Monte Smith passed away

Can someone verify this? Someone just told me Monte passed away today.....

yes.. heart attack.. godspeed Monte

Oh no, thats terrible news RIP Monte

MAJOR bummer if that's the case. Although opinionated, very smart guy and a real asset to this web sight.

No Waaaay, So Sorry to hear. My Respects Monte..

Sorry to hear this.

I enjoyed reading his posts. If true RIP. Birdtracker

Godspeed

that is terrible .
thoughts to his family

Tex

Very sad to hear!

Gods speed Monte, RIP.

Godspeed Monte, you will be greatly missed.

Terrible news, RIP

sorry to hear this, rest in peace Monte

Not good. What a huge and tragic loss to everybody... Racing world is a much lesser place..

I really hate hearing this. Condolences to his family. Damn this sucks!

Wow, so sorry to hear this news. RIP Monte, god speed.

Wow thats terrible, RIP Monte

WTFF! So sad. So many of the great guys gone

Man, has this been verified yet? This sucks if true, Monte is a good dude!

RIP

Horrible news. I always felt he gave solid advice. He will be missed. RIP

Very sad. God Speed.

RIP to the Legend, Monty Smith!

Holy crap, RIP Mr. Smith...

Just saw this on FaceBook. RIP Monte.

Damn he wasn't old enough for that.

Absolutely horrible.

Terrible news RIP.

So sorry to hear this. He was a great guy and always willing to share his wealth of knowledge. He will be missed for sure.

God Speed Monty

Prayers to your family and friends.
Moparts lost a great contributor along with the racing family

Very sorry to read this. Godspeed sir.

Great wealth of knowledge lost....godspeed Monte...

I agree, I've always enjoyed learning from him here on Moparts, what a truly great guy, he would try to help anyone. He will be greatly missed.

I always enjoyed reading his post one smart guy will be missed for sure RIP

Just got on facebook, been tagged in his post, RIP buddy, you will be missed

RIP

Stunned. STUNNED.
R.I.P. Monte.
Geez.
Way too soon.

Wow what a shock. Really sad, lost his mom, his dad , and now this ? Wow just terrible to hear. He was an only child.

What a shame. I just met Monte in October at SGMP. stunned

What??? I've had the chance to talk with Monte many times. I'm in shock...

What a shame, he was a fount of knowledge and willing to share it. A big loss- RIP

WHAT!

R.I.P. Monte, you will be missed by many.

That is horrible news. Monte was such a great guy, always willing to help both in the internet and in person. My condolences to his family.

Sad news. RIP Monte.

Wow. this is sad. I met him at one of his Nitrous classes in NJ. RIP Monte

Rip Monte, you will be missed.

What a shock! RIP Monte!

Shocked to read this. My prayers go out to his family.
Matt

Saw this on FB and am blown away.............so sorry.............

Hoping it's all blue flames and win lights Monte!

Rod

Is his face book site still up? I tried to find it but can't.

I'm getting old enough to where this stuff scares the [censored] out of me. He died way too young.

RIP Monte!

Wow. I tried to learn something from his posts. That just sucks.

Very sorry to hear this.

RIP Monte

May his chute land him safely at the pearly gates.

Prayers for his family. What a shock. I loved our discussions even with differing points of view he always gave solid advise. I'm going to miss him.
Doug

This is tragic news!

I had the pleasure of meeting him at PRI in 2015. I am just a nobody and he chatted with me and my buddy Rick about going EFI on my new build. His knowledge and logic convinced me to go with Holley.

Will be missed truly a great guy.

RIP

I met Monte years ago racing in King of the Street. He has done all of my nitrous work for me and always answered my phone calls. His knowledge will be greatly missed by the racing community. Rest In Peace Monte.

Stunned like many. Can't appreciate his contributions enough! Not many like him that are so open to share their knowledge and experience good or bad especially on the internet. Sad day

RIP Monte

What a shock, RIP Monte,

Dang: I was hoping it was a false internet report. I always thought he gave straight up advice. RIP.

Sheldon

Very disturbing,Prayers to all he left behind.RIP sir.

Not good.

Thoughts from OZ to the family.

got real quiet in here all of a sudden..... Godspeed Monte. Always loved hearing of his adventures, his insight to the street outlaws, and his posts in general. man what a loss today....

I am sorry to see this. Rest in peace Monty. Your racing insite will be missed here.

Heck of a nice guy! RIP.

Wow! we lost another good one, always would try and help, some just didn't want to hear it. Gods speed!

Quite the shock, sorry to hear this

Damn... RIP Monte

Wow, sad news.

He seemed like a great guy and a wealth of knowledge.

RIP.

taken from the "where are you in your automotive journey post" late last year....

