This photo of (left to right)...
This photo of (left to right) Bob Creitz, John, Tom Hanna, and Steve Davis was taken at Steve's shop three months after John's surgery.
"In my days as editor of Street Rodder, I would be asked numerous times why we always featured Buttera and Coddington cars, because their car was just as nice. I would always cordially go take a look at the car in question, and each time I would painfully walk away knowing these two legends' talent may never be understood by many."
Builder and manufacturer POSIES on Boyd
"I was truly saddened to hear of the passing of Boyd. We first received a call Wednesday morning telling us of his passing. That afternoon, I was working on my current project and was inundated with numerous phone calls asking if it were true or if I had heard about his passing.
"A couple of years ago, Boyd and I both did a show in the Philadelphia area, I had not seen him for quite sometime, so after the show we decided to sit and talk in the hotel lobby area. We couldn't get a complete sentence in without someone wanting to say hello or get his autograph. Boyd, not being the same guy he was portrayed on his show, was very humble. I say that because I've known him for 28 years as a professional and as a friend. He played a mean hand of liar's poker. Boyd, the good guy he was, gave my wife a set of one-off wheels, designed by Chip, for her 49th birthday to put on her '49 Ford ragtop.
"His accomplishments are quite impressive, but what's even more impressive is his influence on the industry as a whole. Being the first to mass-produce sets of billet wheels, Boyd's wheels helped establish the idea of what a hot rod is. His work inspired many, including all the other wheel manufacturers."
John's '26 Cad-T (a '72 Cad...
John's '26 Cad-T (a '72 Cad interior wrapped by a '26 Model T) took home Best Safety Engineered and Best Interior from the '74 NSRA Street Rod Nationals. It also appeared on the Dec. '74 cover of Hot Rod.
Curator of the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum, historian, and journalist Greg Sharp on Lil' John and Boyd
"Each year at the National and California Hot Rod Reunions, we (The Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum) have the pleasure of honoring six racers and hot rodders for lifetime achievement. They are presented the NHRA Man and Tire trophy, commonly referred to as the Wally in honor of the NHRA founder, the late Wally Parks.
"Lil' John Buttera was to be so honored at the '07 California Reunion held in Bakersfield in October. About a year ago, I received a phone call from Buttera, saying, 'Greg, I need a favor.' I replied, 'Sure, John, what do you need?' His answer came as a shock. He said, 'If anything happens to me, I want you to make sure my kid, Chris, gets my Wally, 'cause it really means a lot to me. They say I have brain cancer, which proves a lot of people wrong-that I actually have a brain!'
"He told me of his upcoming surgery, and I replied that, as ornery as he was, he would be there. And, he was. His daughter, Leigh, his son, Chris, and his son-in-law, Ron Capps (not to be confused with the Funny Car driver), had him there in a wheelchair, and he was great. Dave McClelland interviewed him at the reunion reception, and he was as bright and smart as ever. His incredible talent and creativity, as well as his influence on drag racing, hot rods, and motorcycles, will be long remembered. As he said when asked how he makes a billet rearview mirror, 'You chuck a piece of aluminum in a milling machine and cut away everything that doesn't look like a rearview mirror.'
"I refer to my fondest recollections of Boyd Coddington as before he 'went Hollywood.' He worked in an oversized garage in back of his house in Cerritos, California, and was turning out hot rods one or two at a time with a crew that included, at various times, Tom Vogele, Bob Bauder, Terry Hegman, Lars Johansson, and 'guest appearances' by Steve Davis, Art Chrisman, and Jarmo Pulkinnen. The difference between Boyd and Lil' John was John was a true artist and didn't care if anyone liked what he did, as long as he liked it himself.