Spencer Low Sr. Race in peace
- Thread starter TRichards
- Start date
Total Loss
Well-Known Member
Heavy heart.
He built the front end on my first truck at Low Manufacturing.
An innovator in the early days.
RIP Spencer.
He built the front end on my first truck at Low Manufacturing.
An innovator in the early days.
RIP Spencer.
Lord Green
Well-Known Member
It’s a sad day. I was just talking to him at Parker. We became good friends at the 2017 NORRA. Race in Peace, Spencer.
Bryan Racing
Well-Known Member
Thoughts and prayers to the family.Met Spencer in the mid 70's when he was building the Low mfg 4x4 trucks.We had fun competing against each other in 78 in my jeep day's,then again in 7 s in the early 80's.Good all around guy.Race in Peace Spencer.
RIP
BigBlue&Goldie
Well-Known Member
Great guy that was an icon in his day!
Jimmy8
Well-Known Member
I did a 30ish minute interview with Spencer Low back in 2012 at the Parker 425. It was actually one of the first interviews I ever did. Audio quality is a little rough, and my interview skills were not perfected yet, but Spencer's content talking about his career and his love of off-road were great. Worth the listen if you were a fan of his or that era of off-road racing.
Spencer Low Radio Interview from 2012 - The Down & Dirty Radio Show
Spencer Low Radio Interview from 2012 - The Down & Dirty Radio Show
ACME
Well-Known Member
Bought a Low Datsun 4x4 in '82 and had Spencer do some work at his shop, nice guy. I went to one of my first car races in Barstow shortly afterward and bumped into him, he acted like we were old friends and came over to see what I had done since he last saw the truck.
Our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family.
Our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family.
jdrive
New Member
My condolences to the Low family. Spence Sr. helped me turn a lowly 1977 2WD red Chevy Luv into a 6'5" black, mean 4x4 machine, back in 1980. I had done various mountain races in a 1973 K5 blazer, and later, a Jimmy. But my true love was my Luv. Bought it, built it, bled all around it, busted many a knuckle, ran out of money. Sold it. Saved. Bought it back. Lived with it for years. Still miss it.
Summer of 1980 I drove across country from NY to CA with my road buddy Jackson Bennett just after my 18th birthday (second crossing for me), in a truck that would regularly slip belts, leak all kinds of fluids, and throw studs. Usually when it was raining. Here a cracked leaf, there a stripped U-joint. You get the idea. Don't even get me started on the electrical. Spent as much time under it as we did driving. Not sure how we lived to tell the tale(s).
Got to Monrovia (where Low Manufacturing was), didn't have enough money to stay anywhere but in/on and under the truck. And a torn green tent sometimes. What money we did have went to Spence, Marlboro Reds, Cokes, and Hormel canned chili (served cold straight out of the can -- we opened those with a hatchet, as the good lord intended). The potentially aggressive natives left us be after seeing all that. Good times!
Dropped a 231 Buick V6 in there with Spence's team. Dana's all around. New Leafs. Double shocks. Even a ratchet shifter. Dreams of qualifying for a Baja sub-class. Alas, was not to be. Eventually, blew out 2-cylinders while driving from rural Idaho to the edge of NY State in 40 hours flat (selling everything we had - even the beloved Blaupunkt - for gas money along the way). Not a bad crossing time given the pan-handling segues, and um, utterly unstable nature of that vehicle at 110 mph (very definitely it's terminal velocity).
Rebuilt, ran through the mud often, but no time or money for racing. Then the rest of life happened. I still look back fondly on all that, and that terrific gentleman and race-truck genius, Spence Low. Hadn't seen him in 39 years.
Miss Spence. Also miss my old Low Manufacturing t-shirt, long-gone I'm afraid.
RIP Spence Low.
Summer of 1980 I drove across country from NY to CA with my road buddy Jackson Bennett just after my 18th birthday (second crossing for me), in a truck that would regularly slip belts, leak all kinds of fluids, and throw studs. Usually when it was raining. Here a cracked leaf, there a stripped U-joint. You get the idea. Don't even get me started on the electrical. Spent as much time under it as we did driving. Not sure how we lived to tell the tale(s).
Got to Monrovia (where Low Manufacturing was), didn't have enough money to stay anywhere but in/on and under the truck. And a torn green tent sometimes. What money we did have went to Spence, Marlboro Reds, Cokes, and Hormel canned chili (served cold straight out of the can -- we opened those with a hatchet, as the good lord intended). The potentially aggressive natives left us be after seeing all that. Good times!
Dropped a 231 Buick V6 in there with Spence's team. Dana's all around. New Leafs. Double shocks. Even a ratchet shifter. Dreams of qualifying for a Baja sub-class. Alas, was not to be. Eventually, blew out 2-cylinders while driving from rural Idaho to the edge of NY State in 40 hours flat (selling everything we had - even the beloved Blaupunkt - for gas money along the way). Not a bad crossing time given the pan-handling segues, and um, utterly unstable nature of that vehicle at 110 mph (very definitely it's terminal velocity).
Rebuilt, ran through the mud often, but no time or money for racing. Then the rest of life happened. I still look back fondly on all that, and that terrific gentleman and race-truck genius, Spence Low. Hadn't seen him in 39 years.
Miss Spence. Also miss my old Low Manufacturing t-shirt, long-gone I'm afraid.
RIP Spence Low.
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TRichards
Well-Known Member
I believe it was a brain aneurysm. Very sudden. Not involved in any accident.
SLR
Well-Known Member
1 year ago I lost my Dad, a racer, husband, father and friend. He was a pioneer to the offroad industry and a legendary off road racer. He raced a Nissan Hardbody with 9 inches of suspension travel, before parker pumpers, gps and fancy shocks, fueled by the passion and love for off road racing.
He turned his passion into a career and became a Nissan Factory Off Road racer for 18 years winning multiple championships and the Baja 1000. Along his successful career he made many long time friends from his love of the sport we all share. Prerunning in Mexico with other legends of this sport that he simply just called his friends. He always told me, prerunning is where races are won.
I was lucky enough to share driving duties with him in 2 Norra 1000's. I was blown away after him not driving a race car for 20 years, that he could just jump in his last factory built RFD 7s and Win the 2018 Mint 400, along with 2018 NORRA Challenger Era Class overall win with a impressive 17th overall, beating many modern race cars in a 1988 Nissan Hardbody...!
I miss my dad everyday, lost my bestfriend and racing partner. Dad you're legacy will NEVER DIE. I LOVE you.
He turned his passion into a career and became a Nissan Factory Off Road racer for 18 years winning multiple championships and the Baja 1000. Along his successful career he made many long time friends from his love of the sport we all share. Prerunning in Mexico with other legends of this sport that he simply just called his friends. He always told me, prerunning is where races are won.
I was lucky enough to share driving duties with him in 2 Norra 1000's. I was blown away after him not driving a race car for 20 years, that he could just jump in his last factory built RFD 7s and Win the 2018 Mint 400, along with 2018 NORRA Challenger Era Class overall win with a impressive 17th overall, beating many modern race cars in a 1988 Nissan Hardbody...!
I miss my dad everyday, lost my bestfriend and racing partner. Dad you're legacy will NEVER DIE. I LOVE you.