Monte Smith

I was born in 63 and my dad was a racer and hot rodder then. Not as much a serious racer and just enjoyed fast cars and going to the track to see who had the fastest car among his friends. In 65 he bought a new tri-power GTO, brought it home, changed the cam, gears, clutch and ported the heads. To hear him and others tell the story the car was about unbeatable. In the late 60s the Mopar bug bit him and he ordered a new 440-6 Challenger. He bought the car with intentions to race NHRA Super Stock and that's what we did. So by this time I was 7 and we were on the NHRA tour to some extent. His best friend in high school was Clayton Harris who was a very successful top fuel racer by then. So we basically traveled with Clayton. I grew up in the pits of NHRA tracks with John Muldowney, Kurt Johnson, Billy Glidden and others. The Challenger was soon a serious contender and even a national record holder a couple times. Likely mid 70s we quit going to as many NHRA events as the cost was getting large and he raced more locally. Local tracks still had "class" racing at that time. You could run your class and 3 above. So for years we traveled in a few hundred mile radius on Friday, Saturday and Sunday to various tracks and ran SS/D,E,F and G. He usually won all 4 classes for the 3 day excursions unless we ran across a strong D car. Of course these were outlaw tracks, short on rules and high on Modified elim type motors running in SS. We still won. Few local modified engines were much of a match for serious effort REAL SS car. As counts dwindled in our classes, he was forced to try and run in some modified and gas classes with the SS car. So about this time most of the local tracks switched to brackets and he essentially parked the car. He was NOT interested in brackets and is likely where I get some of my disdain for it. Said he would rather quit as go too fast and lose. So quit is what he did. Now we ALWAYS had "cool" cars sitting around. I can remember at one time the family fleet consisted of the Challenger race car, 66 Hemi Coronet, 70 Super Bee, 70 shaker hood Cuda, chopped 51 merc, two 66 GTOs, a 74 SD Trans Am(moms car) among others. I took my drivers test in a 66 GTO ragtop with a 455, tri power, super T-10 and a 12 bolt with 4.56 gears. During these young years, if we weren't racing, I was. Raced go karts, bicycles, raced moto cross a few years. Anything that was fast and involved racing it, I was IN.

At 15 I had bought my first car with my own money. A two owner 63 Dodge Maxie car that had a 383 in place of the Max motor since 65. It had been neglected for years and I got it cheap but KNEW what it was when I spotted it. The plan was to put one of my dads SS motors in it that he was prepping for modified elim when he quit. It wasn't ready when I was 16, so the GTO was my "ride". The motor was a punched out and stroked SS motor with alum rods, ported iron heads and a tunnel ram. Trans and converter from the Challenger. By the time I was 18 in 1981 the car was running high 9s and I drove it to school my senior year. It was virtually unbeatable on the street as it was a mile ahead of what others had around here at the time on the street. It was a ladder bar car with 30x12 slicks. For graduation, my parents bought me a 69 Roadrunner convertible. Needed a little work but was now my "driver" with a warmed over 383. It was then I started bracket racing the 63 and won two track championships at Green Valley Dragway.

My girlfriend at the time and future first wife, had a 76 Trans Am. I had the 63, the RR and the GTO had been given to me. We traded her Trans Am for a 69 GTX with a 440-6 and a 4 speed we found on a used car lot with a worn out motor. While she drove my RR, me and dad rebuilt the 440, put an auto in the car and sweetened the car up some for her to drive. When we got married, we traded the GTO for a Lil Red truck and started restoring the GTX. The resto went from that to show car and the GTX ended up being an ISCA division champion for two years on the show circuit and also won "Most Popular Car" one year at the Mopar Nats. A few years later, we divorced and I let her have the new turbo Conquest we had and I kept the GTX and the Lil Red Truck. That show car GTX would evolve into my RACE car GTX that I would get into 10" tire racing with. By now I was married again and in 96 I was Hot Rod Magazine Super Street World Champion in the GTX and finished top 5 in points up until 2000, when I tore it down for a total redo and the car hasn't run since. They totally changed the 10.5 rules in the midst of my changes and I was left holding about 30k of motor parts I could no longer use for that type racing. New baby and life meant that was more than I could overcome at the time and as that type racing NEVER gets cheaper, I just wasn't able to make it up quick enough. I did take a stint during that time driving an alky funny car part time for a couple years on the IHRA circuit and also driving a blown alky pro-mod for a guy in Florida. The two year deal with the Texas Big Bird was also in that time.

A little later the job offer from Holley was presented and I also started Monte Smith Performance. Concentrated all my efforts on business and tuning other peoples cars and before you know, it's been 16 years since you raced your own car. During that time, I also built a new house, had quadruple bypass heart surgery and built a pretty good business. At 52, the racing bug is not AS strong as it once was, but it's there. When younger, I would sacrifice any and everything to race. Not so much now. I have toys........boats, Harleys, jeeps, several cars I could sell and finish the GTX, but at this point in life it's just not AS important to race as it is to enjoy things. So while I DO intend to get the GTX back out here pretty soon, it will NOT be at the expense of other things I like to do. It's ready when it's ready.

