P104 A one-off Ferguson Formula Racing car project that became ‘Sleeping beauty’

Story told and written by Henri Greuter, edited by Chris Maughan.

This article is dedicated to the memory of Bill Munro.

It may be hard to imagine about a company that is best known for its agricultural vehicles, but among all the vehicles built by the company in its history two of them were racing cars! This is a story about one of them, the least successful of the two and for the British people, also almost certainly the least well-known one. Indeed, not many British people will be able to say that they have ever seen this Ferguson built vehicle.

Within the many Ferguson Formula Pnumber projects there are several that were one-offs. P99 and P104 are two such examples. They were both racing cars built for paved tracks and, as such, they are rarities within the Ferguson Products catalogue. P99 was the first one built, according to the then current Formula 1 rules. However, the potential success of the car was massively reduced as the P99 was built with a front-mounted engine just as the rest of the F1 world was transitioning from front to rear-mounted engines. A further problem for the P99 then transpired as the engine formula changed and engine capacity was reduced from 2.5 litre to 1.5 litre. The loss of power was even more pronounced for the P99 due to its more complex 4WD drive line. Nevertheless, P99 gained some creditable results in competition and showed promise when it came to demonstrating how a race car could be made to deal with large amounts of power.

Within their book Traction for Sale Bill Munro and Pat Turner have described the history of P99 and how the driver Stirling Moss got involved with the car. Munro and Turner also described nicely the story of the second built Ferguson racer, the P104. What follows in this paper is a briefer history of the P104 and my involvement in its story.

When in the USA, Stirling Moss met the Granatelli brothers who, at that time, were the owners of the, even by that time, already legendary Novi Indycars. These cars were powered by a brutally powerful centrifugally supercharged 2.8 litre V8 engine of which the first example was built in 1941. The rules then permitted a capacity of 3 litre, but from 1957 on therules reduced it to 2.8 litre swept volume.

Despite stupendous power advantages, success for the Novis had remained limited. The Novi history up till that moment was a chain of mishaps, bad luck, and human tragedies, including the bankruptcy of the first owner of the cars and engines as well as fatal accidents for some of his drivers. Even while active, the cars were said to be cursed one way or another. There was talk about the ‘Novi Jinx’ among Indy fans and railbirds. Since 1959 no Novi had qualified for the 500 miles race, even despite a change of ownership after the original owner, Lew Welch, had gone bankrupt in early 1961. Despite everything, the Novis had been crowd favourites from their very first appearance, not in the least because of its deafening loud screaming engine. (130 dB was possible!). Fans who supported other teams and drivers first did not mind should their favourites be defeated by the Novis and their drivers. Their popularity with Indy fans could be compared with that of the Ferrari cars elsewhere in the world.

In the early 1960’s Stirling Moss felt that 4WD could be a solution to reduce the tyre wear on the Novis so he made such a suggestion to the Granatelli’s. For the full story of this you should read the book by Munro and Turner, but it was late 1963 when the Granatelli’s finally took up the idea, but then they went in deep! The ‘Old P99’ was brought over for some tests at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Despite the fact that the then installed engine wasn’t very healthy, or fresh, P99 surprised the Granatelli’s with being only marginally slower in the corners than on the straights, and its handling was praised by both Jack Fairman, who knew the car, and American driver Bobby Marshman, who knew the track.

The Granatelli’s then ordered the Ferguson Company to build a dedicated 4WD car around their Behemoth powerplant. Time was limited and short, but by late March 1964 Ferguson Formula had completed the construction of what was for them project P104. Late March 1964 the car was sent off to the USA and arrived in time at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for an early test.

It might be seen as strange as of why in late 1963 the Granatelli’s decided to go for a front-engine car while only a few months before, during the Indy 500, Jim Clark and Dan Gurney had clearly shown the longterm potential of rear-engine chassis with their Lotus-Fords. A reason for sticking with a front engine was that the Novi, due to its basic design of the entry of fresh air into the supercharger, was not really suited for a rear engine installation. In addition, several specialists at Indy still felt confident that the front engine lay-out remained as being the way to go. What favoured a front engine lay out was the high-speed stability of the car, just like a dart arrow is way more stable with the mass at the front of the arrow. Finally, remaining with a front engine layout gave Ferguson Formula the opportunity to fall back upon its experience gained with the P99.

