has a new pair of shoes.
Good Guys West Coast Nationals 2013
This past weekend we attended the Good Guys West Coast Nationals in Pleasanton, CA. This is probably the best show on the west coast and is a must attend for any hot rodder in the western US. This year celebrated the 27th anniversary of this show and it definitely seemed like the biggest one to date. Duane Mayer of American Hot Rods and myself took the trip up to Pleasanton with the Vern Luce Coupe and our wheel display in tow. Good Guys set us up with a really nice spot in front of winners circle and we were lucky enough to have some really cool Boyd cars at our booth. David Lozano brought out the 32 Sedan my dad built at the Orange Ave shop for Don Smith. David takes amazing care of this car and it still turns heads. One of the best looking sedans and one of my favorite Boyd cars. Jerry Ruskin brought out his 33 Vicky and displayed it at our booth. This 33 Vicky was started at the hot rod shop on Monroe St but only got to the primer stage before it was sold. Having this Vicky parked at our booth next to the coupe was something to see. They looked like a reunited brother and sister sitting there side by side. Saturday’s attendance was insane. The busiest I have ever seen it. We had our new 2013 wheel line up there along with some new additions and we talked to tons of people and handed out tons of catalogs. While I am at the car show working it doesn’t really seem like it. Catching up with old friends, talking to spectators and potential customers make the whole time enjoyable. I had a great time hanging out with Duane and watching him interact with the fans. We’ll be back again next year. Special thanks to Dave Lozano, Jerry Ruskin, John and Caroline Hill, Gary and Wendy Brown, and the Good Guys organization.
White Caps Pickup for Sale
LA Roadsters Father’s Day Show 2012
Another great year at the Los Angeles Roadsters Father’s Day Show in Pomona, CA. I’ve been coming to this show since before I can remember. It was a family tradition for us for years. It was great to be back. We were there in support for Duane and American Hot Rods. Duane had one of our displays in the booth. I was able to get one of the first 18″ production samples of the new cast wheel, the SOB(Spirit of Boyd), out to the show. Ran into a bunch of old friends. Chris Buttera was out there with the last roadster his dad built before he passed away. Chris ended up running into Don Wills from OK who now owns the first roadster his dad built. I was fortunate enough to be there to snap a picture of both of them side by side. Overall it was a great show. There were over 5 Boyd Built cars at the show that I counted. Thanks to Duane for having me come out.