http://www.knbc.com/automotive/15427...l?dl=mainclick
Legendary Southern California hot-rod builder and reality show host Boyd Coddington died Wednesday at a Whittier hospital at age 63, according to his La Habra-based company.
The cause of death was not immediately disclosed.
Coddington was the star of the TLC reality show "American Hot Rod," on which he and his crew overhaul classic cars recovered from junkyards and build custom hot rods from scratch.
The icon of the hot-rod industry and Idaho native got his first car when he was 13 years old. He built his interest in car-building into a multimillion-dollar industry in Southern California, headquartered at his massive garage in La Habra.
Coddington has built vehicles for celebrities such as Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top, Michael Anthony of Van Halen and Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Brad Penny.
His cars have won the "America's Most Beautiful Roadster" award seven times. He is a mamber of the Grand National Roadster Hall of Fame, the National Rod & Custom Museum Hall of Fame, the Route 66 Wall of Fame and the Street Rod Marketing Alliance Hall of Fame.
He was named Hot Rod magazine's Man of the Year in 1988. One of his vehicles was also the only hot rod ever displayed on the cover of Smithsonian magazine.
Also:
http://boydcoddington.com/ (looks like the site just crashed - it was fine 2 minutes ago.