However, almost as soon as it had arrived in the USA, P104 had to endure its first hit by the now infamous ‘Novi Jinx’. The first laps for the car at the Indy track were on 30th March 1964, and one of the drivers that day was the team owner, Andy Granatelli, since he wanted to have personal experience with the vehicle he had spent a small fortune on acquiring. Another funny anecdote from that day was that when the car was taken out on the track one of the Granatelli brothers (Vince) was following in a passenger car for some observations. He had a passenger with him, no less than the well-known and popular driver AJ Foyt. Foyt told Vince that he did not like the shape of the rear end of the car. To which Vince Granatelli replied that he better had get used to it because he was going to see it for a much longer time in the race!

Now, was this comment too much temptation for ‘the Jinx’? After being driven for the first tests at the Indianapolis Speedway on March 30th, 1964 it was stored overnight in one of the garages in Gasoline Alley, the area where the teams had their garages and stored their cars and maintained them. Big fires in the Garage Area were a rarity. There had been one shortly before the start of the race in 1941. Another one was in the night from March 30th, 1964, and it took place in the garages of the Granatelli’s! As a result, P104 was reputedly severely damaged and one of their older 2WD cars also needed a major overhaul.

The Granatelli’s and their crew got the job done in time and a revamped version of the P104 was rolled out early May. The bodywork on the car had been changed from how it had arrived in the USA and that’s why pictures of the still unpainted car during the March test session make the car look very different from later versions. As for the driver who didn’t like the shape of the rear end of the P104, his prayers were answered because the rebuilt car had a much different, more boxy, shaped rear end.

What has been relayed as opinions about the car depends on the year when the statement was printed. Shortly after its construction the car was praised by the most vocal and prominent member of the Granatelli family, Andy. In later years he was less positive about it. When the author met Andy in 1989 for an interview, he said with a voice that expressed near disbelief, “A tank! A tank! I ordered a racing car and they built me a tank!”.

Not all crew members were permitted to know certain details of the car they were working upon. When the car was inspected and had to be weighed all crew members who had nothing to do at that moment were instructed to leave the garage when the car went up on the scales. In any event, no-one believed the press kit information about the car actually being lighter than the older 2WD chassis the team fielded that year as well.

Now there had been a good reason to build a study, solid chassis for Ferguson. A Novi V8 weighed in at about 240 (!) kg and in 1963 the three 2WD cars that had started the race had engines with a power output of a reputed 742hp. From what appeared in print, the Ferguson P104 supposedly got less of a torture to endure with the power, said to have been some 640hp.

The team had hired two drivers; Jim McElreath was the primary driver and Bobby Unser the second. Both drivers had normally been assigned to 2WD roadsters.

At this stage in the story, it needs to be pointed out that practice and qualifying at Indy at that time were unlike anywhere else in the world. Practicing started at the beginning of May, and there were four days allocated for qualifying. In 1964, the first two were the weekend of May 16th and 17th, the next and final two the following weekend, May 23rd and 24th. The race itself was held on May 30th.

Jim McElreath got the first shot with the P104 in practice, but he felt the car to be ‘heavy like a Cadillac’ and he had more faith in a tried and tested Novi Roadster than the innovative heavyweight. P104 was then tried by veteran driver Duane Carter who really liked the car and was willing to drive it. Regrettably for everyone involved, Carter had strong connections with Champion spark plugs while the Novi team used Autolite plugs, and a compromise wasn’t possible.

Bobby Unser was then offered the opportunity to try P104 and he eventually decided to make it his primary car, but again the ‘Novi Jinx’ hit big time during the first weekend of qualifying. An innovation that had worked on other engines had been put on the Novi engines for the pole weekend; sodium filled valves. For whatever reasons, they didn’t work on the Novis and the chance to qualify the cars high up in the field was lost for both Unser and McElreath. Now if that had been the only setback resulting from this mishap!

The following weekend all went well for Bobby Unser and the P104 and Unser qualified with an impressive 5th fastest qualifying time for the race! But due to the regulations, his spot in the field had to be behind the slowest qualifier of the first qualifying weekend, Bobby eventually ended up on the 22nd starting spot. As for Jim McElreath’s faith in the older 2WD cars, his original car (the Blue #3) failed on him during two qualifying attempts and eventually Jim took over the other 2WD Roadster (the White #28, initially Bobby Unser’s primary car) and qualified that car.