So while it appears from this thread that many picked up cars later in life.........seems I was born into cars and racing..........LOL!!! Wouldn't do it any different........except maybe turning down a full time ride in an alky car. Likely wouldn't let that one pass again........LOL!!!


Edited by Monte_Smith (12/11/16 08:38 PM)

Damn we are the same age. That's way too young.

Shocked! RIP Monte

What an amazing guy..... his knowledge and input on this site will be truely missed.

^
This...

What a tremendous loss to the hobby. I always enjoyed hearing his input and stories.There was alot to be learned if you were willing to listen. He was an asset to the board and will be missed by many, myself included. Rest in peace Monte. Prayers to the family.

RIP Monty

RIP Monte !!

Real sorry to hear this. Monte did several manifolds for me over the years. I was just chatting with him the other day about some nonsense.
Take care Sir.
Todd

I'm really sorry to hear this, I sent him all my NOS parts three weeks ago to have him flowed them and sell me a tune up for those parts, DANG IT
What to do now
RIP, Mr. Smith

Really saddens me to hear this. I really looked up to that guy and can't believe he's gone

He will definitely be missed. Was always willing to share his knowledge.
R.I.P. Monte.

True,always learned something reading his posts.RIP Monte...

RIP
Always enjoys reading his straight forward posts. No BS, take it or leave it style. He will be missed.

I saw this on Facebook and was praying it was false.

RIP, Monte

I wish this wasn't true.

RIP
Monte Smith

That little bio by Monte is so important to have right now.

Chad Reynolds over at bangshift did a heartfelt write up.

http://bangshift.com/bangshift1320/our-f...peed-my-friend/

Enjoyed Monte's posts and appreciated his no-nonsense style. Sad to hear. RIP.

Big dude upstairs probably needed help with his nitrous setup and why he called up Monte...

Wealth of knowledge I learned from reading all his posts, will surely be missed...

Godspeed Mr. Smith.

this is very sad news to hear that man was a great book of knowledge i had much respect for him sad i never got to meet him R.I.P MAY GOD BLESS U THIS IS A BIG LOSS TO THE MOPAR AND RACINNG WORLD

I feel honored that he had contributed to
Some of my past tech request posts .
Rip Mr Smith
.damn - It sucks getting older.

My condolences, he will be missed.

A wise and talented man.
Rest in peace

Never met Monte, never even talked to him, loved reading his posts and enjoyed how he fought through the "disagreements" here on Moparts, he was obviously an experienced individual with alot of hard earned knowledge, may God comfort your family and may you RIP sir

I'm going to miss him, loved to read his straight forward posts here,
my condolenses to his family and friends

Rest in peace Monte. You will be missed.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Monte's family and friends from all at BGR,we enjoyed talking with Monte at past PRI shows.He was a wealth of knowledge and will be missed.

UNBELIEVABLE

RIP Monte and condolences to the family.

He will be sorely missed around here.

Life is short and can take unexpected turns/twists - make it count.

LAD

Extremely sad news to hear. Although I might not have agreed with everything he said, I highly respected his point of view and tried to take in any info that he passed along. He will be missed. RIP, Monte.

What can I say terrible news so sad God bless him and his family RIP

Been reading and following Monte for years. He was the guy early on that made is Mopar proud when all this KOS started. Never had a chance to meet him but had hoped this would be the year, this weekend at the races in Bradenton this weekend. So sorry to hear this..RIP.

RIP Monte. Thank you for sharing your knowledge & opinions.

Wow! Really sorry to hear this. Way too young.

Sorry to hear, RIP Monte

RIP Monte, certainly will be missed.

Not knowing his exact moment of passing, but taking into account the original posting of this sad news, perhaps we can all take a moment of silence on the board without any posts at 8:58 pm tonight in his memory.
Perhaps if at the conclusion of his families laying him to rest is in the form of ashes, someone with a full blown alky car can full fill his wishes and take him along for a ride.
3 years younger then myself, and I think that I am young.

what a hell of a thing to wake up to ! unbelievable ! i never met, nor talked to monte, but had great respect and admiration for the man. he was not afraid of criticism of his views, but would take the time to explain why he believed as he did in detail. a very admirable trait in today's world ! i learned so much over the years from his posts, and at times, was afraid monte would be driven from this place by "keyboard kowboys". prayers and condolences to his family and friends. you will be greatly missed, and your contribution to this hobby/sport is priceless indeed.........
my hat will forever be off to you sir !

