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Lingenfelter Performance Engineering Inc. V8 Prowler

Contributed by RJP

For those of you that may be interested.... The following is a quite large, detailed, digital photo album of the complete construction of the 1999 LPE Plymouth Prowler from the ground up, that I thought the POA Members might like to see.

These were taken by me while I was employed there and this was one of the last vehicles I had a hand in building before I left LPE to pursue a professional career in SCCA Corvette Racing. I've never brought these pictures forward to the public before out of respect for J.L., but since almost two years have passed since it's creation, I thought it would be O.K. now.

Nearly every person that worked at LPE at that time had an important hand in it's creation in some way or another and yours truly spent the better part of 2 1/2 months performing the final assembly, electrical wiring and chassis dyno testing of the car. At the time of my leaving, the vehicle was 95% complete and it has always held a special place in my heart as one of the most challenging tasks I've ever done in terms of building a modern day, contemporary street rod.

"I feel fortunate to have taken a part in building of one the most unique street legal, muscle cars built today."

1
  thm_1.gif This was taken at about the halfway point to completion. I believe the interior was not even in the car then and the body was a "bare tub". The engine had not been fired in the car yet and the drivetrain was partially disassembled. None of the GM PCM to Chrysler PCM electrical circuits were even sorted out yet, let alone chassis wiring.  
 
2
  thm_2.gif This is a photo taken from the right side of the engine. You can see the OEM Chrysler PCM mounted to the chassis nearby. The air inlet ducting is also visible along with the custom fabbed air box and uniquelly mounted Corvette Mass Airflow Sensor. At this point, the engine harness has been roughly laid in and connected for circuit testing.  
 
3
  thm_3.gif Another view from the right side of the engine. Airbox and air scoop is much more visible here.  
 
4
  thm_4.gif Left side engine view. Almost all of the original Chrysler electrical circuits remained in tact and functioned as per OEM design. The engine that was selected to go into this car was an LPE built, 383 LS-1, equipped w/ an automatic and 3:73 gearing The 304 stainless steel headers were hand crafted by scratch from some of the best fabricators I have ever had the privilage to work with! You guys know who you are!  
 
5
  thm_LPE Prowler- air induction view 1.gif Here is the custom built air inlet tube. It was a very tight fit to say the least. The custom built radiator can also be seen from this angle as well. The engine had not been fired yet.  
 
6
  thm_LPE Prowler- air induction view 2.gif Custom built airbox w/ a small air scoop that faced forward. We were actually able to position this airbox so that the engine received cold outside air. Chrysler PCM and GM Corvette Mass Airflow Sensor can also be seen here nearby.  
 
7
  thm_LPE Prowler- air induction view 3.gif This was the flexible joint between the rigidly mounted airbox and the engine.  
 
8
  thm_LPE Prowler- air induction view 4.gif This is an overall view of the air induction tube as it snakes through the engine bay.  
 
9
  thm_LPE Prowler- air inlet view 5.gif Another view of the unfinished airbox. Note the custom, hand built 304 stainless steel headers in the background and the small air scoop that can be seen up close, directly in front of the K&N Filter.  
 
10
  thm_LPE Prowler- dashboard view 6.gif This is where I came in the picture. This shot shows the re-installation of the dashboard supporting member and the partial re-assembly of the interior wiring harness. Note the little manilla tags on the electrical connectors labeling them.....there were so many, that was the only way I could keep track of them all and their applications.  
 
11
  thm_LPE Prowler- driveshaft tube tunnel view 7.gif This photo is of the underside of the body looking at the custom engine driveshaft tube tunnel. The engine, headers and driveshaft tube are installed here. Note the heat shielding that had to be applied to the underside of the tunnel due to the close proximity of the exhaust system.  
 
12
  thm_LPE Prowler- exhaust system view 8.gif This is the custom one-off exhaust system/muffler that was hand crafted from SCRATCH by one of the most talented fabricators that I've ever known! It was made entirely of 304 stainless steel and gave the exhaust note a deep, ear pleasing rumble. Misc. body parts, dashboard, rear C5 subframe and brake rotors are also here.  
 
13
  thm_LPE Prowler- interior trans. tunnel view 9.gif This view shows the custom built transmission/driveshaft tube tunnel w/ heat shielding being applied. Wiring harness was partially installed and if you look closely to the left, the hand fabbed GM PCM holder/bracket can be seen.  
 
14
  thm_LPE Prowler- parking brake cable brkt. view 10.gif It may be somewhat difficult to see, but this is the custom fabbed parking brake cable bracket and we used one cable from the Prowler and one cable from the C5 to make the lengths correct and have it work properly.  
 
15
  thm_LPE Prowler- radiator fan view 11.gif Radiator fan view. Installing this large of a component required some considerable forethought to make it follow fit and function. We had to trim the fan shroud body quite a bit so that the front shock rockerarms would not hit the fan as they traveled through their arc of motion.  
 
16
  thm_LPE Prowler- rear suspension 12.gif This photo shows the entire rear C5 suspension, less the rear differential, brake rotors and rear drivetrain.  
 
17
  thm_LPE Prowler- rear suspension view 13.gif It's somewhat difficult to see here, but this shows the C5's rear suspension and upper control arm and the pick-up points on the OEM Chrysler frame.  
 
18
  thm_LPE Prowler- rear suspension view 14.gif Another closeup view of the C5 rear suspension. The drivetrain and braking system are now installed.  
 
19
  thm_LPE Prowler- rear suspension view 15.gif Closeup view of rear suspension.  
 
20
  thm_LPE Prowler- rear suspension 16.gif Cleaner and clearer shot of rear suspension. The fabricator that created this art is, well..........I'll let his work speak for him!  
 
21
  thm_LPE Prowler- rear tailpipes 17.gif Here are the custom, hand crafted, 304 stainless steel tailpipes. We utilized the OEM Plymouth Prowler tips for a stealth appearance.  
 
22
  thm_LPE Prowler- right side engine view 18.gif This view is from the right side of the engine compartment. The A/C system has been installed and is working and the engine has been test fired.  
 
23
  thm_LPE Prowler- tailpipe outlet view 19.gif This photo is somewhat dark, but you can see the exhaust outlet here. Exactly in the OEM location.  
 
24
  thm_LPE Prowler- trans. cooling fan view 20.gif This photo depicts the transmission fluid cooler and cooling fan. We were able to utilize this OEM component and just adapted it to suit our needs in terms of mounting position and cooler line placement. We used a fluid temperature sensor located in the trans. pan to trigger the fan at the right temp.  
 
25
  thm_LPE Prowler- trans. cross member view 21.gif Here is the custom built transmission crossmember w/ trans. in view. Note the pass-through holes that were incorporated in it to allow for the exhaust pipes to come through.  
 
26
  thm_LPE Prowler- underbody above trans. view 22.gif Were looking at this upside down. This area is directly above the rear differential (under the fuel tank) and we had to shield the fuel tank from heat from the exhaust pipes and transmission. Note the custom bent transmission cooler lines to the left and the fitting for the cooler to the right. You can also see the parking cable bracket here. Transmission was removed in this photo. (see trans. bellhousing clearance in frame)  
 
27
  thm_LPE Prowler- underbody trans. view 23.gif Another view from the underside of the vehicle looking up at the installed C5 engine driveshaft tube, transmission and crossmember.