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John Lingenfelter’s Scout

From David Palmeter:

I had the very great honor to work with John during his time at International Harvester engineering in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He quickly learned how to get the Scout Chief Engineer to fiddle with the specs that we sent to the Automobile Manufacturers Association which were used to establish what was ‘Stock’. That 152 cu in 4-cyl turbo engine ran VERY well.

His knowledge of the inside workings of big corporations served him well when he started Lingenfelter Performance Engineering. He was much respected at GM and had an LS1 engine apart in his shop 6 months before it was pubically introduced in 1997 in the C5 Corvette.

While still at IH, he was guest speaker at one of our Society of Automotive Engineers meetings and brought the drag Scout for a demo. He popped the front wheels off the ground right in front of the Holiday Inn!

To improve traction, he initially ran with the spare on the tailgate. Story was the NHRA made him take it off when they found out it was filled with concrete!

From the Lingenfelter Performance Engineering web site:

“John Lingenfelter raced this 1962 2wd International Harvester Scout 80 with a turbocharged 4 cylinder. It was an old orange Indiana & Michigan Electric Company meter reading vehicle and according to John’s brother Charles Lingenfelter, they were able to run under the record at a points meet at the Milan Michigan drag strip in the fall of 1969 or 1970. The scout equipped with slicks would pull the wheels of the ground as it left the line and it was quite unique and fun for a while. They only raced it a few times as it kept cracking pistons. Also John proved what he wanted, that he could make this unique combination run under the national record. At the time John worked at International Harvester in Fort Wayne where the Scout line was built.

The International Scout 80s were built between 1960 and 1965. These models were identifiable by removable sliding side windows in 1960–1961 and even some very early 1962 models, a fold-down windshield, vacuum windshield wipers mounted to the top of the windshield and an IH logo in the center of the grille. The Scout 80 had the gasoline-powered 152 4-cylinder as its standard engine.”

“A bit of trivia–back in the late 60’s, John Lingenfelter was a tech in
the IH Engine Labs in Fort Wayne–probably where he learned to appreciate
high-revving engines! I never met him as he moved on about the time I
started, but I understand one of the things he did while he was there was
to drag race a Scout with the 4-152 Turbo engine and he set some national
records for the class he was in. I wonder what he’d tell us today about
modifying IH engines?

Howard Pletcher
Howteron Products Scout Parts”

From Charlie Lingenfelter:

“John raced a 1962 2wd International Scout with a turbocharged 4 cylinder. It was and old orange Indiana & Michigan meter reading vehicle. I have a picture of it at home. I will forward. My recollection is that we went under the record at a points meet at Milan Michigan in the fall of 1969 or 1970. The scout would pull the wheels of the ground as it left the line. It was quite unique and fun for a while. We only raced it a few times as we kept cracking pistons. Also John proved what he wanted, that he could make this unique combination run under the national record. I will scan the picture tomorrow and send it.

I had a Polaroid picture of the International Scout. I believe this was taken at a Milan Michigan NHRA Points Meet in the fall of 1969. Note the 7″ slicks. This Scout would pull the wheels off the ground as it left the starting line. Not bad for a U/Stock race car in 1969. I will try to find some more pictures on this vehicle but it will take me a couple weeks.”

Above – Circa 1972 International Paystar 5000 at the IH Test Track, Fort Wayne, Indiana. The tower right above the test driver’s head is the IH plant where the Paystar was built.

Above – 2005-11-7 Pat Murphy sent this Wild CXT pic. When a pickup truck won’t do, get a PICKUP TRUCK!!!

Above – Oct 16, 2015 from Howard Pletcher – ‘Apparently this was Chatham’s switcher for a time–a 1948 KB-11.’

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