the aluma truck and tub were eddie wimble designs
and a lot of the early stuff was thom tayler and chip ,,
all working for the man ,,, rip boyed
Well, Ed......
I designed the Aluma Truck, which was based on my earlier idea of constructing a fairly stock bodied rod built entirely from aluminum wherever possible, Body, Frame, Suspension, Axles, Wheels, Engine, Trans' & interior. There's actually a bigger story behind this idea.
The Aluma Tub was based on the same concept as the truck but using a two door '29 phaeton body style, I didn't actually design the tub, as far as I'm aware it was more a case of design by commitee for the TV series.
I initially rendered the Aluma Truck body with the stock '29 rear quarters and back panels, a couple inches out the roof, and a bobbed Model A bed. However, there were problems in keeping the body back panels flat so we opted for the curved form of the 1930 body back panel and the service car smooth side bed instead. I actually prefer it as it is now. I did the original Magneeto wheels specifically for this truck then they were put into production.
Going backwards, I designed for Boyd:
The "banana" uprights for the later Boyd front ends using the streamline A arms, and further wheel designs, 2000/2001
Various ideas based on my hidden suspension, wedge, modified track roadster concept, and other vehicles - roadsters and coupes mainly, along the same theme. Boyd wanted to build the wedge modified for years, but never did.
Also, some ideas for T, A, & B highboy sedans & sedan delivery's and, 400-A, B-400 & C-400 convertible sedans, all based on the aluminium monocoque chassis tub concept. but I kept all these and the wedge ideas to myself in the end.
The Aluma Truck, around 1999/2000
An updated version of the Speed Racer comic book vehicle for an intended Future TV programme which never happened, approx 1999
The Led Zephyr, loosely based on a '39 Lincoln fastback sedan (whoever came up with that moniker needs throttling), 1998
A number of design studies for Honda 4WD & people carriers. 1998
I did almost the entire wheel range for Boyd when he started up again in 1998. That's the elliptical big window style which every other wheel maker now has versions of....I wanted to bring back real "hot rod" wheels with big windows and fluid form to the centres - tough looking wheels with lots of eye appeal, like big window Halibrand Sprints & Speedways, or ET IIIs. Until then billet wheels had evolved into, more or less, flat centres with small odd shape windows and the design element concentrated into ball milled stepped designs in the spokes - the spokes had become the design focus of the wheel rather than the windows. I hated that as they were all immediately forgetable.
The second Cutaway painting of the Musselman '34 roadster AMBR winner, 1995
A painting of the Mitsubishi Coupe, 1994
The three-spoke wheels for the Boydster 1 '32 roadster AMBR winner, (subsequently modified by Lil' John Buttera with reversed & ball milled spokes), 1990s sometime?
The first cutaway painting of the Musselman '34 roadster AMBR winner, 1983
The Boydsters:
The actual "concept" for these originally came from me back in 1982/83, not from Chip.
The original vehicle concept I had in mind, which was developed from a combination of ideas I had for a '29 roadster, and a '29 modified in 1978, was for an all aluminium monocoque roadster with a '33/4 style grille, using hidden suspension at the front, Porsche 928 A transaxle at the rear, streamline /airfoil shape control arms, full bellypan, and (to clean up the outside body lines), combining the grille, hood and cowl panels into one piece items in order to lose all those ugly vertical cut lines at the front of the car.
This was, in fact, a completely new concept at the time and was initially the design for a new car intended for Jamie Musselman (the 1980 AMBR winner).
Boyd didn't use any of the ideas from this concept for a number of years (Musselman found a B-400 convertible sedan instead, which he just had to have), until they built the Larry Erikson designed Mitsubishi Coupe, then the "Roadstar" '37 style roadster, based on my original ideas. Unfortunately for the Roadstar, they never grasped how the front suspension idea worked and used an airfoil shape swing arm layout instead (very bad idea). The idea of getting rid of the grille/hood/cowl vertical cut lines at the front of the body, however, spawned a whole new style which later evolved into the Boydsters, then into those awful jelly mould (or is it, jelly bean ?), cars- a bridge too far in my opinion, and completely missing the point of my original concept.
I've actually been designing for Boyd on & off from the early days, since around 1980 or 81 - almost as long as Thom Taylor as it goes, and for more years than Chip Foose. Boyd often asked me for input on other people's designs, i.e. try to improve them, and I know he gave my ideas to others for their input, but I wouldn't go along with that.
As for the TV show: Keep in mind it was just that - a TV show, with a preconceived narrative for each episode which relied heavily on ongoing arguments, dramas, time schedules and cockups to keep it controversial. No doubt this was all based on enhanced versions of real events but, lets face it, no hot rod shop could survive too long if this were real. I dare say the TV show became the priority over the hot rod shop at the end, as it probably had to.
I last saw Boyd in October 2007 and he was looking pretty poorly then, didn't expect it to be the last time though - he was a pretty tough old bird.
Apart from Boyd, Boyd Jr, Jo, Greg and Dianne, I knew Duane, Mike, Roy & Charlie plus the guys in the wheel shop, and actually they were or still are all ok guys with their own odd nuances and character - just like the rest of us. As far as Boyd & Duane being "knobs", as mentioned in earlier posts here, well......I guess every one of us is a knob in our own way - right? But we're not all on TV to be scrutinized, are we?
Undoubtedly, fame got to some more than others and egos must have been distorted & distended because of it. I could always have a great laugh with Duane anytime as he was always up to mischief. Mike is sharp as a tack with autocad and CNC machining, same with Roy and the metalshaping.
msl:
