Andy Brizio, Northern California’s Hot Rodding King, Dead at 91

On Tuesday, August 1, 91-year-old Andy Brizio, the undisputed king of Northern California hot rodding, passed suddenly.

His reason for death has not been made known to the public. As word of Andy’s passing spreads, his loved ones are in mourning, profoundly shocked, and inconsolable grief.

Hot Rod legend Andy Brizio, most folks probably won’t recognize the name, but he was known as the Rod Father on the West Coast, especially in the Bay Area. His list of accomplishments is long. Everyone pays tributes and sends condolences to him.

Tributes:

“GOD SPEED ROD FATHER
We have lost a true icon-ANDY BRIZO.
This man did so much for our hobby, from his Champion speed shop to Andy’s Instant Ts and huge T-shirt business……
Respect to Roy and his family & friends.”
“I just found out that my friend Andy Brizio has passed . Some of the highlights of my life where the thousands of miles we spent together driving our 32 Ford roadsters around the country. Rest In Peace Buddy.”

About Andy Brizio:

Andy’s passion for family, friends, and fast cars made him a magnetic figure in the hot rod world. He was strictly opposed to putting a hot rod on a trailer.

He regularly drove his myriad prewar roadsters across America. Just months after he won America’s Most Beautiful Roadster in 1970 with a ’23 Ford T roadster, he and his friend Cub Barnett made a famous tour to the first Street Rod Nationals in Peoria, Illinois.

He later developed a business centred around T buckets, creating “Andy’s Instant T.” In the 1980s, he founded Andy’s Tee Shirts, enjoying a successful run until retirement.

Goodguys founders Gary and Marilyn Meadors enjoyed a decades-long friendship with Andy and his wife Sue, which included an alliance in merchandising during the formative years of the Goodguys Rod & Custom Association.

With his Italian heritage and towering influence over hot rod culture, Brizio was aptly and affectionately known as “The Rodfather.”