Greg Wapling

The Third and Final Piece of the "Aluminum Tri-Power" is in Place
From the February, 2009 issue of Street Rodder

Just about any builder will tell you it's extremely difficult to bring an idea to fruition that will withstand the test of time. This is especially true when comparing present to past efforts. In this respect, Boyd Coddington is no different than any other builder. It's the old adage about the sequel never living up to its expectations. And that brings us to Boyd's latest work: the Aluma-Tub, which has both the Aluma-Coupe and the Aluma-Truck in its rearview mirror.

The "aluminum tri-power" that Boyd and his crew began work on in the early '90s "broke" new ground in automotive design. First, there was the Aluma-Coupe, followed 10 years later by the Aluma-Truck. Now, merely two years after the Aluma-Truck, we have the Aluma-Tub. Since success breeds success, Boyd counted on many of the same team members from the Aluma-Truck to work on the Aluma-Tub. Under roof at Boyd Coddington's Garage (BCG) were the likes of Mike Curtis, Dwayne Mayer, Chad Geary, Charlie Hutton, Thomas Lodby, and Roy Schmidt, along with many others-- all of whom did their "thing" to bring an idea on paper to ignition in just 16 weeks.

This "family" affair also required the efforts of others outside the La Habra, California-based shop. Outside, yes, but still part of the BCG extended family are Marcel's Custom Metal and Gabe's Street Rod & Custom Interiors. Aluminum magicians Marcel De Ley and his sons Marc and Luc have worked on a number of past Boyd projects, but this one brought with it "special" pressure. The De Ley family built this one-of-a-kind Aluma-Tub based loosely on a '29 Ford Model A two-door highboy phaeton out of raw aluminum sheets in just 21 days to comply with the script demands of a cable-television program. Now that's metalworking. (Boyd recently celebrated 25 years as an award-winning builder and at the function presented Marcel with an impressive Lifetime Achievement award for his efforts on behalf of Boyd and his cars.) Another family affair: Gabe Lopez and Gabe, Jr., along with the rest of their staff, at Gabe's Street Rod & Custom Interiors of Bloomington, California. This team's been involved with the Aluma-Truck, the Aluma-Tub, and a number of other Boyd projects. Another key individual to the Aluma-Tub's success was Eric Brockmeyer who, along with Boyd, helped to design and then draw the artwork that was used to bring the tub to fruition.

The Aluma-Tub rests on a custom frame made from 3/16 wall, 5052 aluminum rectangular tubing stretched to a 106-inch wheelbase (3 inches over a stock Model A). The front suspension is based on an old-time look but with modern characteristics. The Pete & Jake's Hot Rod Parts new oval-hole drilled-aluminum I-beam serves as the foundation in front and is held in position with billet bat wings and stylized-wishbones. From here the torsion bar system is coupled to a Borgeson-Mullins Vega aluminum box, The Deuce Factory stainless steel spindles, and a BCG 10 3/4-inch rotor disc brake package. Even the calipers are aluminum pressed into service via a BCG pedal assembly and a Corvette master cylinder sans proportioning valve.

At the corners you will find a Coddington five-spoke wheel design that's significantly modern in its appearance. The fronts are spindle mount 15x6-inch (1 1/2-inch backspacing), the rear knock-offs measure 17x8-inch (2 3/4-inch backspacing), and everything's wrapped with Goodyear RS-A radials. The fronts are 195R55/15, while the rears are 255R55/17.

The rear suspension is visually stimulating with its Winters aluminum quick-change centersection (3.73 ring-and-pinion). From here the BCG billet axle housings are suspended by a combination of billet triangulated four-link and Carrera coilover shocks with 150-pound springs. The BCG brake package is similar to the front, again, based on the 10 3/4-inch rotors with aluminum hubs and calipers.

The venerable and potent 350-inch all-aluminum Chevy small-block is decked out with Barry Grant's Triple D Induction Six Shooter manifold and then topped with three Demon Six Shooter two-barrel carburetors. (See SRM June '04.) All this is sandwiched between a pair of aluminum heads topped with BCG billet valve covers and air cleaner. Igniting the fuel is a Mallory ignition, while the burned gases exit through a pair of BCG headers and pipes to a pair of Magnaflow mufflers. Cooling is handled by a PRC aluminum radiator resting within the aluminum Model A grille shell. It's equipped with a SPAL electric fan, and a Meziere remote water pump moves the coolant.

Shifting all the power from the engine to the rearend is the work of a TH350 operated by the latest Mooneyes electronic shifter via an aluminum driveshaft from Powertrain Industries.

The interior is both aluminum and aluminum appearing. There's a great deal of real aluminum used in the dash, insert, and panels, and the seating was stitched by Gabe over a bench seat in silver Naugahyde (like the Aluma-Truck) to yield a metal appearance yet be more ergonomically pleasing to one's backside. Other interior appointments include Classic Instruments, and a Borgeson-Mullins roadster-style steering column topped with a Pete & Jake's silver Naugahyde-wrapped four-spoke wheel. The Mooneyes electronic shifter is mounted on top of the tranny hump while the pedals come from BCG.

Well, there you have it, the third in the Coddington trilogy of aluminum street rods. That's what you call making the most out of this non-magnetic street rod.