Sad news, always enjoyed his sometimes biting comments on here, always entertaining and informative. Cab and others who have parts at his shop, you need to find out who the executor will be, looks like he only had one teenage daughter, watch for obit in his home town.

RIP! Prayers for family!

I feel sick ... RIP Monte.

I learned some really specialized knowledge from his posts. And at times, he changed my thinking or at least caused me to rethink things or do more investigation. That's about the best tribute I can give to someone who posts here on Moparts. I never met him but if I did, I would give him a good handshake and thank him for taking the time to share his experiences and guide enthusiasts here on this BB.

Sorry to hear this,RIP!

Enjoyed all of his posts and set a lot of people straight - tactfully.
More importantly, we were blessed to have him here, not because of his knowledge, but because of his passion for the sport and wanting to help regardless the issue.
He will be missed.
Prayers to his family.
RIP Monte.

I couldn't believe the news when I logged onto facebook last night. Was just talking to him last week. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family and close friends. While I never got the chance to meet him in person, I was fortunate enough to have many conversations w/ him. I learned a LOT from him and he was always willing to help out. He even offered to loan me a nitrous system for the Pump Gas Drags back in 2008...offered to drive up to the test and tune the night before and tune it for me. That's one thing I wish I hadn't turned down for sure.
He was a great guy and we have definitely lost one of the good ones.
RIP Monte.

Terrible news...

I always enjoyed his posts and his willingness to share what he knew.

I tried to run find him on Drag Week last year but he was never around his truck when I was there. I sure wish I had tried harder.

Someone that knows the family should print out this thread and give it to them after it has run its course.

Prayers and condolences to the family.

Didn't know him personally but through his writing about his dealings he gave us a real window into DW, Street Outlaws, etc that will be truly missed. RIP.

RIP Monte and Countless thank you. My Prayers and condolences to you and your Family.

He was on here 3 days ago .Man had 6900 post on here. Allways remeber him as he guy who told it like it was. You might not of like what he said . But it was the truth ..I as other allways learn something from his post. RIP..

+1

RIP

RIP Monte

So sad to hear this news. Monte truly embodied the sport of drag racing both in his competitive spirit and his willingness to share his time and knowledge with others. RIP Monte.

RIP Monte, and thank you for the tip about the rear main seal. J.Rob

Holy Cow, RIP Monte. I always enjoyed reading your posts...

Moparts, and the racing community in general, is diminished today. Monte not only knew what he was talking about he was willing to share the highest levels of his information. This is a very rare quality in the upper end of the racing world. Damn this sucks. My thoughts are with his family and those who think as highly of him as I do. RIP buddy.

I saw this last night and went to sleep wondering how and why ...I always felt we were lucky on MOPARTS to have a huge inside person on Street Outlaws and he was a MOPAR guy, and to hear the inside scoop. I will miss his informative and honest stories. He did more for the Nitrous community and to see every Competitive Brand of Nitrous manufacturers express their condolences shows how well he did his job ...GODSPEED Monte

I always enjoyed reading his posts and his willingness to share his knowledge and incite. RIP Monte

I never got met monte. but enjoyed reading his post. I learned something every time I did. prayers from my family to his.

I always enjoyed reading his posts, he shared his vast knowledge and gave us an inside glimpse into a world many only dream to be part of. I was always hoping we would get to see the GTX make a comeback, may he rest in peace.

Rip sorry to the family for there lost ..very helpful man to all he meet

Huge loss to the motorsports and mopar communities.

Generally enjoyed reading his posts and learning from him. He will be dearly missed. Thoughts and prayers to his loved ones and those close to him.

Condolences to his family and friends.

RIP

RIP Monte, didn't know him personally but enjoyed his posts and knowledge he had to share with all. Thoughts and prayers to his family.

Never met him, never spoke to him but he had 150% of my respect. He operated at a pretty high level, but would always take the time to offer up his knowledge and experience. If you were looking for that first 7 second time slip, or doing something entry level kit to help.

I Hope he is resting in peace.

The world has lost another good guy way to early for sure. Just talked to him 10 days ago or so. Said he did not feel "right" but we laughed it off as getting older

Thoughts and prayers to his family and loved ones. He will be missed for sure.

Opinionated, but lots of experience and knowledge that he was willing to share with others. A sad loss for Moparts and drag racers.

Very sad to hear this. I never met him but liked his straight forward opinions. Passed way too young, RIP Mopar brother!

Most of us never met his flesh and bones, but we knew very well his words and in that sense, we knew him through the trials, high fives and RPMs.
It is strange how someones written and committed word can bring an aura of closeness and even sometimes paint a picture of what/who they are. His was a Wild flower in the winds of change.