The failure to qualify in the first weekend became even more of a definitive factor in the outcome of the race for Bobby Unser. Starting in the back of the field, Unser had the misfortune to be behind a fiery accident at turn four during lap two and the beginning of the front straight. Approaching the inferno, Bobby instantly decided to use the large mass of the Novi and its momentum when at speed, stood on the gas to get through the fiery mess in front of him, hoping that the momentum would keep him moving and would save him from coming to a standstill within the fire as well. It worked, but in the process, he ran into a few cars in front of him and others ran into him as well. Still, Unser and the P104 got through the sea of fire, though his car was damaged beyond repair with a broken front suspension when eventually P104 did come to a standstill, parked against the outside wall. More importantly for Bobby, apart from a slight burn in his neck he had escaped alive and virtually unhurt. His race was over, but at least he was still alive. Racing drivers Dave MacDonald and Eddie Sachs had been killed in what has been one of the biggest infernos ever in the history of Indianapolis. Sadly, P104 had been denied to prove its Race Day potential on the one, if not the only, occasion that could have been its best chance ever for a decent result.

Including photographic images taken at Indy in 1964 is difficult due to availability and copyright issues, together with the fees charged for their use. How P104 looked in May 1964 is shown with this picture below of a 1:24 scale model, released as a kit in the mid 80’s by a little company named Garage 97. It required a skilled and patient builder to get a decent result. My kit ended up in good hands and the result was worth waiting a few years for.

The car was rebuilt and prepared for duty one year later, but by then it had been degraded to backup status. Because the Granatelli brothers, a bit incensed about the tremendous weight of the P104, had built their own chassis although still for a front engine car. Ferguson Formula had offered to build a new chassis themselves, but that suggestion was turned down by the Granatelli’s. But they did order the components of a 4WD driveline for their new car and that became Ferguson Formula Project P120.

The new, lighter car became the primary entry for the Novi team in 1965. But yet again the Novi Jinx hit the team. The Friday before Pole day poor Unser could not avoid a spinning car in front of him and hit it hard. Unser was sent to the hospital for examination but released as fit for driving. However, his new ‘lightweight 4WD Novi’ was damaged beyond repair.

The Granatelli’s and their men then hurriedly prepared the P104 for active duty on the next day (May 15th) when the Pole was up for grabs. Unser amazed many with a splendid qualifying attempt with a car he had little to no actual experience with that year. He ended up 8th fastest of the day and fastest of all the front engine cars that had managed to gain a qualifying spot that year.

Part 2 next issue.

Published in Journal No. 112, Spring 2025.
Henri Greuter, edited by Chris Maughan.
This article is dedicated to the memory of Bill Munro.

P104 A one-off Ferguson Formula Racing Car project that became a
‘Sleeping Beauty’ (Part 2)

Story told and written by Henri Greuter, edited by Chris Maugham

This article is dedicated to the memory of Bill Munro

In the final practice session for the race there were engine troubles, forcing the team into a major engine overhaul. That appeared to have gone well when Unser managed to keep P104 in the front of the field during the early part of the race itself. But trouble struck after 69 laps when an oil line came loose and the team was forced to retire from the race, for a final 19th place classification.

This turned out to be the end of the racing career of the P104. The following year there was one more attempt with a Novi powered car, based around the lightweight chassis with P120 components. But despite a staggering power amount of over 800hp, that car could not be qualified for the race by driver Greg Weld who put the car in the wall on the final day of qualifying after a more than troublesome period of practice.

The Ferguson Formula P104 had earned the distinction to have been the chassis that had housed a Novi V8 engine in what were the last ever laps in the Indy 500 for one of these legendary engines. It can be argued that it had achieved the mission to prove the merits of 4WD and give the powerful Novi V8 a better chance to cope with tyre wear. However, the improvements had been marginal and not enough to give the big V8 a chance to fight off the rear engine revolution that was taking place at Indy at the same time. What didn’t help either was a tyre war between Goodyear and Firestone that brought such big improvements in tyre developments that were more beneficial for the opponents of the Novis than for the ‘big brutes’. Another important contribution P104 gave to the efforts of the Granatelli racing team was invaluable experience with 4WD that was used in later very spectacular Indy entries by the Granatelli brothers.

The P104 faded from sight after retiring from active duty. It took some 18 years before the car came back to sight again and became part of another big project before returning to the dark yet again. During that period of time to some extent, P104 entered my life.

