Ok, so I\u2019m just minutes from being finished this issue and I\u2019m pushing the deadline limit as usual.<\/p>\n
The problem is there\u2019s just too much happening. For a magazine guy it\u2019s a good problem to have. Content is usually the last thing I have to worry about.<\/p>\n
But this issue I found myself agonizing over what to put in and what to take out. Indoor car show season is upon us and this issue has coverage of three, with the Draggins show in Saskatoon, Winnipeg World of Wheels, Edmonton Powerama and Detroit Autorama coverage being held back for the next issue.<\/p>\n
There was room for a two-page introduction to the Hitman Hotrods Tall T building project \u2014 page 72-73 \u2014 but not for any actual build content, which I had hoped to start with this issue.<\/p>\n
Also very exciting is we\u2019re starting our own project in the CHRC garage, a \u201963 Rambler 770 wagon, below, which we\u2019re dubbing Budget Rambler for obvious reasons. I had hoped to start the coverage in this issue, but just ran out of room. No, it\u2019s not the \u201957 Ford Sedan Delivery project I\u2019ve been hoping to start for the past 15 issues, but it\u2019ll still be a lot of fun, both for us and hopefully for our readers as they follow the progress. When it\u2019s done, the plan is to make it our mule car for product tests and other cool stuff.<\/p>\n
We\u2019re also starting to gather some steam on tech projects, which you\u2019ll begin to see in future issues, with topics like quarterpanel fabrication and installation and quick, but not dirty, paint jobs for the budget conscious hot rodders.<\/p>\n
Obviously, a lots been happening in the rodding world in the two months since our last issue, but the biggest news was the untimely death at the age of 63 of hot rod legend Boyd Coddington. I remember right away thinking that my mom was only 63 when she died. It\u2019s too young to go that\u2019s for sure.<\/p>\n
Coddington, a long-time diabetic, died February 27 from complications brought on by a recent surgery.<\/p>\n
I won\u2019t bother going into a long biography. Coddington\u2019s accomplishments are numerous and well documented and though he became something of a mainstream media star thanks to the TLC televisions series American Hot Rod, it\u2019s his designs and engineering skills that made him an icon. He was the first to use billet aluminum to mill his custom wheels. Previous to that aluminum was melted and poured into casts and his methods led to an explosion of available wheel designs.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve only met Coddington once. It was a very brief exchange at last year\u2019s Abbotsford World of Wheels. He was signing autographs a few booths away from mine and during a break he and his entourage shuffled past. I stepped out to greet him and offered him one of my magazines. \u201cYou do this,\u201d he asked. Feeling something like a scolded school boy I answered yes, it was my magazine. \u201cThat\u2019s good,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ll take that along and read it later.\u201d He shook my hand and shuffled out the door.<\/p>\n
Not a life-changing moment. Don\u2019t know if he ever looked at it, but I remember thinking he didn\u2019t seem like such a bad guy. (All those melodramatic episodes of American Hot Rod made me a little nervous to approach him). Millions of gearheads never got to know Coddington the man, but we did get to know him as a designer and master car builder and it\u2019s those accomplishments that formed his legacy. A pretty good one to leave behind.<\/p>\n
At one time, Chip Foose studied under the tutelage of Coddington but he\u2019s long since established himself as the king of the heap when it comes to hot rod concepts and designs. Coincidentally, it was another TLC TV show, Overhaulin\u2019, that really vaulted Foose\u2019s popularity into the stratosphere and the mainstream.<\/p>\n
Despite the fame, Foose is still a down-to-earth guy and someone you should meet if only once in your life. Well, B.C. gearheads are going to get that chance April 26 when Foose makes his first official appearance in B.C. at the B.C. Classic and Custom Car Show April 26-27 at the Abbotsford Tradex. It\u2019s a one day only gig, so don\u2019t miss it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Ok, so I\u2019m just minutes from being finished this issue and I\u2019m pushing the deadline limit as usual. The problem<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n