For Sale at Auction: 1934 Ford Ute in Houston, Texas

This all-steel Ford custom UTE roadster pickup street rod was originally custom-built for LeRoi "Tex" Smith of NHRA and Hot Rod Magazine fame, and at one point owned by Gas Monkey Garage. Tex was a supporter of Bonneville Salt Flats in the early 1950s and helped develop the NHRA. He was editor at Hot Rod magazine and introduced Street Rodder, Rod & Custom and several other successful magazines. He helped in the founding of NSRA and Street Rod Nationals, was the editor of Old Car Weekly, became PR Director for the Great American Race, introduced his own magazine, Hot Rod Mechanix, and developed an ever-growing line of specialty books. This beautiful all-steel phantom roadster pickup was originally built by OZ Rods of Australia in the mid-1990s and completed a 3-year restoration by Boyd Coddington's cousin, Bill Miller. It features a built HEMI V8 engine breathing through a custom intake utilizing four Stomberg 97 carburetors built by SEMA award-winner Hells Gate Hot Rods and is backed by an automatic transmission. The pickup features Mercedes Cream PPG paint and a custom Canyon-colored leather interior. The 3-year restoration was completed in June 2015, the same month as Tex Smith's passing. This beautiful 1934 Ford UTE custom roadster pickup will be an everlasting memory of one of hot-rodding's early legends and iconic figures, LeRoi Tex Smith.