G-Unit’s Hot Rod learns fast facts about his moniker from lead sled guru Boyd Coddington.

Story Davey G. Johnson /// Photography Zach Cordner

Brace yaself for a little Hot Rod history—in two parts. Let’s start with the four-wheeled version. Simply, a hot rod is a custom car, but most associate the term with its origins in the ’50s, when gearheads looking for a lot more speed started shoehorning flathead V8s into ’30s and ’40s lowered Fords and Chevys. Today, the hot-rod scene is back like Hova, with hundreds of builders finally getting their shine—such as the ultra prolific Boyd Coddington. But before we take that step, let’s talk about the history of the two-legged Hot Rod; Rodney Toole, a Sactown-born rapper who last called Arizona home, went by the name Young Rod…at least until 50 Cent discovered him. “When I started off with G-Unit and we were gonna name the album Fastlane, we actually switched my name to Hot Rod,” says G-Unit’s newest prodigy. “With our cars, we do what we want. It just kinda goes with the whole thing; fast cars, fast life.”

While Hot Rod got his start on the streets of Sacto and Phoenix, 59-year-old Boyd started out as a backyard builder, machining bits and pieces on an old-school milling machine. The first ride that brought him national attention was Vern Luce’s ’33 fenderless Ford in 1979 (six years before Hot Rod was born). It became one of the key vehicles of the era—
dictating what would become de rigueur in hot-rod styling in the 1980s. He’s now the sometimes temperamental, but always genius star of Discovery Channel’s American Hot Rod series.
We at RIDES thought Hot Rod should learn a little about his namesake, so we sent the young rapper to Boyd Coddington’s Hot Rod Shop for a day of grueling work and some rap time with the legendary builder.

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