Rodding and motorsports pioneer Lil? John Buttera dies Rodding and motorsports pioneer Lil? John Buttera dies Hot rodding legend John ?Lil? John? Buttera died March 2. photo courtesy
John ?Lil? John? Buttera died March 2 at the age of 67 after a lengthy battle with cancer.
Among the many accomplishments to his credit, most in the street rodding world know of Buttera as the man who pioneered the use of billet aluminum in the construction of street rods ? in everything from wheels to rearview mirrors ? in the late 1970s.
But beyond that, Buttera left his mark in a wide variety of motorsports and rodding circles. He moved from his native town of Kenosha, Wisconsin, to Southern California specifically to work on one of Mickey Thompson?s land-speed racing streamliners and built the chassis for Thompson?s blue Mustang Funny Car before opening up his own chassis shop. His designs for Funny Cars set the standard for that class of drag racers in the early 1970s, and many people still recall his shoestring Indianapolis 500 entry in 1987 that represented the last time an independent hot rodder could successfully compete at Indy (his driver qualified 8th in an Eagle-based car that Buttera assembled in his own two-car garage). The Deuce that he built for John Corno won the 1980 America?s Most Beautiful Roadster award, and his custom motorcycles became well known in that scene. He also had at least a working relationship with Boyd Coddington, who died just four days prior. Buttera at one point worked in Coddington?s shop, but according to legend, it was Buttera who taught Coddington how to machine billet aluminum.
- By Daniel Strohl