To add to our lexicon, He was a pro and he lit the big .400 bulb to beat us to the other side and now we are in the chase. R.I.P

Guys I turned 56 last Saturday and was at the doctor yesterday scheduling my second colonoscopy, my first was over five years ago. Monte's death is a reminder that we are not permanent fixtures on this earth and for some our time is short.

Take care of your self's, have yearly physicals and blood work done. If something "does not feel right" PLEASE see your doctor. Don't "man up" and tough it out, it could save you life. From where I'm standing the road in front of me is not as long as the one behind me, life is short, make the most of it.

Rip Monte.
I met at dw last year in Martin Michigan
Nice guy

Don

RIP

I had different opinions with him a few times here over the years on issues, we seldom agreed who won.

Would have liked to have met him.

Anybody got a pic of him to post on this thread before it goes to archives?

A wealth of information is lost far before his time. RIP Monte

Godspeed Monte

I am at a loss for words. Unbelievable. RIP Monte Smith. You are missed by many.

RIP Monte.

I'm sure they have a 4 speed something in heaven with a healthy shot of spray for ya!

Wow...was not expecting to see this...one the most knowledgeable guys I have ever met...

Thoughts are with his family

No doubt!
Turned 50 last year, but have had regular Dr. visits since 99 due to diabetes. Monte's passing has really set me to thinking about life.

Very sad news indeed. RIP Monte.

I'll always remember when I got my issue of Pop Rod and saw his GTX on the cover. It was so rare to see a Mopar on the cover, especially a GTX.

Monte was the one guy I wanted to meet at Lights Out and I never caught up to him. I respected his advice and loved the street outlaws gossip. RIP my friend.....

x2...

I'm floored just reading this thread...

I never had contact with Monte but respected all of his knowledge from the posts on this site. RIP!

I'm shocked. What a loss of a very smart guy!

He leaves a big hole here at Moparts. Who's going to be our back door into Holley EFI systems now?

I am saying a prayer for his family.

R.

Life is way to short.
Thoughts are with his family.

WOW! What a shock. I will miss chatting with him, great guy!
RIP Monte!

Monte's posts were always informative. I would read his posts whenever I saw one since I knew I would learn something by reading the post. So sorry to hear of his passing.

Rest in peace Monte.....

He will be missed, he always answered my pm's back in the day when I was doing a ladder bar setup in a 70 runner. Also liked getting the inside scoop on the street outlaw guys.

Saw it earlier today on Fakebook, what a shame and a loss to the Mopar community. RIP.

Yeah, dead sucks. I don't remember if he had much family left anymore. Maybe a daughter with an ex wife? But I can't claim to know him and could be all wrong.

Sad news. I never met him but he seemed to be very well liked and respected by many. RIP

RIP Monte! Wheels up!

RIP Monte prayers to his family and friends

Sad news indeed, RIP Monte!! Thoughts and prayers to his family and friends!!

Thanks for reposting. Ya, I'm only 1 year older. Plenty scary. Quadruple by-pass surgery !! Guess it's true about getting older not being for sissies.

Holy crap. When I saw this thread, I was hoping it was some false rumor with about 50 responses from Monte.
I'm shocked and really saddened.
Monte was a huge asset to the Street Outlaw guys and to us here, and I'm sure just generally. Dammit.

Wow ,I was shocked when I saw the news. I remember reading about him in the old KOS days in the magazines. I have the one posted earlier with him on the cover. I saw him in his GTX at one of my local tracks around 1996. He was running in the new heads up street car class. I think he was running 5.60's. He was low qualifier. He only lived about 60 miles from me but I never met him. RIP Monte...........

Have a great trip to heaven, Monte...we will all sure miss you!

Mark

When ever I saw, read, responded to Monte's posts this pic that that Hemi Joel showed is the image of him I envisioned in my head. Thanks Pittsburg for showing a more recent one.

So sad to hear this. The goods ones never live long enough.

I logged on at work this morning and was shocked at the news. Monte was always "matter of fact" about his posts and I respected his knowledge and opinions about everything even if I didn't see his point
We have lost some great Mopar guys in the last couple years and they will not be replaced with anyone with as much real world knowledge that they are willing to share.
I will miss his posts for sure

Gus

wow.. I can't believe it. He sure was a wealth of knowledge.

RIP monte

Casey

Noooo! What a loss, way too young.

One of the smartest guys in the doorslammer world, without a doubt. Always enjoyed reading what he had to say whether it pertained to what I was doing or not. A genuine critical thinker and no BS.

He will be sorely missed.

Love him or hate him you cannot deny that Monte was a top shelf asset to out sport, his wealth of knowledge and experience was never ending and we can be proud of the fact that he was on our side when we were looking for an answer to a problem and in most all cases we learned something from him. Monte is one of a couple of members that have passed that I had on my bucket list of people that I wanted to meet.we are all going to miss him, god speed.

