AUTOMOBILES : Stanton Hot-Rod Builder Coddington Named to Industry’s Hall of Fame

Stanton hot-rod builder and automotive equipment entrepreneur Boyd Coddington has become the youngest member of the industry’s Specialty Equipment Market Assn. Hall of Fame.

Coddington, the 50-year-old owner of Coddington Cos., got started in Idaho as a fan of the roadster that comb-wielding carhop “Kookie” tooled around in on the TV series “77 Sunset Strip” in the late 1950s and early ‘60s.

From ages 13 to 21, Coddington built more than 100 hot rods. He later moved to California, went to work as a machinist at Disneyland, and started building custom street rods at his home in Stanton.

As demand for his creations rose, Coddington quit Disneyland and in 1980 opened his first business, Hot Rods by Boyd. To fill a need for custom wheels that matched the cars he was making, Coddington started Boyds Wheels in 1987. Today it’s a $10-million-a-year business. Boyds Steering Wheels and Boyds Ultra Violet, a car polish and cleaner products business, followed in 1991 and last year he began marketing a line of performance automotive-themed clothing called Shop Rags.

Coddington will be inducted into Diamond Bar-based SEMA’s Hall of Fame on July 14 at a dinner in Long Beach.