You might be wondering, by now, who is the author who spoke to Andy Granatelli, and the ‘me’ whose life P104 got into briefly?

My name is Henri Greuter. I am a Dutchman who, in early 1988, had the fortune that the American writer George Peters realised that I was enough of a fan of the Novis, and knew quite a lot about their ‘Legend’, that I could be a useful partner for him in a project that eventually resulted in the publication of two books about the engines and cars powered by them and the men behind all that. I also had the honour and pleasure to be of some help for Bill Munro and Pat Turner when they wrote their book Traction  for Sale.

About one of the earliest rumours about the fate of P104 after its career had come to an end was the story that components within the driveline of the Novi had been used in the legendary 1967 STP turbine car #40. Strangely enough, most of the time it was assumed that it had been P104 that had donated its driveline components to the Paxton-Pratt & Whitney car. A suggestion that seemed to be supported by the statement of Andy Granatelli’s son Vince to me in 1988 that the 1965 built lightweight chassis had been trashed. Other first-hand information I got also hinted about the use of P104 components in the 1967 Turbine car. Later on it  became clear to me that this had not been the case after all and that I had to rewrite the history of the later years of P104.

Some documentation in print about P104 appeared in 1983 in the American magazine Autoweek. In an article it was told how people in the City of Novi had got the idea to promote their town by trying to obtain a Novi race car. They had contacted Andy Granatelli and after a while they worked out a deal in which step by step the city could take over the remaining engine hardware as well as one of the cars Granatelli still owned, the 1964 built 4WD car. This was not one of the cars once owned by Novi citizen Lew Welch. All of those (five) cars were out of reach or not even in existence anymore. The P104 was still a genuine Novi and one of the most interesting cars built in the 60’s for Indy, thus worth going for.

Then, in 1986 the very same magazine mentioned the City of Novi had started with plans for creating a Motor Racing Hall of Fame. The article also mentioned that an engine-less but otherwise fresh-looking Ferguson-Novi P104 was seen as well as no less than five original Novi engines.

I was at Indianapolis for the first time in my life in 1988 and on Friday May 13th I met one of the few people still alive who had been part of the Novi team in the years of first owner Lew Welch; mechanic and jack-of-all-trades James Bell Gardner, better known under his nickname ‘Radio’ Gardner. When I met him again two days later he was angry with me. As I had not been around the day before I had spoiled a surprise he had organised for me and as a result of that someone living in Michigan missed out on meeting a man who was restoring the Ferguson P104 and also owned the leftovers of another Novi that he was also restoring. The man had left some  pictures with ‘Radio’ for me and looking these over I realised what a unique opportunity I had missed.

My host, with whom I was staying while at Indy, and I went home utterly disappointed that evening. But once home a string of events that we could not have dreamed up occurred!

Bobby Unser practising with the Ferguson P104. The black box located on the rollhoop by the drivers head is a film camera that registered the measurements on the different tachos and instruments on the dashboard. The Granatell brothers wanted to verify what their drivers told them!
Photo Copyright: First Turn Productions LLC, used with permission

Henry Ford endorsed the construction of 10 front wheel driven chassis built by famed car
builder Harry Miller between March and May 1935, all powered by Ford Flathead V8 engines.
Nine cars were finished in time to make it to the track and only 4 drivers managed to qualify. All
of them retired from the race with the same failure, a poor designed steering arrangement, being
too close to an exhaust. All the lubrication grease was lost and the steering ‘froze’ solid. This is
the 10th car, not finished in time and is located in the Henry Ford Museum. Henri Greuter

The 1946 Novi nowadays resides within the Brumos Collection in Florida. It is repainted in the
1952 colours. This is how Chet Miller drove the car that year, and was the fastest qualifier for
the race but due to regulations started in 30th place. Since qualifying at Indy is based on the
average over 4 laps, and no other front wheel driven car ever went faster than Miller in 1952.
It still holds the record for the fastest ever front driven car at Indianapolis! Henri Greuter

The second front wheel driven Novi has been in the possession of the Indianapolis Motor
Speedway Museum since around 1960. Shortly before he went bankrupt Lew Welch
donated the car to the Museum, though without an operational engine. Somewhere between
1983 and 1988 the car was restored as close as was possible into its 1948 configuration.
The year when Duke Nalon finished third, the best ever finish for any Novi. Thanks to the
tremendous popularity of the Novis, this car was for a long time one of the few non-racewinning
cars on near permanent display on the Museum floor. Henri Greuter

