{{Infobox person | name = Boyd Coddington | image = US Navy 050508-N-1205S-085 Television show American Hot Rod car builder Boyd Coddington and his wife Jo signed autographs for Sailors stationed aboard the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) (cropped).jpg | caption = Coddington from American Hot Rod signs autographs aboard the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in 2005 | birth_date = | birth_name = | birth_place = Rupert, Idaho, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = Whittier, California, U.S. | occupation = Hot rod designerTV show host | children = With Jo:NoneWith Diane:3Peggy:1| spouse = Jo Andenise Clausen McGee(m. 2002–2008; his death) Diane Marie Ragone Elkins (m.1971–1996; divorce) Peggy Jeanne King (m.1965– ?; divorce) }}Boyd Coddington' (August 28, 1944 – February 27, 2008) was an American hot rod designer, the owner of the Boyd Coddington Hot Rod Shop, and star of American Hot Rod on TLC. Early life, education and early career Coddington grew up in Rupert, Idaho, reading all the car and hot rod magazines he could, and got his first car (a 1931 Chevrolet truck) at age 13. He attended machinist trade school and completed a three-year apprenticeship in machining. In 1968, he moved to California building hot rods by day and working as a machinist at Disneyland during the night. He soon became known for building unique hot rods and in 1977 he opened his own shop, Hot Rods by Boyd, in Stanton, California. His first major customer was Vern Luce whose car, a 1933 coupe, won the Al Slonaker Award at the 1981 Oakland Roadster show. Design innovations Coddington was known for clean, elegant designs combining old school with what would come to be known as the "Boyd Look". Some of Coddington's signature innovations were his custom-fabricated alloy wheels, typically machined from a solid aluminum billet, an industry first. Together with John Buttera, Boyd pioneered this "billet" machined look and applied it not only to wheels, but broadly throughout the car. In 1988, Coddington founded Boyd's Wheels, Inc. to manufacture and market his custom billet wheels. CadZZilla In 1989, CadZZilla, a customized 1949 Cadillac, was commissioned by ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons, conceived by Jack Chisenhall, and designed by Chisenhall and Larry Erickson. It is acclaimed as one of the great expressions of automotive customization. Columnist Gray Baskerville called CadZZilla "the most incredible transformation he'd ever witnessed", and in their "History of Hot Rods & Customs" the