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John Lingenfelter Dead at 58.......

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by Deuce Roadster, Dec 26, 2003.

  1. Deuce Roadster
    Joined: Sep 8, 2002
    Posts: 9,519

    Deuce Roadster
    Member Emeritus

  2. Mr. Happy
    Joined: Aug 24, 2002
    Posts: 249

    Mr. Happy
    Member


    [​IMG][ QUOTE ]
    John E. Lingenfelter, 58, of Decatur, a nationally-known sports car engine specialist and championship race car driver who owned Lingenfelter Performance Engineering here, died on Thursday in Adams County Memorial Hospital.

    Funeral arrangements are pending at Zwick and Jahn Funeral Home, Decatur.

    Mr. Lingenfelter was badly injured in a drag racing accident on October 27, 2002, in Pomona, California, and had been at hospitals in California and Indiana since that time undergoing various medical procedures.

    He was well-known and highly regarded in the world of race cars as a leading engine-modifier for high-performance vehicles, and was also a drag racer for many years.

    Work at his firm on Winchester Rd. in Decatur has carried on in his absence.

    He was born in Altoona, Pennsylvania.

    He studied mechanical engineering and drafting at Penn State.

    Mr. Lingenfelter won the 1972 super stock eliminator class at the United States Nationals in 1972 and went on to win 13 more national racing titles.

    Lingenfelter Performance Engineering develops and builds highly-modified engines that increase the speed and performance of many types of vehicles.

    In 1989, Lingenfelter drove a modified Pontiac Firebird Trans-Am at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah at 298 mph. The car had 1,400 horsepower.

    The Lingenfelter business also constructs specialized engines for such vehicles as motor homes, off-road trucks, national championship autocross racers, ambulances, and police cars.

    [/ QUOTE ]


    i'd personally never met him, but i know my old man saw John race his Vette at SIR in the mid 70's...
    Dad said that he thought the car went good for a big block, until they walked over to the car in the pits and realized it was only a small block [​IMG]
     
  3. dondanno
    Joined: Mar 20, 2003
    Posts: 679

    dondanno
    Member

    Thats awful. He could build some engines with mad HP. I road in car that he built the engine that had 485 hp at the rear wheels. Wa Hoo what a ride. I am very sorry for his family and friends.RIP.....Danny
     
  4. flying clutchman
    Joined: Sep 7, 2003
    Posts: 328

    flying clutchman
    Member

    damn. that just ruined my day. rest in peace
     

  5. Ryan
    Joined: Jan 2, 1995
    Posts: 21,633

    Ryan
    ADMINISTRATOR
    Staff Member

    We lost one hell of a guy... His race team was a rival of our west texas outfit for years and he couldn't have been more sportsman like... And he was more traditional that you might think as he had gorgeous flatty powered deuce roadster.
     
  6. Tony
    Joined: Dec 3, 2002
    Posts: 7,350

    Tony
    Member

    Damn, thats a shame! I used to be into vette's a while ago, and enjoyed reading of the stuff he did with them..
    I'm saddened to hear this.
    Thats way to young to go! [​IMG]
    My condolences to his family..
    R.I.P

    Rat...
     
  7. Wowcars
    Joined: May 10, 2001
    Posts: 1,027

    Wowcars
    Member

    Seems like we're losing all the good ones lately. I can only begin to hope that I have acheived a small percentage of what he had contributed by the time I'm 58. God speed.
     
  8. In his field he was one of the best....He will be missed.HRP
     
  9. fuel pump
    Joined: Nov 4, 2001
    Posts: 3,620

    fuel pump
    Member Emeritus
    from Caro,MI


    What a shame. What a shame. I never met John but I know some of the guys who work for him. Even been through his shop a couple of times. The man knew how to build horsepower. RIP John.
     
  10. briggs&strattonChev
    Joined: Feb 20, 2003
    Posts: 2,234

    briggs&strattonChev
    Member

    ive never met him but ive admired what hes done with corvettes for quite a while. I never heard anything about a drag racing accident in october, musta been really tough though. This is really too bad.........
     
  11. FWilliams
    Joined: Apr 24, 2001
    Posts: 1,986

    FWilliams
    Member

    my thoughts and prayers have been with John and his family since the accident, very sad news today.
     
  12. quickrod
    Joined: Nov 5, 2003
    Posts: 394

    quickrod
    Member

    another GREAT contributor to the sport of drag racing who will be sadly missed.never met him personally,but my dad met him when he crewed for mark pawuk,said he was a nice guy..........too bad.......quickrod [​IMG]
     
  13. fab32
    Joined: May 14, 2002
    Posts: 13,985

    fab32
    Member Emeritus

    I'll echo whats already been said about John. He was one hell of a competitor and engine builder. You could take your new Vette or Camaro, drop it off at his shop and come back and pick up a rocket ship. It cost some $$$$$ but what a ride. There is a fellow here that had that done about 5-6 years ago. Its a Z28, and he takes it out only occasionally, in his words "to scare the shit out of myself". You let the clutch out in first and don't get your head back into the front seat until 5th at over 120MPH.
    My condolences to his family and shop employees. I hadn't heard anything lately and just assumed he was on the mend.

    Frank
     
  14. flatheadpete
    Joined: Oct 29, 2003
    Posts: 10,478

    flatheadpete
    Member
    from Burton, MI

    Met John at autorama last Feb. Nice ass hell. We lost one hell of an automotive icon not to mention a very personable individual. [​IMG]
     
  15. fordiac
    Joined: Nov 27, 2001
    Posts: 424

    fordiac
    Member
    from Medina, Oh

  16. CharlieLed
    Joined: Feb 21, 2003
    Posts: 2,463

    CharlieLed
    Member

    I didn't know too much about the man until I began working on the LS6 for my Merc. It didn't take long to realize just how much he had accomplished in the performnace Chevy arena. His death is a loss to all who appreciate autombiles and performance engineering... [​IMG]
     
  17. Deuce Rails
    Joined: Feb 1, 2002
    Posts: 2,016

    Deuce Rails
    Member

    He was one hell of a guy.

    Can anyone confirm what happened to him? Please?
     
  18. draggin'GTO
    Joined: Jul 7, 2003
    Posts: 1,792

    draggin'GTO
    Member

    [ QUOTE ]
    He was one hell of a guy.

    Can anyone confirm what happened to him? Please?

    [/ QUOTE ]
    His accident was over a year ago. (Oct. 27, 2002). Data showed that when his car hit the guardwall and kept going downtrack the engine was on the rev limiter the whole way down. John was probably unconscious at the time. The car was traveling approximately 200 mph when it hit the sand trap. When rescue got down to the sand trap there was no car to be found. Luckily there was someone at the end to tell them that the car went over the wall. I'm pretty sure John had an allergic reaction to a medication before one of his surgeries that left him in a semi-comatose state all this time. He will surely be missed greatly by all of those who knew him.

    NHRA news story

    from the Lingenfelter Performance site

    Rest in peace John. [​IMG]

    ----- Bart -----
     
  19. katzenhammer
    Joined: Aug 26, 2002
    Posts: 398

    katzenhammer
    Member

    Ah nuts,.. This sucks . I never met him but I always admired his work. Loved the Lingenfelter Suburban. Too soon for him to go but at least his pain is gone.. R.I.P

    Justin
     

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