In 1953, the car looking like in this picture, driver Chet Miller crashed fatally in this Novi
which was then retired and cannibalised. Restoration was finished in 1998, originally back
into the 1953. Sitting in the car is the then current owner who restored the rolling chassis,
Robert ‘Buck’ Boudeman. During his life, Boudeman made it to the Goodwood Festival of
Speed on several occasions with this car. Henri Greuter

That very same evening my friend was called by a friend of his in Texas, a man who would be staying with us as well from the next weekend on. My friend told his Texan friend how it had been for him to drag a Dutchman around (fortunately, he had some fun with that!) and then also told about what we had missed out on that very same afternoon. The Texan then replied that he was in touch with someone in Michigan who claimed to have Novi hardware and had been invited to come over and have a look at it. But the Texan didn’t believe that story, knowing how rare Novi hardware was. To which my friend replied that we had missed out on someone from Michigan who had left us pictures of what was most definitely Novi hardware. He and his Texan friend concluded that the chance that there were two different men in Michigan who each owned Novi hardware was close to zero.

After describing what was visible on our pictures, the Texan went wild because we were describing one thing that as far as he knew could not exist anymore according to all known data. He then told us that he had to verify a few things but wanted to make a phone call with his contact. This because the Texan would come over for the race and be with us in Indiana too in the week before the race. But since for his standards he would then be close to Michigan, if the invitation was still valid, he wanted to visit his Michigan contact in that week. And if it was indeed as we assumed the same man we had missed out on, he wanted to ask permission to bring us along. While the Texan called Michigan, my host and I were in sheer disbelief about the entire situation.

It turned out that we had indeed missed out on meeting the same person as the Texan had been in touch with. After a telephone conversation by the Texan and suitable explanations an appointment was made for us all to meet car restorer Robert ‘Buck’ Boudeman at his shop in Michigan on Monday May 24th 1988.

First cursing your fate for having missed someone yesterday at noon, then go to bed with the knowledge you are going to meet him and see with own eyes what you had only seen on a few pictures before going to bed. Sometimes the truth can be stranger that you can imagine! When we did meet Buck Boudeman at his facilities the three of us were given a lot of confidential information we were not supposed to talk about for a long time. Buck was in possession of what was left of what was believed, by the wider world, to be a no longer existing car: the remains of the very first genuine Novi, built in 1946. This front wheel driven (!) car had been used for the last time in 1953 but had been parked and cannibalised for parts after driver Chet Miller had a fatal accident in the car. Miller was the second driver to be killed in that very same chassis, Ralph Hepburn had been the first in 1948. How the chassis had survived remained undisclosed. Boudeman had been collecting parts to restore the car eventually, but an engine was not obtainable for a long time. All of the engines were with the Granatelli brothers and for a long time they have had no intention to let any of them go out of their possession. However, once the City of Novi had got hold of the inventory, things changed for the good.

Owning the engineless car, but also the engines to complete it, the City of Novi wanted to have P104 up and running again. Boudeman informed me that he and the City of Novi had made the arrangement that he would finish this restoration of P104 for them for which in return he would receive the parts within the inventory that he needed to restore his FWD chassis. But P104 had the priority. At Boudeman’s shop I did not see what was to become the engine for his car, but rather work on the dual ignition 2.8 litre engine that was to be installed in the Ferguson which was taking place at the time. The engine was there, not entirely  omplete, but I could see it.

This is the Novi engine destined to be installed in the restored Ferguson P104. Standing next to the engine is Robert ‘Buck’ Boudeman who did the work. Henri Greuter

Despite being of only 2.8 litre capacity, the Novi V8 is a massive, big, heavy piece of equipment. The dual plug ignition is the same as that used on the 1954 and 1955 Mercedes F1 engines. Henri Greuter

The restoration of P104 was finished in March 1989 and there is video evidence of the car being fired up and Buck Boudeman taking it out on the streets of his hometown!

The plans for a Motorsports Hall of Fame were indeed realised and such a facility was located in Novi, Michigan for a while. The P104 found residence in the Hall of Fame, but the car occasionally went out for demonstration laps at various locations across the USA.

