By now all true-blue hot rodders and wanna-bes for that matter, are well aware of the slew of hot rod TV shows on the air now. My favorite, the Discovery Channel's American Hot Rod, is a continuing peek behind the scenes at the goings on at the shop of the father of big-name rod builders--Boyd Coddington. And though my career as a magazine editor has brought me into close contact with many of the industry's biggest and best, it's still a huge honor to even be let into the inner sanctum of Boyd's shop, let alone to have been invited to participate in a bit of this coming season's show.
Now, since this issue will actually hit the newsstand before the new season starts and the episodes air, I'm gonna have to be a bit vague in my story telling--sort of a "What I did on my summer vacation" type of approach. I'll give you an idea of what went on, but you'll have to tune in to the new season's episodes (Fridays at 10pm Pacific) to get the entertaining details.
There's not too many things in the world that excite me more than the prospect of a hot rod road trip. For me, cruisin' cross country with an icon of the hot rodding world isn't an everyday occurrence by any means--and being able to hit the road for eight days with Boyd Coddington, some of his crew members, and the film crew from the Discovery Channel's American Hot Rod made for a dream vacation, for sure. The premise behind this road trip came about when a couple of the younger members of Boyd's crew started busting his chops over his tendency cutting-edge contemporary street rods over more traditional-styled hot rods. Well, one thing led to another and before you could say "split wishbones" the challenge was on. Boyd and that boisterous few decided to each build a traditional hot rod in a matter of weeks (while still working on the shop's never ending gaggle of customer projects) and then drive them from Boyd's shop in LaHabra, California to the NSRA Street Rod Nationals in Louisville, Kentucky. To add to the pressure, show producer Ian Jones and his crew would chronicle the builds and the road trip for all to see.
One way or another I managed to weasel my way into the mix and was invited to tag along as a neutral third party (hey, anything to get back on the blacktop in my Budget Beater). The prospect of gettin' my ugly mug on TV, even for a minute or two, made it all the more exciting. So, for the time being, follow along and check out these snapshots of the trip. It'll give you a taste of a few of this season's episodes and a look at what without a doubt was the most fun I've had in my career.
 And off we go--a real live...  And off we go--a real live rodding icon and a mere mortal. Any idea which one had enough sense to build a rod with a roof? |
 Since the cars were built...  Since the cars were built on an extremely short timetable the guys worked their collective tails off to get 'em done in time for the trip. Every spare minute between regular shop projects was devoted to the hot rods and the guys seamed to genuinely enjoy whipping them together. Here you can see Al and Jimmy hard at work fabricating the foundation for Boyd's '26 T coupe. |
 While Jim and Al whipped together...  While Jim and Al whipped together the chassis, the coupe body was undergoing a makeover, as well... |
 ...Here we see Scott working...  ...Here we see Scott working on the car's windshield frame--the severe chop required a lot of fitting to ensure that the tilt-out frame fit and worked well. There'll be no fancy air conditioning in this bad-boy. |
 Just to let these young whipper-snappers...  Just to let these young whipper-snappers know that he could design a way-cool traditional hot rod as easily as an award-winning cutting-edge street rod, Boyd designed and oversaw the building of his beater, as well. The kids just couldn't get it through their heads that Boyd was building hot rods while they were still being potty trained! |
 As time quickly passed, Boyd's...  As time quickly passed, Boyd's beater came together without a hitch. Here we see Boyd and Duane checking out some of the finishing touches on the coupe. |
 As the weeks flew by a wrench...  As the weeks flew by a wrench was thrown into the works, and Boyd's original challenger ran into a rather insurmountable road block (again, you'll have to tune in for the gory details). This called for a crew meeting to decide what the next step would be. It was quickly decided that Mike would take up the challenge and build his version of a hot rod in an amazing nine days to keep the contest alive. |
 With roughly a week to go,...  With roughly a week to go, Mike and his co-workers worked like mad to turn a stock A pickup into a hot rod that'd make a cross-country trip and hopefully save face for the younger generation's bold challenge to Boyd. Here Jim and Dan are hard at work installing the alternator on the fresh flathead the boys shoehorned into the pickup. |
 The boys ran into some ignition...  The boys ran into some ignition problems the afternoon before we were to hit the road. The H&H-built Flathead ran like a top but after the boys made a few ignition modifications (against Boyd's advice, by the way) it began to give them a headache or two. |
 Another snafu to overcome...  Another snafu to overcome was a faulty fuel tank petcock. Boyd jumped--well, slid--in to lend a hand and fixed the problem in short order. |
 Upon hearing of the ignition...  Upon hearing of the ignition problem, body shop technician Andy jumped right in to give a hand. Unfortunately nobody told him that the distributor is on top of the engine--but hey, it's the thought that counts. |
 Much to Mike's consternation,...  Much to Mike's consternation, the film crew was recording the last-minute thrash to hit the road. Throughout the build the film crew was on station every minute the guys were and it meant some really long days. |
 Finally, Mike's pickup was...  Finally, Mike's pickup was ready for a short test drive around the parking lot before we left. Neither rod had any more than a few miles under its belt before we all hit the road. In fact, the Budget Beater was the only one of the three to be truly tested, as it had recently made it cross-country on Americruise. |
 While the pickup was clocking...  While the pickup was clocking its first test mile, Boyd was busy venting. Ian and the camera crew wanted to know how he felt about being a day behind (we were to have left for Louisville the day before).... |
 ...Never being one to mince...  ...Never being one to mince words, Boyd good naturedly unloaded a bit and expressed his wish to hit the road already. |
 While waiting to hit the road...  While waiting to hit the road I spent a bit of time hanging out with my new friends on the film crew. I got Martin and Gil to stop working long enough for me to get a snapshot. As I said earlier, Producer Ian Jones and the whole Discovery Channel crew work nearly non-stop recording the daily goings on at the shop. |
 Sound technition Kip was a...  Sound technition Kip was a bit harder to slow down, but he's always got a smile on his face--a great trait in an often stress-filled job. |
 Well, we finally hit the highway,...  Well, we finally hit the highway, a good 24 hours behind schedule. But hey, I didn't mind, it was the beginning of a fun-filled road trip for me and the Beater, and I was really looking forward to seeing how the boys pickup faired against Boyd's coupe. |