RIP Monte.

I only hope he knows how many people he has touched. He earned the respect of so many people it would seem incalculable.
Always looked forward to opening Moparts in the early mornings before work started. He must have helped people all day, then came home and tried to help who he could, late, at the end of his day. That will be selfishly missed by me.
I always enjoyed the banter and his confident answers. He was able to change my way of viewing things several times.(just about needed a hammer to get it in to my head) I learned a lot of very valuable info from him- that should have been paid for in one form or another.
One can only hope to have the respect of so many others at the end... Miss you Monte.

Well said Trendz! Thank you!

RIP, Monte

Huge loss for all...

Ed

Blunt-honest, and helpful person. Wish I would have told him Thank You for all he shared.

Just awful. Always enjoyed his matter-of-fact way of participating and sharing his opinions and knowledge, and joining in with discussions that he was a part of. He gave freely of his knowledge and experience, and often made me think and maybe adjust or add to my outlook on the subject at hand. Made it a point to say hello face-to-face at PRI this year and shared a quick conversation about the world in general and Moparts in particular.

RIP, Mr. Smith

I will miss Monte too. He had an opinion always, and I didn't always agree with him but always respected it. He is one of the more informed ones on this site, and I am sorry to hear this.

RIP, always enjoyed his posts and admired his ability to make a living from his passion.

I would like to make a suggestion to Moparts, in honor of Monte, how about a dedicated site where we can access all of Monte's Q's and A's. He contributed much to this site.

R.I.P. Monte Smith..... Thanks for always Giving....
Prayers and thoughts to all of his friends and family...
Big loss to our Sport....

Anyone have the link to the thread where he shared pics of his dad's cars and his cars throughout the years? I think it was after his dad passed.
I already miss Monte, my brother literally has a kit boxed up and addressed ready to go to Monte but decided he'd wait til after LO8 knowing how busy Monte got this time of year. I just can't believe he's gone, what an asset he was to us all here.
I was fortunate enough to have met him and talk with him, he treated me like old friends and was beyond polite. I enjoyed getting advice from him publicly and via pm. What a man he was.

board.moparts.org/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/2133253/since-we-are-posting-old-pics-i-found-some.html#Post2133253

Got it

Wow!

I got to spend a little time with him when he helped me with my car. We were almost the same age and eerily one thing we talked about was health.

I felt quite honored when he remembered me in a Moparts thread about being anal - LOL!

https://board.moparts.org/ubbthreads/ubbt...tml#Post2133253

So sad... Monte was a very good person always supporting and answering a lot of questions. Will be missed... RIP Monte

Thaxs for that link I saved it to my favorites. Monte had that straight forward type of opinion(no sugar coating)sometimes I had a hard time figuring if he was for or against the mopar community. But he seems very knowledgeable about race cars, and the race community. He will be Miss

Very sad news. RIP Monte.

Sad deal, hard to believe. No matter what the topic, if his name was on the thread I opened it.
I thoroughly enjoyed his style.
RIP.

Very sad, same age as me. Never met Monte but read many of his posts and great respect for his knowledge/experience.

Thank you Monte, for your help over the years! May you get a great assignment in the here after, creating performance in all its' forms!
It is so sad for us to here this. We lost a great friend and mentor!

so sad rip monte was a great guy told like it was

RIP Monte, I always looked forward to read what he had to say. thanks for all the knowledge

does anyone have a link to the arrangements ? in specifics, a possibility of an online condolence book from the funeral home ? i'm sure many on here would like to sign in sharing thoughts with the family that may not know how great a loss to our community monte truly is.
rest in peace monte..........

Very sad news. RIP Monte. I always enjoyed reading his replies to everyone's posts. A major loss of knowledge

It's a shame he never had an apprentice or someone to carry on, I remember him talking about it but never did it

Dang, I don't feel much better about this today than I did yesterday morning, what a loss.

Two more observations:

I always wondered, as busy as he was why Monte spent so much time on this board. I have got to think it was because he enjoyed it and that gives me some satisfaction.

A little while ago Monte was off the board for a while "because of some health issues". He told Al he was not feeling quite right. I have no idea what action he took in these areas but as it has been mentioned before listen to your body, find a good doctor and go see him, every few years for you young guys and more often as you get older. Then do what they tell you to do!. I don't know if Monte smoked but I would not be surprised. If you smoke or chew quit! There is nothing good that can come from it.

Soap box being dismantled.

Bill

Met him at lights out 6 and drag week. Took time out of his busy schedule to offer help and encourage me. I will miss his knowledge and honesty. Not fair he was 6 years younger than me.

+1. It would be quite an endeavor to gather all of that up in one spot. He was involved for years, in conversations about everything under the sun.

