Boyd Coddington is forever an iconic name in the hot rod world. Responsible for many trends and innovations, Coddington built and designed some of the most iconic hot rods and street rods of his time and pushed the industry forward time and time again. Unfortunately, Coddington passed back in 2008, but his legacy has lived on thanks to his son and owner of Hot Rods by Boyd, Chris Coddington.
In addition to keeping his dad’s legacy alive through the creation of genuine Boyd Coddington HRBB wheels, Chris and his staff memorialize Boyd every year by awarding a deserving street rod the coveted Boyd Coddington Memorial Award at the first Goodguys show of the season in Del Mar. This year, the honor went to John Cowell’s ’35 Ford 5-window coupe.
Cowell’s coupe was built by Image Street Rods in Santa Maria, California and took about a year and a half to complete, which based on the immense amount of detail put into the build, that’s quite the feat! Not only does the 5-window feature amenities like air conditioning and heat, it is also packed with performance thanks to components like a 9-inch Posi-traction rearend and Wilwood disc brakes on all four corners. Topping off this beauty is a sleek House of Kolor Black finish and a full leather interior.
While there were certainly a lot of gorgeous street rods to choose from for this award at Del Mar, Chris Coddington ultimately decided on the ’35, stating “This car is definitely something my dad would have been stoked on” in the official HRBB blog post about the Goodguys’ event.
Congratulations goes out to our very own Slam’d Mag feature car, John Cowell and his beautifully crafted Image Street Rods built Smokin’ 35 for being chosen for the award!
