Lil' John Buttera built this...
Lil' John Buttera built this Kenosha Crankshaft Jr. Fuel Dragster in 1963 in his parent's garage.
Journalist, historian, builder, and former Street Rodder editor Pat Ganahl on Boyd and Lil' John
"Seeing that a significant part of Boyd Coddington's recognition in the hot rod field came through media attention and, later, participation, I would just like to point out that that attention started right here in Street Rodder. August 1974 was the height of the resto-rod era when brass Model Ts, wire wheels, and phaetons with dogs atop the grille ruled, and I had been at SR as a cub reporter less than a year. Frank Oddo came in with some photos of the rarest and most highly prized of Model Ts, a '15 Center Door, built into a beautiful, black, wire-wheeled beauty by a guy named Boyd Coddington, who worked at nearby Disneyland in the machine shop. The rest of us had never heard of Boyd. I don't know how Frank met him, but the car was outstanding, and we featured it in the color centerspread, paired with another black T coupe. It was titled 'A Pair of Henry's Finest,' and it was an auspicious beginning for Boyd.
John, with Dennis Rollain,...
John, with Dennis Rollain, formed R&B Automotive in Kenosha. Pictured is the first of several Funny Cars for Don Schumacher; this altered-wheelbase '66 Dodge Charger was made from fiberglass.
"I have no idea what became of that first Center Door, but Frank kept tabs on Boyd, watching and taking pictures as he built a new T, this one a black, wire-wheeled '26 sedan with a J&J independent rear suspension. Frank took most of the pictures at Boyd's house, where the car was built. But somehow, they pulled some very tight strings (the fact that Boyd still worked there helped) to get permission to photograph the finished car inside Disneyland, and it appeared right in front of the Fantasyland castle on the Mar. '76 cover. This was a first-ever. (One little-known fact was that Tom McMullen subsequently bought this T from Boyd, and the combination of that grubstake and the cover publicity was the push that allowed Boyd to finally quit his job at Disneyland and set up his own rod-building business at his home shop.)
"Finally, when Boyd built his Silver Bullet smooth '29 roadster, with much help and inspiration from Lil' John, it didn't take much string-pulling for me to get permission to photograph it in the also-nearby Knott's Berry Farm Ghost Town for Street Rodder's Apr. '78 cover. This car, and this publicity, could be credited for launching the high-tech, billet/smoothie style of street rodding. It was certainly cemented by the red Vern Luce '33 coupe and the Musselman AMBR roadster. You know the rest of the story. It was in all the media.
"In my opinion, John Buttera is the father of modern street rodding. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that he belongs in the highest echelon of the hot rod all-time greats, up there with Mickey Thompson, Don Garlits, Ed Roth-who knows?
Bob Kolmos' injected Fuel...
Bob Kolmos' injected Fuel Altered was one of the first three cars built at R&B Automotive. Bob crashed the car, and that was the end of his driving days.
"To start with, we street rodders tend to forget Lil' John started out building highly refined and innovative dragster and Funny Car chassis during the time of the Funny Car's birth and major, lasting changes in drag racing. He was considered a young creative genius then.
"Much later, with Steve Davis, he thought he'd give Sprint Car racing a try at the famed Ascot dirt oval. His chassis worked, and his car won. It seemed almost too easy. So then he tackled what used to be the nirvana of hot-rodding and circle-track racing-Indy. And, he did it his way, with a Hilborn-injected, stock-block Chevy V-8 (hot-rod style). He made the show, which is comparable to playing in the World Series.
"When street rodding was blossoming in the early 1970s, and Model Ts with lots of big brass lamps hanging all over them were hot, John again did his own thing, building a '27 T sedan he wanted to be as contemporary and comfortable as a new Cadillac. It had no brass gee-gaws (he called them 'barbs') at all. And, with its full independent suspension, it rode more like a Jag XJ sedan ... across the country.