The funeral is tomorrow in his hometown of Moulton, AL.

http://www.parkwayfh.com/notices/Monte-Smith

Regarding looking for something positive to take away from this loss, I will put up something I posted on a Monte Smith thread in a local car guy site ...

I am not a shill for these products BTW. I am 9 yrs older than he was and really have beat reflux. Now working on not getting a heart attack as my BP is on the high side.

Despite being a fellow Mopar guy I have not really been able to get much of a personal relationship going with him. But if I had and he had confided those health issues with me I would have told him about putting baking soda into the water you drink, and forgetting about taking Nexium. It works for me and I used to get reflux pretty bad. Not any more. For the blockage I would have suggested what I am doing right now, which is the Linus Pauling therapy (search on vitamin C / heart disease) for removing plaque (in addition to cutting out as much terra-mined salt as possible.

http://orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/v06n20.shtml

I take a scoop (2500 mg Vitamin C / 2500 mg Lysine) of this twice a day:

http://vitamincfoundation.org/cardioc.php

Monte always had informative posts,and good ideas. He was always willing to help others.

Godspeed Monte.

Crizila, thanks for re-posting that post from Monte.

here is post about Monte, interesting read.

http://bangshift.com/bangshift1320/our-f...peed-my-friend/

i met him on another forum, which had nothing to do with cars, and STILL, i could tell who he was. he gave me some advice. he knew a lot, about a lot of things. i didn't always agree with him, but i sure respected his opinions, and input. i am GREATLY saddened by his death...

Godspeed, Monte.

Always enjoyed reading the posts, lots of good honest advice.

Wow reading this makes me sick to my stomach. the mopar and race community just lost a good one. RIP Monte and thank you for all your advice over the years.

Sad news, RIP Monte

I've been trying to make sense of Monte's passing since the news broke. I didn't realize how much I look for his posts because they were always direct, unfiltered, honest, and full of wisdom. Dang. RIP Monte.

So sorry to hear of this. RIP Monte. Ron

Sorry to hear. His willing input was invaluable to so many. Blessings!

Very sorry to here this, great guy for sure.

Very sorry to hear this. My condolences to his family and friends. I always appreciated Monte's comments and found them to be very informative. No BS, just helpful info. He will be missed. RIP Monte and Thanks.

Words of wisdom for you young guys… When someone like Monte Smith freely gives you knowledgeable answers it’s not because he’s a know it all, it’s because he has been there and done it and is just passing the experience along. Monte was such a person and the world of drag racing is diminished because of his passing.

My condolences to his family.

thank you sir.

Afterwards there will be a life celebration at Chad's farm shop.

I like the idea and if it could be put into written form, with a chapter headed with the beginning of a post followed by the final word on the subject that would be very useful. Very much like the "Power Secrets" book by Smokey Yunick that I have in my library. It is too bad that he did not start writing a book before he died...but maybe he did?

For heads-up doorslammer racing and for nitrous in general he was THE MOST informed on almost any site that he graced. If Monte advised me that I could do something better than I was doing it I always did it his way.

Absolutely correct. He busted myths and some didn't like rethinking their dogma but anyone truly looking to get better should have listened intently.

Spot on. I deeply respected his opinion (I can't say that about many people these days...)

Thank you Monte, for all the advice you gave me, and all the knowledge I gained from you. I will miss you.

I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the subject line. I had to read it twice. Sitting here, just shocked, he left us way too soon. I've hung out with Monte a few times, and he took a couple rides with me in my Duster. The nicest, most humble, most honest guy I've ever met. Rest in peace, Monte.

HOT ROD pays tribute to Monte Smith. http://www.hotrod.com/articles/nitrous-innovator-monte-smith-passed-away/

I'm very shocked and saddened to hear this tragic news about Monte Smith. I did not know him personally, but I always enjoyed reading his forum posts with helpful advice and experience. Recently I posted a question about driveshafts, and I was very happy to see a response to my post with a recommendation to a driveshaft company I had never heard of, but he highly respected and used regularly. May God bless Monte and and watch over his family. Thank you Monte.

https://board.moparts.org/ubbthreads/ubbt...tml#Post2200973

I've waited awhile to respond, and it hasn't helped make it any easier. I must say I feel bad for those who only knew him from the internet, and never had the chance to have a real conversation with him. Face to face he was kind, sincere, warm, genuine, and funny in ways that didn't always translate on this website.
Through our many debates on here, he always challenged me to become a better writer, and a better person. He never allowed it to get personal, and would scold me if I got too chippy or biting with my comments. While our views and opinions may have differed, I appreciated and respected his ability to defend and explain his outlook, while allowing me to do the same.
I cherished our interactions on Drag Week for the last six years, and we had a wonderful visit this past year while they were loading up the injured Vette. Our bench racing sessions were similar to two old friends meeting at a favorite corner store in that the topics would jump around on many different subjects, sometimes racing, sometimes just life.

