Arnie Loyning

[Dwayne Anderson]

Sad Day We lost Arnie Loyning yesterday Rest in peace my friend

[CTR28]

Damn! I worked part time for Loyning's Engine Service in the late 70's. Such a genuine talent as an innovator, engine builder and racer. Arnie had a wry sense of humor and and a soft smile that hinted that he just might be kidding. Race In Peace # 22.

[RideMore]

Very sorry to hear. He walked up to me out of nowhere and offered to do my S2000 engines for free in the late 80's just because I was a young guy who he wanted to help.

I hope I have lived up to his hopes.

[tlracer]

The Loyning name reached across the Atlantic, especially when FF1600 was huge in the 1980s here. RIP.

[Steve Demeter]

Vaya Con Dios Arnie!!!!

[E1pix]

From an old friend and longtime Formula Ford driver, and winner of the second round of the 1976 Player’s Formula Atlantic Championship:

“I am very sorry to hear of Arnie’s passing. He was in good part responsible for my getting into racing.

We shared owning and driving a C Production Lotus Elan in 1970. I drove it in Saturday Regional races while getting my Regional license. Arnie then drove on Sundays in the National races.

We both bought Titan Formula Fords the next season. I’ve enjoyed many races with Arnie, always a tough and fair competitor.

A very good man. I will miss him.

— Marty Loft”

[Roland V. Johnson]

Another icon of the Formula Ford class gone.

[gregmse]

I met Arnie when I moved to Portland in 1974 to work for Pierre's Motor Racing. Arnie and I were business partners in Viking Racing in 1976. The next year he started Loyning Engine Service and I started Motor Sports Engineering. He was a gifted, single minded individual that I learned a ton from. I am not sure if he ever ran an advertisement for his business. He relied on his sterling reputation.
I certainly will miss visiting with him out at PIR after the last 50 years.

Greg Lapinski
Motor Sports Engineering

[mjaremko]

A talented tuner with one goal in mind. Arnie built so many wonderfull engines for Lee Stohr and I.
Always loved chatting with him and listening to his insights on Road Racing. God Speed Arnie

[Lee Stohr]

I moved from Delaware to Portland in 1990 and needed a new engine builder for my home built Formula Ford. Arnie was the obvious choice, since he was also a builder of the Viking FF's. Arnie built motors for my race cars for many years but more than that, he also helped me keep my business afloat when times were hard. When I was restarting my D Sports Racer business in 2005, Arnie said "what do you need?" He was a hand shake deal, pay me back when you can, kind of guy.
I think I was one of the first to congratulate Arnie when he won the SCCA National Championship in C Sports Racing. The fenders and sidepods on his car were based on my first generation D Sports Racer.
Arnie was a major figure in so many classes of road racing. Definitely a legend in the Pacific Northwest.
My heart goes out to Jeanne and their daughters Nikki and Kari.

Photo of Arnie giving me lessons at the Runoffs in Mid-Ohio, me taking notes.

[DanW]

Arnie's kindness and advice helped keep me from floundering as I started on this road to ruin.... Godspeed Arnie, you're missed.

[E1pix]

I probably first heard of “Arnstein” in the early ‘70s, in connecting his engines to stories and reports of several fast guys on the West Coast — including if not primarily the driver I quoted earlier.

Throughout the entire ‘80s, I spent weeks each year at PDR in Denver, where John Barker had many engine-building successes of his own and spoke very highly of Arnie — a little unusual for John, but they were both of a similar cloth, a little sly and a lot serious, both won major FF Titles, and so they were kindreds in a few ways.

While Barker delivered the only Runoffs FF win for Lola, ever — with Fast Eddie Miller — that famed marque was Made in England.

Lest we forget that Arnie Loyning also had Runoffs wins, but to my knowledge — and far bigger in this racing deal — he’s the only supplier who ever won it with both an engine he built and in a chassis he created, the Viking, with Bob Lobenberg driving.

Rev in Peace, Mr. Loyning.

[CTR28]

[jkrt125]

Sorry to hear of Arnie's passing, I was lucky enough to have purchased a car that had one of his engines in it. It was a FF1600 and was by far the best engine I ran while racing in the class.
RIP Arnie.

Jack H

[JDT]

Sad Day We lost Arnie Loyning yesterday Rest in peace my friend

Just came across this when researching some old Formula Ford stuff. Arnie and I were high school friends in Tacoma Wa. in the 60's doing autocross events along with Marty Loft and others. Eventually we all ended up in SCCA racing with Healeys and Alpines and in 1970 we ran as a team with Arnie and Marty sharing a Lotus Elan and me with a Lotus 23. We sort of drifted apart when Arnie moved down to Portland, but then coalesced again when FF was getting popular. I had a Titan Mk6 and Arnie was driving a Lola for Pierre Phillips and Marty was dominating the class in his Titan. Marty did well enough that he got a shot at the Formula Atlantic series. During those post race BS sessions, Arnie and I discussed our ideas and both of us wanted to build a car with some of our own designs. I already had a chassis welded up in my garage. Arnie wanted to build engines as well and he was sharing a little shop with some go kart guys where there was no room for any expansion. I had a few dollars earned from my construction business and we decided to partner up and form Viking racing. We rented an old barn out in Boring, OR, bought an engine dyno and a Lola 342 and a Titan Mk6 which we used as rental cars. We also did maintenance work and preparation for other guys from around that area. We got the prototype of our design mostly done with the free help of Arnie's father in law and a local school teacher, but it became apparent that there was just not enough money to support both of us being married with toddlers. Arnie was always the guy who was more passionate about racing and especially about his engines so we agreed to part ways so that he could continue on with the business. I returned to my construction business in Tacoma and we lost touch as our lives took different paths. It's a strange feeling to know someone is gone and your only memory of them is from your youth when you had all your dreams in front of you. I'm glad to know that he made his dreams come true.

[E1pix]

John, well said and sorry you lost your friend.

Please see my Post #6 above.