Photo courtesy of Danny Thompson

EngineLabs just learned through a posting on Danny Thompson’s Facebook page that legendary engine builder Frizt Voigt passed away last week.

Voigt was instrumental in developing engines for many of the late Mickey Thompson’s racing ventures, especially his land-speed record attempts at Bonneville. He also built engines for Mickey’s cars that ran in the Indy 500 and on the dragstrip.

Ed Roth’s Outlaw show car.

According to a bio posted on the Don Garlits’ Museum website, Voigt became interested in racing the way most of the early pioneers did: building hot rods and hanging out at race shops. He built early dragsters that raced at Santa Ana and Long Beach before Mickey Thompson discovered his talents. Among his achievements was the building and tuning of the engines in Mickey’s multi-engine streamliners. (Check out the video below where Voigt tells the story of Mickey passing out on the salt from nitro fumes in the cockpit!) At Indy, he worked on the Buick V8 to take advantage of the stock-block rules. With Dan Gurney as the driver, the car qualified eighth and ran as high as ninth before the gearbox seized. Even after that disappointment, the team was given the Mechanical Achievement Award for original design and construction.

Along the way he opened his own garage in Maywood, California. Never one to turn down a friend’s request, he even built the engine that powers Ed “Bid Daddy” Roth’s famed Outlaw custom car. That cool Caddy V8 sports four Stromberg 97s and dressed up with plenty of chrome and fins.

Condolences go to Voigt’s family and all his friends, especially the Thompson family.