Many people have speculated as to why he quit racing and driving, and put most of his efforts toward tuning. I can say unequivocally that his passion, the very thing that drove him was helping others go faster and achieve more. In this quest he didn't just talk the talk, he walked the walk. The list of people in the racing world that he affected in a positive way is vast and varied, that alone could be used to measure what a special person he was, but that doesn't even begin to define him.

Godspeed, my friend.

RIP

What a stunner. I'll miss him as his posts were right on point. My heart goes out to his family since my dad died around that age and I know it can rock a family to its' core.

Sad to hear.He had opinions but man he knew his stuff.Always tried to help out.Too many good people go early.Hope his family is holding up.RIP Monte

NFW! that is terrible news... sorry to hear that.

I met him at Drag Week this past year, and he was a pleasure to talk to. Like many of you have mentioned, he likely has no idea how many people he has positively influenced in the racing world!!!

See you on the other side, Monte.

This has impacted myself and many people more than I thought especially myself and my outlook on things since his passing. I busted his balls and he mine but with respect and I can never in my remaining lifetime learn what he took w/him.........So sad but we still have a chance to leave our footprints behind in a positive way............

I never had the privilege of meeting the man, but always enjoyed reading his posts here. His insight was greatly appreciated, and respected.

RIP Monte

Somebody posted this link on Yellowbullet. I had missed it here.

https://board.moparts.org/ubbthreads/ubbt...tml#Post2133253

I found it interesting and learned a lot about Monte's early days. One thing that surprised me is that he had already had quadruple bypass surgery.

God Bless

What a shock. It seems like every time I'm not on the board much, I find out someone has passed on. I had always hoped to meet Monte at SGMP the next chance I had to go. Always enjoyed reading his posts as he definitely knew his stuff and that he always kept a cool head.
RIP, Monte.


Tim

That was me, I thought those guys might like to see a different side of Monte

Never met hin in person or talked to him but I read so many posts and threads from him,
it felt like I knew him. sad to rad this! Ruhe in Frieden. Ein letzter Gruß aus Deutschland.

Monte Smith and Jeff Koblyski before him were both great contributors to this website, they had a straight talking honesty about them that will be sorely missed.
RIP

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1881586335445298/

Hot Rod magazine tribute:

http://www.hotrod.com/articles/nitrous-i...mp;sf61342095=1

A local racer posted this on a local MB:

"It said a lot for some of the Street Outlaw guys who drove over for the funeral. Farm Truck and his dog, Doc, Monza, Dominator, Jeff Lutz."

Cool

Doc, and Monza, knew Monte well. The last time I saw Monte was at PRI. Monza had delivered his intake manifold for Monte to rework, and they were talking with one another. Wish I would have been able to talk with him more that day, but he was busy.

I am really going to miss his no BS, direct to the point, tech advice. He would talk about other things in person, but rarely on here. Those that never got a chance to talk with Monte one on one, have really missed out. he had a good sense of humor, and was just a nice down to earth guy, that would help anyone.

Treed you a page back on the link!

Sorry! I took a quick look but missed it.

WOW. Just got back from vacation where I unplugged, and truly shocked to see this. How old was Monte? 50 maybe??? what a tragedy! Dude had a wealth of knowledge! Rest in Peace Monte Smith.

June 29 1963.

53 years old.

I always enjoyed reading his posts whether I agreed or not because his passion is what always stood out.

RIP Monte

No worries! A second link will ensure more people see it.

he was 53....

thanks for the facebook link. crazy reading through that.... man he touched a lot of folks.

i was born exactly the same day

This is a pic James Goad "ReaperSS" posted on face book.

RIP Helped me out a lot with my procharged 340 build in my various threads. Seemed like an incredibly knowledgbale guy who was always willing to help others out without any negativity.

Sorry to hear this.. my wife told me about
this... his whole family took a big hit in
the last couple of years... I meet Monty a
few times at DW and I dealt with him on my
injection.... RIP Monty

So sorry to hear this, thoughts and prayers to his family and friends. RIP Monte

I got to speak to him a couple months ago on the phone and planned to meet him this spring when down at my summer place. He seemed to have a great temperament because I never could provoke a hostile response from him on here

Hard to say much except, Dam! didnt see that coming and feel for his family.

I never really grasped how deeply involved he was in the race world.

It did seem he was living the car lovers dream and doing a fine job of it.

Just seeing this now ..... very sad news , RIP Monte , condolences to his family and friends

The hobby has lost a very knowledge person

Gonna miss his straight to the point knowledge filled posts. I would like to have one of his T-shirts...Just to have one, I wonder if it's still possible to get one?

Definitely a big loss for the racing community. Bought my first nitrous system through him years ago.