Over the years I visited Buck Boudeman on several occasions and followed his progress with the restoration of his 1946 FWD Novi, but that was a tardy job delayed by all kind of other projects he was involved with. For one reason or another, I somehow never managed to visit Novi and the  Motorsport Hall of Fame and see the restored P104.

Then P104 re-entered my life in the Summer of 1996. Part 3 next issue.

Published in Journal No. 113, Summer 2025, Henri Greuter

P104 A one-off Ferguson Formula Racing Car project that became a
‘Sleeping Beauty’ (Part 3)

Story told and written by Henri Greuter, edited by Chris Maugham

This article is dedicated to the memory of Bill Munro

In July 1996 I found out that Buck Boudeman had previously participated in the Goodwood Festival of Speed when he had brought over two of his other cars. In early August of 1996 I was in the USA and went to see Buck and in talking about Goodwood, Buck made it clear how much he enjoyed the experience and that if ever invited back he would return. Very briefly I brought up the idea as to how nice it would be if one or more of the still operational Novis could be brought to England, or to have his own car finished and take it to Goodwood.

Buck agreed about the other cars coming over being a good idea but his car, even if finished was unlikely to be invited. I asked Buck what he should do if Goodwood did ask him to come over with his Novi. Buck then stated to me that should he ever get such an invitation, he would do everything needed to make sure he could accept it, but he was certain an invitation would never come. He then surprised me with the promise that, should he ever receive an invitation from Goodwood to bring over his Novi, the restoration of the car would be finished with top priority in order to make that happen. However, he did also say that he simply couldn’t believe Goodwood wanted to see his car running at their event given the car’s lethal past, but if he was proven wrong after all, it would be the best motivation possible for him to finish the car at last.

One of the 10 Miller-Ford chassis was rebuilt in 1941 be powered with the very first Novi engine. What had been a fine handling 160 HP car become an evil beast once fitted with an engine almost three times as powerful, some 80kgs more weight up front and engine characteristics comparable with an early turbocharged F1 engine. Since a number of the original 1941 components don’t exist anymore this car is not entirely genuine 1941 anymore but a recreation with many identical copies. The snailhouse in the back of tbe engine bay is the supercharger, on top of the engine the intercooler and the ducting for cool air towards the intercooler can be seen.

I knew I was on to something, but I also knew that I needed the help of Pl04.

I then contacted the organisation of the Goodwood Festival of Speed with the suggestion that it might be an idea to invite the City of Novi to bring over their Ferguson P104 to the festival for its first ever return to England after being sent to the USA in March 1964. This invitation could also include the P99 so that a reunion between P99and P104 on British soil could be arranged. I also mentioned the existence of Buck’s Novi that was currently being restored, but could also be invited as being an early example of the Novis (p104 being a very late one) so if that car came over as well there was a reunion of two examples of the Novis together as well. Something that had not even been seen in the USA.

Unattended and ignored … ‘Fergie’ back home in England at last during the 1998 Festival of Speed.

Shortly before Christmas I heard from Buck Boudeman that he had received a message from Goodwood in which they had informed him that whenever his Novi was ready to run they hoped to hear from him because of a plan they had mind to do on a future Festival in which his FWD Novi would be a welcome addition.

As a result of this invitation, and a lot of work, both Buck’s Novi and the Ferguson P104 were at the 1998 Goodwood Festival of Speed. P104 was finally back in its country of origin for once. Regrettably, it appeared to be impossible to get P99 attending the same event and thus it was not possible to reunite both the Ferguson Formula built racing cars.

Bud Bennett sitting in Pl04 when it was ready for a test run at the Festival of Speed.

Sadly, the opportunity for a reunion between P99 and P104 did not come about and, as far as I have been able to ascertain, P104 has not returned to the UK for another visit. This is now unlikely to occur because ‘the second active life’ for P104 came to an end in the years thereafter.

Though Novi engines were tremendously powerful, they were notoriously sensitive and tricky to manage. Setting them up to run properly was a challenge.

The engine bay of P104 was filled with a lot of engine hardware.

They required a lot of attention and maintenance by people who knew and understood them. Even with the engine used in P104 being detuned, to make it easier to be used for the demonstration runs, it was still difficult and complex to prepare for running. Needless to say, such extensive maintenance and service also requires enough financial support


Two entirely different kinds of Nvis standing next to each other in the paddock of Goodwood. They differ by 18 years in age. A unique sight and it happened In England. But ‘Fergie’ has never returned to her land of birth since..

