James Coy, head of Sales & Marketing of Coy’s Wheels

There are a lot of great car movies, but one that continually tops people’s lists is the Fast and the Furious. This car movie is a fun adventure and covers a lot of different genres – it’s a love story, there is an element of danger and, oh yeah, there are cars. Duh! If you happen to be enjoying that movie and start drooling over some of the wheels you see, you might just pay a visit to Coy’s Wheels at the next Pomona Swap Meet because that’s where the people who did the movie got theirs and you can get yours there, too.

While a lot of our friendly vendors at the Swap Meet are from right here in Southern California, the folks at Coy’s make the trip all the way from Orem, Utah. That’s one heck of a journey, but their love for interaction with folks at the Swap Meet makes the drive well worthwhile. One of the reasons the Coy family likes the show, is that they can get feedback from you, yes you. It used to be that the family would carry wheels from a variety of manufacturers, but customers kept asking for five-spoke style wheels for their cars and they just didn’t have them. Fact is, nobody did. So after some careful consideration, the family decided to go into the wheel making business, but then any business has the restraints of what to carry. Should they make wheels that fit Mustangs, Camaros, and what about those Mopar guys? So they created a single-piece chrome wheel with a thick pad on the back. When you asked for a set of five-spoke wheels for your 1978 AMC Pacer, it was only a simple machining process and the wheels were yours. It also means that when you ask for a wheel for your unusual or your mainstream ride, you can get that wheel lickety split. There is no longer a need for Coy’s to go all the way back to the manufacturing plant and set-up a die to produce the wheel – it’s already on the shelf. A machinist simply finishes the wheels to your vehicle’s specifications and – ‘bam’ – your ride is looking even sweeter! “I took people’s opinions for 10 years before doing that wheel,” said David Coy. But that decade of market research paid off and, apparently, that final machining process is now pretty common in the industry.

Wheels have been the family trade for a very long time. The patriarch, Randy, started salvaging wheels from the junk yard when he was just 14. He’d then fix, true, paint and resell them. You could say that he gave those wheels a chance to go ‘round again. Nowadays, the family wheel business is quite different, as is the family, with seven brothers and four sisters. Yep – that’s 11 children and every one of the family members have been to the Pomona Swap Meet to work in the family business. Three of the brothers and several brother-in-laws have stuck with the family business, too.

Presently, Coy’s Wheels has four different main styles of wheels that they manufacture and they also supply wheels from other manufacturers. You know the wheels you make are popular when folks like the Green Hornet call you for a set for the Black Beauty, right? Coy’s wheels were featured on this car in the most recent Green Hornet movie.

“We like Pomona – we’ve been doing it for a long time,” said David. Right now, one of the things they appreciate are all the visitors they get to meet from places like Australia and New Zealand. Surprisingly, about 70% of the people who shop at Coy’s Wheels, at the Swap Meet, are from overseas. The word gets out about Pomona from all over the world. “We try to find new ways to give people different opportunities to dress up their cars,” said David. Hey, that sounds like a ‘wheel’ nice way to run a family business!

David Coy of Coy's Wheels

David Coy of Coy’s Wheels

You can find Coy’s wheels on the Internet at www.coyswheel.com or just give them a buzz at (801) 356-2929. They can have a set of wheels waiting for you on Road B, Spaces 36-45.

This article was written by Tony Barthel from the Curbside Auto Column and Car Show Calendar. For auto articles, news and an on-line calendar of automotive events, please visit www.curbside.tv.