Boyd Coddington and Lil' John Buttera Tribute - Unmatched Pair

"Building hot rods with him was fun, and he showed me everything he possibly could. I wish I had his imagination, elegance, and taste. His and my cars will always be in style. Our trips to Indy were amazingly fun-it was very magical with all the good ol' boys back then. We worked our butts off day and night, but he enjoyed Indy the most. Only a guy like him could make something big like that happen with so little. We loved our speedster motorcycles, and they helped us get in with the motorcycle industry. Then we had fun working at Boyd's, having our own shops, and having contact with many talented people. Making motorcycle parts and traveling around the country together in our 'over the top' truck and trailer was always exciting and fun. We had many good rides together but found it hard to make a buck. Luckily, Harley-Davidson, more specifically Willie G. Davidson and the styling crew, picked us up and saved us. My dad built a lot of nice bikes for them, but we always had to keep them under wraps. My dad and I were fortunate enough to build the prototype of The Rocker that is in the dealers now.

"We were working on my Model A sedan when my father became ill. But, I am still continuing on with it, with lots of help from John Robinson (Fat Jack Robinson's son) and Steve Davis, who built drag cars with my dad. Chip Foose is helping a lot, along with Kevin Bell and many, many others. It's coming along and I will get it built, as it was my dad's last dream for me."

Boyd Jr. On Dad
"My earliest memory I have of my dad is one of me around the age of 3, holding his hand by his first two fingers as we walked together. His hands seemed big, and his first two fingers were all I could actually hold onto. Every morning, I would roll myself up in my blanket and he would carry me out of our small one-bedroom apartment in Hermosa Beach. He would tuck me under the glass of his black '63 split-window Corvette. My mom and I would drive him to Western Gear, where he worked as a machinist apprentice.

"Ken Knott, our upstairs neighbor at the time, recently told me the story about how that same '63 Corvette was later stolen. Ken went on to tell me that, by a stroke of luck, my dad was able to recover his Vette himself a week later. Growing up, I would always ask my dad, 'How come you are so lucky?' He taught me later in life a person is not lucky; people create their own luck through hard work and values. Throughout my life, he would teach me many of life's valuable lessons.

"Even at my young age, my dad always took me with him to car shows and the local swap meets. On most weekends, we would drive around L.A. and Orange County to visit the garages and shops of craftsmen like Lil' John Buttera, Jack Robinson, Gary Gripp, Bob Bauder, and Dennis Ricklefs, just to name a few. Together, we would just hang out for hours while my dad would ask question after question, eager to learn more. All I could ask was, 'Is time to go home now?' I will never forget that.

"One of the first things I learned about dad was how generous he was. One summer evening, when I was 10 or 11, Dad, Vern Luce, and I drove to the corner for an ice cream cone, as we often did. When we arrived, I remember a mother and her two young children in line in front of us. The mother was frantically digging in the bottom of her purse, looking for loose change just to scrape up enough to pay for their ice cream. My dad stopped her, took the money from his front pocket, and handed it to the cashier and paid for their ice cream. That was only the first of many times in my life I would witness my dad's generosity. From a very early age, my dad taught me how to share.