We get a lot of requests for pictures of our ceramic clearcoat on wheels. Pictures don’t do it justice. You really have to see the stuff in person to appreciate it. The stuff is so clear it’s hard to tell that there is anything on the wheel. This HR-01 has brushed tops and polished lip and windows. The entire wheel was then clearcoated with our ceramic clearcoat. This HR-01 sits next to the Vern Luce Coupe with some original Boyd Coddington machined knock off stars circa 1981.
Time for another project vehicle. This little Chevy shortbed is going to be built as a little 25th anniversary of the trucks that really put Sportrucks on the map. When this body style first came out my father was all over them. Grabbing one of the first trucks off the lot the first thing he did was lower it and put a set of billet wheels on it. Most of the early development of lowering kits and aftermarket accessories for the Sport Truck scene started at Hot Rods by Boyd. This truck will pay tribute to that with a nice clean two tone paint job, static drop, but with a little update on the wheel selection. This little Chevy will be decked out in some new Gotcha Series Centennials running standard profiles in the front and concave profiles in the rear. 20×8.5 and 20×10. Keep checking back for more updates.
The Gotcha Series is our take on a clean straight forward 5 spoke wheel that would look good on a range of vehicles. In it’s simplicity there are still subtle details to really make this wheel attract attention especially when it’s painted. This combination paint shown here accents the peak of the spoke with the tapered sides that give you a 3D type of spoke shape but keep it in the more affordable price range of the Gotcha Series. The Futura is available fully polished or painted in 17-22″ diameters to fit most 5 lug applications.
One of my customers sent me these pics of his 2003 Lightning with a set of 20″ Vendettas on it. Looks great.
Over the weekend we had the 5th Annual Boyd Coddington Memorial BBQ. Good times with good friends. We all got together to remember the man that made it all happen and to celebrate his life. Great food was served up with some music played once again by Brother Yusef layin’ down the acoustic blues. This year we had our first annual Liar’s Poker Tournament. Liar’s poker was my dad’s favorite game to play with family and friends. We had 16 people play and Walt Baynes came out victorious to be our first winner. Congrats Walt. Thanks to all that attended. Look forward to seeing everyone again next year. Also check out the article Truckin Magazine did online here
When you purchase a set of wheels from Chris Coddington and Hot Rods by Boyd you can be assured that everything is made to order. One little trick that the wheel industry in whole moved away from decades ago but some people still try to push on their customers is the Uni-lug pattern. This was a way to get 2 different bolt patterns out of one wheel by making an oblong lug hole and using specific lug nuts. While it saves the wheel company lots of money by cutting their inventory in half it’s at the expense of the consumers safety and the vehicles ride. At Hot Rods by Boyd all our wheels are drilled with the conical seat lug drill and drilled to your specific pattern. The conical lug seat allows the wheel to get centered up on the lug hole this is especially helpful when you do not have an exact hub centric fitment. By using conical seat you eliminate some of the vibration problems and shearing of studs that can happen with improper use of uni lug drilled wheels. The industry moved away from the one size fits all approach years ago for this reason. Uni-lug is to the wheel industry what elastic waste bands are to the clothing industry. It’s all fine in the beginning but it’s just a matter of time before you are caught with your pants down. If someone is trying to sell you a so called custom wheel with a one size fits all approach just say no and get yourself a set of custom wheels that are made to order. below are two pictures of one size fits all drill and conical seat.
A couple of days ago I received a call from Grant Peterson and Thom Taylor from Hot Rod Magazine. The Vern Luce Coupe was in town and they wanted me and my brother Gregg to drive if out to the LA Fairplex in Pomona, CA for the Hot Rod Magazine Homecoming. Stoked beyond words I accepted without hesitation. For those that don’t know the Vern Luce Coupe was the car built over 30 years ago that launched my father’s career and started the Boyd Look and the billet movement. The car has been in Australia with it’s current owner for a number of years and Thom and Hot Rod Magazine made the arrangements to bring her out for the show.
So Gregg, Shane and I roll over to Hot Rods HQ and garage in El Segundo, CA. Hot Rod Magazine’s garage is a pretty cool set up but it was hard to check it all out once we walked in the door because we saw the coupe and were immediately distracted by it’s presence. I was only 6 years old when this car was built but I remember it well. Very little was changed from the last time I saw it and that was nice to see.
Gregg and I decided to toss a quarter to see who would drive it and he won the toss. Decked out his in vintage Grand National Roadster Show shirt featuring the Vern Luce Coupe and our dad’s old snake skin boots Gregg slid behind the wheel. It’s been at least 30 years since those boots touched those billet pedals. Sitting inside the cab brought back a lot of memories. Even being twice the size now as I was back when I last sat in the coupe it still was comfortable. Gregg fired the engine and we pulled in behind Grant with Shane bringing up the rear to venture out into LA traffic. For those outside the area this part of LA is pretty hectic. It’s really close to LAX and some of the nicer south bay beach communities and the traffic gets pretty bad. Once on the 405 fwy the car felt pretty good. I could really see the enjoyment in Gregg’s face as we merged into traffic and moved down the highway. So many memories of sitting in the passenger seat while my dad took me out for rides in his hot rods came to my mind.
We started to hear some noises and being a little paranoid about getting her there in one piece we pulled over. Nothing major just some noise we attributed to the drivers door moving a bit on the bumps. We transitioned onto the 91 fwy and about 5 miles down we saw smoke coming from the right rear. Not good. We safely pulled over to the side of the road and I jumped out. My first thought was “Oh NO, FIRE and no extinguisher”. Luckily I was wrong and as we ran to the back of the car we realized right away that the passenger side carrier bearing in the upright was blown. Not wanting to leave it on the freeway we limped it off down the offramp and parked it in a Best Buy parking lot. It was a bummer. A short lived trip and a bit of a disappointment as both Gregg and I wanted to see it all the way to the Fairplex in Pomona. As we sat in the parking lot waiting for the tow truck we got to really look the car over and just appreciate the history of it all. Thinking about how the car and what it did for my dad and our family and the hot rodding industry made me really appreciate everything. To think that my office is in the exact place that this car was built over thirty years ago and that I see the original Thom Taylor rendering that this car was built from made me really reflect on my father’s career and give thanks to him.
Thanks to Thom Taylor, Grant Peterson, Hot Rod Magazine, and Gary and Wendy Brown for letting Gregg and I drive 15 miles down memory lane.
The new 2013 Hot Rods by Boyd wheel catalog is done and ready for you to check out.
This painted and polished concave rear option Centennial is brand new for Hot Rods by Boyd. We will now be offering select designs in a rear concave option to give you yet one more way to change the look of your ride. This Centennial is shown in our combination polished and painted finish using our Coddington Coating Silver. This 20×10 Centennial has a 3.75″ backspace. So if your going to stagger it up on your ride why not take it a step further and run the deeper concave option in the rear. You have to admit it’s a lot cooler than getting a unicorn tattoo.
Picked up a little piece of Hot Rods by Boyd history over the weekend. This 1986 Aerostar panel van was bought by my dad around 1991. It was a bare bones, stick shift delivery van. Like most vehicles that came to the shop it wasn’t long before my dad transformed it. Along with the paint job my dad decided to put a supercoupe supercharged motor under the hood. I had fond memories driving this guy around town when I was right out of high school. The interior is just like the day it was put in, the motor runs really strong, the paint has some issues that we’re going to have to work out. Nice little project for us to get back on the road as our new delivery van.
