An early promotional photo of Boyd Coddington and his Chezoom.

As a multitude of cars cross the block at the 44th Annual Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale Auction, you’ll notice one name mentioned by the auctioneers frequently: Boyd Coddington. In the world of hot rodding, the late Coddington was somewhat of a god. Known for his clean, elegant designs that became known as the “Boyd Look,” Boyd moved to California in 1968, building hot rods by day and working as a machinist at Disneyland during the night. He opened his own shop, Hot Rods by Boyd, in 1978, producing such iconic customs as Cadzilla and Chezoom. His already solid reputation escalated further with the success of the TLC/Discovery Channel show “American Hot Rod,” which debuted in 2004.

There are a dozen or so Coddington-built cars on the docket in Scottsdale, three of which will be auctioned today, one after the other, from the storied Ron Pratte Collection. Pratte was a great admirer of Boyd’s work. You’ll see the 1929 Ford “Alumatub” Hot Rod (Lot #2516), which was built on the “American Hot Rod” show, the 1936 Delahaye “Whatthehaye” Street-Rod (Lot #2515) and the 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air “Chezoom” Custom (Lot #2514)—arguably the most recognized and famous ’57 Chevy in the world and one of Boyd’s most famous creations.

Chezoom, in fact, is quite special to Boyd’s son, Boyd Coddington Jr., who is at the Scottsdale auction today to watch his father’s cars cross the block. “That car was the beginning of the hot rod shop,” he remembers. “That time, that place, the whole electric atmosphere that surrounded that car from concept all the way through to completed product is one of my best memories of Hot Rods by Boyd ever. It’s my favorite car for sure.”

Boyd Coddington Jr. by his father’s Chezoom at Barrett-Jackson this morning: “It’s my favorite car for sure.”

Boyd Jr. and his two brothers are carrying on their father’s legacy through businesses that deal in car care products, wheels and “other venues,” as Boyd Jr. puts it. Although it’s not his main line of business, he says he is doing some design work now, a “one-off deal,” but nowhere near the 15 to 20 cars a year like his dad used to do. He’s actually working on a concept car called the “Euro-Coupe,” which was on his dad’s drawing board when he passed away. “I’m going to build that car as a tribute to my dad,” he says. Boyd Jr. He also hopes one day to establish a “Coddington Registry,” similar to the Shelby Registry, to keep track of all of his father’s exceptional vehicles.

Gil Ayala was another great car builder out of California, a few decades before Boyd Coddington made his mark. Like Boyd Coddington Jr., Lynn Ayala, Gil’s youngest daughter, is here to celebrate her father’s legacy. Brothers Gil and Al Ayala were among the original custom car builders in the United States, along with their biggest rivals, George and Sam Barris. Gil started working on custom cars and hot rods when he was 17, back in the late 1940s. The Ayala brothers are both members of the Hot Rod Hall of Fame, their creations were often featured on the covers of top automotive magazines and Gil won the Grand National Roadster Show in 1951.

Although none of the Ayala creations are on the Scottsdale docket this year, Lynn made the trip to Barrett-Jackson this week to gather information and interviews as part of a docu-series she is producing about her father and the custom car world. “I was the son my dad never had,” she says. “I loved the race track and loved cars—I still do.” Lynn would go everywhere with her father, including hanging out at his shop. “He was one of a handful of a very few people, at least on the West coast, who began the whole art of customizing cars,” she says. “He started chopping Mercs. My dad would come up with a design; he was super-creative. And then together, he and my uncle would build the car and paint it.”

Lynn Ayala by a 1950 Mercury Custom Coupe at Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale.

Lynn came to Barrett-Jackson to film some cars similar to what her father used to create, and was thrilled to discover some with obvious Ayala influence, like a 1950 Mercury Custom Coupe (Lot #1103), which crossed the Barrett-Jackson block on Friday to the tune of $106,700. Her visit is all part of a quest to find her dad’s cars and have current builders restore them. “Every car has a story,” she says. “I’ve located a few of them, but there’s mystery around a couple.”

As the wonderful spectacle unfolds at Barrett-Jackson and these great cars continue to cross the block, you’ve got to wonder how great designers like Boyd Coddington and Gil Ayala would feel, seeing their creations auctioned off and going to new homes. Lynn laughs when asked what her father would think of the cars here at Barrett-Jackson this week. “I would probably have to go looking for him, because he’d be underneath a car looking at stuff,” she says. “But I think he would have a great time. He would love it, and he would love that I am doing this.”

“My dad would be extremely pleased,” says Boyd Jr. “He’s watching, you know. I think he’d be sad that Ron is giving up the collection, as he obviously had more Boyd cars than anybody out there and I know they were good friends. But he’d be really pleased at how they are doing. Anybody who owns a Boyd-built car, they’re part of the Coddington family now.”