"American Hot Rod" star dead at 63

[Lint]

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Car-building legend Boyd Coddington, whose testosterone-injected cable TV reality show "American Hot Rod" introduced the nation to the West Coast hot rod guru, has died. He was 63.

Boyd Coddington won numerous awards for his creative car customizing designs.

Coddington died Wednesday at Presbyterian Intercommunity Hospital in suburban Whittier. His La Habra office spokeswoman Amanda Curry wouldn't disclose the cause of death.

Coddington, who started building cars when he was 13 and once operated a gas station in Utah, set a standard for his workmanship and creativity, with his popular "Cadzilla" creation considered a design masterpiece. The customized car based on a 1950s Cadillac was built for rocker Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top.

"That was a groundbreaking car. Very cool," said Dick Messer, executive director of the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles. "He did things to hot rods and customs that weren't being done by anyone else. But the main thing is he designed cars that were drivable."

Coddington was a machinist by trade, working at Disneyland during the day and tinkering with cars in his home garage at night and on weekends. His rolling creations captured the imagination of car-crazy Southern Californians and soon he was building custom cars and making money.

He also customized 1932 Fords and car wheels. In fact, Wheels by Boyd sometimes fetched $2,000 apiece, which was unheard of two decades ago.

Coddington also surrounded himself with talent. Alumni from his shop include Jesse James and Chip Foose, who went on to open their own shops and star in reality TV shows.

Coddington twice won the DaimlerChrysler Design Excellence Award and he was inducted into the Grand National Roadster Show Hall of Fame, the National Rod & Custom Museum Hall of Fame and the Route 66 Wall of Fame.

Always dressed in a Hawaiian shirt, Coddington said he loved his "American Hot Rod" Discovery Channel show, which featured ground-up construction of $500,000 hot rods.

"The viewers are ... people who lived in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s and loved these cars. Now, they have money," Coddington told The Associated Press in a 2004 interview.

Kinda sucks...I'd never be able to afford a custom hot rod, but I loved watching the show and seeing how they were designed and built

[Guest Isaac Mendez]

Dude there cars are crap Chip is better.

[GhostMachine]

Dude there cars are crap Chip is better.

Edited March 21, 2008 by GhostMachine

[MalaCloudy Black]

What a retarded reason to bump a death thread (and that's in response to Isaac Mendez).

Edited March 21, 2008 by Cloudy