the picture of tex as a young man putting a flathead in a roadster under a tree just about says it all for me. vaya con dios, tex.
I met TEX many times over the years , he always had the time to talk hot rods and share a few laughs. One of the greats in the hot rodding community! He will be greatly missed !
Tex made those crazy Hot Rods seem like a real possibility...not an unobtainable dream. Rest in Peace Tex. You showed us how to make it fun.
I happened across this page while searching to see if Tex's obituary was online yet. As his granddaughter, I thank each one of you for your kind words and support. It means the world during this time. His passing wasn't unexpected, but it's still difficult. I'm beyond lucky to have had such an incredible and loving grandfather, who also happened to instill the love of hot rodding in more than one of his grandchildren. He LOVED the hot rodding world and always had a plethora of stories to tell us. Once again, thank you!!
I though it was a bad day because I picked up the roadster from the upholsterer today and got caught on the freeway getting the tail end of a flash flood storm that shut down the road 20 miles west. Then I got home and saw this thread. It's almost 12 hours later and I still am at a loss for the proper words. Tex was everybody's buddy for sure. But he took me in as a fried many years ago and I was (and still am) amazed that he found a friend in me. I first met him and Pegge in 1969 in Peoria. Since that time we have visited in person, by phone or email countless times. We had a somber exchange of emails last month as we discussed the inevitable that we both knew was coming. Other than Pete Petersen, He has done as much for hotrodding in general as anyone ever. Only a small hand full could match min and all the others, no matter how good trail far behind. Many of the top people we know today owe their ink stained careers to Tex and his ghost writing help as they grew. My whole family loved him and were shocked to hear about his passing. Tex was a larger than live hero to me and heros never die, right? One time he snuck up and took a shot of me getting in my old roadster and used it as a lead photo in an article he wrote for Rod Action entitled T's are back! That was okay except for the caption that read, "even though the driver is "Bubba" sized........." It took me years to live that one down. I always called him the "sex symbol of eastern Idaho after calling him one day while he was still publishing HRMx. Seems he and Ron Ceridono were arguing about Tex consuming large quantities of ice cream. He kept eating ice cream and talking to me while Ron hollered in the back ground that if he kept eating ice cream at the rate he was he would lose the title of "Sex symbol of eastern Idaho"! After that I always asked for the SSEA when I called. It kind of made up for "bubba". I was honored and humbled by this great man. I will miss him deeply, but I know he and Pegge are together again and he, Tom, and Joe are once again hunting for the perfect fishing hole in heaven. Thank you my friend for all you did for me and all of us. There is a terrible hole in my life right now, but also priceless memories that I will treasure until I join you on the other side. God speed
Shantell, they are simply great photos of Tex and a great photo of you with Tex. Thank you for posting them.
"I may clean out and get rid of my old Street Rodder and Rod and Custom mags but I will never give up my collection of Hot Rod Mechanix." Same for me.
Thank you Shantell for sharing the photos of you and Tex,Your grandfather made a huge impression on me,please except my condolences to you and the family. HRP
.............................I echo these sentiments as do countless others. God speed Mr. Smith. You will be missed by many.
Oh man, I just saw this thread. Tex inspired dreams in so many of us. Although I only knew him through his writing, he is part of my own personal history. It feels like I just lost another little piece of myself. Sincerest condolences to family and friends. Rest in peace, Mr. Smith and thank you for all that you gave us.
Always loved his work and his low budget attitude and style of building. I supported him as a fan by subscribing to his terrific magazine Hot Rod Mechanix. He was a realist and through his builds and writings sold many of us on the fact that Hot Rods could be built with hard work and not just a fat wallet. Never had the pleasure of meeting him but felt I knew him from reading/living so much of his material. Big loss to our community, but his work and contributions will live on. Lets not forget Tex' "Vintage Tin" series in R&C. Tex would venture out to old towns and seldom driven highways from the past in search of abandoned old cars just ripe for the picking. He would post photos encouraging readers to search off the beaten path and even in residential neighborhoods for project cars. Soon, readers were contributing with photos of their own finds. I recall one particular story of a find of dozens of old cars abandoned down in a valley meadow. Apparently, for decades, when townsfolk needed to get rid of an old car, they would drive or tow it to the outskirts of town and let it roll down this hill into a meadow to the car's new above ground grave. Amazing sites of the "gold rush" days of tin hunting. Here's a follow up story to Tex' lost tin mine story; http://www.hotrod.com/news/1403-the-end-1951-studebaker/
I met TEX at bonneville years ago when Vern Tardel introduced me ... We sat outside the stateline on the grass and I listend to many great stories till the early morning.. In person and his writing , he seemed like a great cheerleader for the average guy, saying YES you can do it , it's just a car ... His articles and books were very informitave , and written by one of the few who could not only write about it... But also DO it aswell His books and articles gave me confidence to actually dig in and DO stuff... Vaya con dios TEX
I think I read all his books...they probably gave me my first bit of knowledge about building hot rods...thanks Tex
There was a time when HRM was worth reading, because of guys like Tex Smith who could both write and build hot rods.....So many former HRM greats (Tom Medley, Wally Parks, etc.) are now gone, but they certainly left memories.
Tex and my father were about the same age and they became good friends. Tex would come over from Idaho to the Portland swapmeet and we would share a booth together with him and Ron Cerridono. It was always good to see him and I loved Hotrod Mechanix. It actually showed you how to build stuff that was doable without a bunch of expensive tools. My kind of hotrodding. He loved my dads roadster and even put it on the cover once with me standing over it with my Fremont dragstrip jacket. He wanted me to put it on. Kinda warm for it but I obliged. When that issue came out it made my day. He was the real deal. The last time he was at Bonneville I got to say hello. Rest in Peace dear sir. You made a difference. Hotrods Forever!
Yer Pop, TERRY, was the BEST, But I lived quite a ways from him, and wasn't related. Only saw the good side, Now they can play !!!!!
I think I owned every book he put out at one time or another. Sad to here of his passing. Prayers sent for his family.
wow another icon gone , I always enjoyed Tex s writing and car build information , he had tons of talent to make cars out of low buck material s , god speed
A sad loss. I had the pleasure of meeting Tex a number of times during his visits to SA for the Lake Gairdner speed week over the years here in Australia. They were always enjoyable meetings. I also enjoyed his articles in Rod Action back in the 70's and the sister publication of the time Old Car Illustrated. Tex was the Senior Editor of this magazine when it first kicked off in 1975. That was a great read. Even though it was devoted to largely restored old cars it had a strong emphasis on old race cars from the 20's through to the 50's. That was simply a great publication. Have collected everyone ever published. He leaves a great legacy.
I am so sorry to hear this news....Don't know how I missed it until now. It is a very sad loss to all of hot rodding world wide. His writing are timeless...RIP TEX
Thanks for saying that. He did have his "moments" though. But then again so do I. Seems like a lot of the old timers are dropping off too soon. Life is fleeting.
Very sorry for his family to hear about Tex. His commitment to promoting this hobby and encouraging people in doing things themselves was an encouragement to me along with the thousands of others that he influenced. His legacy in print is mostly timeless and will be used by future rodders for a long time to come. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Me and my wife had the privilege of meeting Tex at the first ever Geelong Nationals many years ago now. RIP.