Great Machines: Le Haute Rod
06/02/2004
Say “hot rod” to most people and the image projected on their mental video screen looks a lot like the cover of the Beach Boys’ Little Deuce Coupe record album. It featured a kandy-colored, fenderless ’32 Ford with fat rear tires and a monstrous chrome-plated V-8 engine spilling out of the engine compartment. Images similar to this are what influenced a 19-year-old apprentice machinist named Boyd Coddington to leave Idaho in 1966 for the hot rod mecca of Southern California. For most of the 1970s, Coddington spent his days machining parts for the rides at Disneyland and his nights fashioning parts for the “rides” commissioned by his hot rod clients. He also reshaped the idea of what a hot rod should be.; function voidFunc() { } voidFunc();)
Sleek lines and smooth surfaces defined what came to be
known as the “Boyd look,” one defined as much by a car’s attitude and
performance as by its ground-hugging stance. The aluminum-bodied Aluma Coupe he
built in 1991 resembled a classic postwar dry-lakes dragster but was powered not
by the traditional American V-8, but a turbocharged Japanese 4-cylinder from
Mitsubishi. Coddington’s forward vision was the key ingredient that led to his
lofty first-name-only recognition among the hot rod set. Hot Rods by Boyd
customers include a number of celebrities such as the Beach Boys, comedian Tim
Allen, and Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top. (Click image to enlarge)But hot-rodding is not about maintaining the status quo, and Coddington has shifted his attention for his latest project commissioned by Texan car collector Scotty Gray. This time the hot rod visionary is looking over his shoulder for inspiration. Named What the Haye, the hot rod expresses Coddington’s appreciation for the sweeping elegant curves of sporting coupes from prestigious French automakers of the 1930s such as Talbot Lago and Delahaye. The latter marque provided more than inspiration for the project. It also contributed part of its name, along with the shape of its swoopy pontoon fenders and sloping tail.
“We’re really liking what we have done with What the Haye,” Coddington
explains. “It’s very stylish. We combined the styling of the French cars in the
thirties with the latest in high technology underneath.” Classic car fans will
be happy to know that none of the rare coachbuilt exotics were harmed or
endangered in the making of What the Haye. “We didn’t start out with a real
Delahaye,” says a grinning Coddington. “It started out as a piece of sheet metal
and a drawing.”
That piece of sheet metal was transformed by Marcel DeLay
& Sons into a body that not only emulates the style of the 1930s, but also
the handcraftsmanship of the era’s coachbuilders. Bringing out every nuance of
this coachwork is a striking metallic silver-over-black color scheme applied by
Coddington’s in-house artisan Charlie Hutton.
Coddington has 16
employees in his La Habra, Calif., hot rod shop, but often collaborates with an
elite cadre of specialists like DeLay to ensure flawless craftsmanship and
performance for major projects such as What the Haye. Coddington went to Art
Morrison Enterprises for the frame rails and front suspension but used his own
Pro-Ride rear suspension. It was developed as one of the components for the
series of Boydster hot rod kits available in do-it-yourself or fully assembled
formats. To complete the running gear underneath What the Haye, Coddington
employed a set of Wilwood four-piston caliper racing disc brakes at each wheel.
Wheels are another of Coddington’s trademarks; here he used one-off 18-inch
aluminum billet wheels fashioned on-site at Boyd’s Wheels, a 70-employee,
high-end custom-wheel manufacturing facility he founded in 1988.
; function voidFunc() { } voidFunc();)
Inspired by classic French design from the 1930s, the What the Haye
nevertheless has all-American performance courtesy of 500 hp from the Dodge
Viper’s V-10 engine. (Click image to enlarge)Gabriel
Lopez of Gabe’s Custom Interiors is Coddington’s go-to-guy for distinctive
upholstery work. Lopez tailored a black-and-gray leather interior that expresses
the simple elegance Coddington desired in translating classic French coupe to
all-American hot rod.
Speaking of all-American, the drivetrain Coddington
selected for this project was an 8.3-liter 500 hp V-10 and 6-speed manual lifted
directly from the latest Dodge Viper. Coddington just rolls his eyes when asked
if the engine that overpowers the 3,410-pound Viper is modified for his
approximately 2,700-pound hot rod. “We left it alone except for a different
exhaust system,” he says. “It sounds just like a Ferrari, and with the
suspension it handles like a European car.”
The completion of this nearly
two-year-long project has Coddington looking forward to doing another hot rod
with a European accent. Next up is his interpretation of a Talbot Lago fastback
coupe. Because these projects have an inherently bespoke nature, prices vary; if
you would like one for yourself the cost will likely reach north of $200,000.
For an inside view of Coddington at work, tune in to American Hot Rod on the
Discovery Channel.
2004 What the Haye
Engine: 8.3-liter V-10
Power: 500 hp at 5,600 rpm
Torque: 525 ft lbs
at 4,200 rpm
Transmission: 6-speed manual
Curb weight: 2,700
pounds
Base Price: please inquire
Boyd Coddington’s Hot Rods
866.414.6876
www.boydcoddington.com