Coddington got his first car (a 1931 Chevrolet truck) at the age of 13 while living in Rupert, Idaho. He attended machinist trade school at Idaho State University and completed a three year machining apprenticeship. He move to California in 1966, building hot rods by day and working as a machinist by night. He became known for building unique hot rods and in 1977 he opened his own shop in Cypress, California, which he called Hot Rods by Boyd. Vern Luce was his first customer and his car (a '33 coupe) won the Al Slonaker Award at the Oakland Roadshow of 1981. In 1988, Coddington founded Boyds Wheels Inc which he used to manufacture and market custom automobile alloy wheels made from billet aluminum. Coddington (along with his then chief designer Chip Foose) was inducted into the Hot Rod Hall of Fame in 1997. In 1998, as a result of bankruptcy Coddington had to re-organize Boyds Wheels. Coddington pleaded guilty of perpetrating a "Ship of Theseus" fraud on April 7, 2005. In order to avoid emissions and tax liabilities, Coddington had registered completely custom-fabricated, hand-built cars as antique automobiles.

Coddington has 70 employees and a 50,000 square feet (5,000 m²) garage located in La Habra, California.