It turned out that the Motor Sports Hall of Fame could not survive at Novi, Michigan. It was relocated on several occasions to different locations but eventually from 2016 the collection went to Daytona. P104, being owned by the City of Novi, was not part of the collection that was transferred to Daytona and it remained in Novi. For a while it was on display in the Novi Public Library, but in 2019 the car was moved again, this time it went to the City Hall. By that time the car was no longer in a condition to be started up. The City of Novi was not able to provide the funding to keep up with the required maintenance and, a sad result, the car is now, albeit complete, only suitable for static display.

Some 20 years after had seen the P104 at Goodwood I was in for a nasty surprise.

Back in 1988, when I met Buck Boudeman for the first time, my spoken English was not that impressive so from my conversation with Buck about the restoration of the drive line of the car I had understood that it had been newly made in England. This understanding was in line with the information I had also read in a magazine that stated ‘the 4WD Novi’ had donated its drive1ine to the 1967 Turbine car, and hence that car being named as being a ‘son of the Novi’. For more than 30 years I remained convinced that this was the true position. Furthermore, whilst there is talk about ‘the 4WD Novi’, it is assumed most of the time to be the Ferguson P104 which is by far the best known of the two. The other 4WD Novi (the 1965 built car with FF P120 components) never made it into the race and has remained much more unknown. In both 1965 and 1966,1he years it was entered Indy, the car was crashed beyond repair.

However, during the writing of ‘Traction for Sale’, Munro and Turner discovered that there had, in fact, not been an entirely new drive line made for 1he P104 restoration but rather that the original drive line had been returned to England for maintenance This new information was passed to me by Bill.

Based on all research results by both Bill Munro and Henri Greuter: whatever is still left of Ferguson Formula Project P120 (the drive line of the 1965 built 4WD Novi) eventually ended up in this legendary car: the 1967 Paxton-Pratt and Whitney Turbine car that retired from the lead with a mere four laps to go. After a crash in practice in 1968 the car was retired and restored. Though owned by the Smithsonian Institute, the car was on loan to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum for a long time.

It was now clear, at least to me, that based on the discoveries of Bill Munro, the history of the three Indy Cars had to be rewritten. Because: if the 1967 Turbine car indeed had used a 4WD driveline with components of “the 4WD Novi”, that could only involve parts of the P120 project from 1965. Therefore Vince Granatelli’s comment about the Novi powered 4WD chassis built in 1965 being trashed had been only partially true as the vehicles were cannibalised for useful parts in support of other ongoing projects. In this case: The 4WD drive-line of the car being transferred onto the Turbine powered chassis used in 19617.

This new information also meant that the restored P104 contained way more original genuine, historically accurate parts than had hitherto believed, thus increasing the historical value of the car even more. In addition, as far as the history of Ferguson Formula concerns it also means that the fate of the P120 components is different to that which was previously believed. Rather than being lost the components are still in existence, fitted in the restored 1967 #40 Turbine car. Nowadays this particular car resides within the collection of the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, DC.

In March 2024 I was finally able to tick off one particular entry on my bucket list by visiting Novi, MI and see what was left of the facilities of Lew Welch’s factory and to see P104 one more time. Welch’s factory is no longer in existence, apart from the water tower (pictured left) which carries a memorial to the cars that got their name from the town where the tower is standing.

P104 can be found in the centre hall of Novi City Hall. It looks pristine and like it was in 1965, apart from some extra decals applied on the car, decals by companies who provided materials, components for its restoration to a driving condition again (sigh) now than 35 years ago.

It is also still fitted with two decals for which I am partly responsible. One of them is the decal of Lufthansa, the airline that transported the car from the USA to England and back in 1998. The other is the ‘Silver Oval that every car that is present at the Goodwood Festival of Speed gets. Many, many cars that over the years have been at Goodwood have this decal applied and retained ever since as if it was a distinction of honour. P104 also has retained its ‘Silver Oval’, the approval that the British built chassis has been back in its home country for at least one moment during its life.

But it is a somewhat sad sight The car stands in a corner, surrounded by a sturdy cage to avoid people getting too close. It also has a Perspex plate within the cockpit to make it impossible to climb into the car should you have managed to climb the fence undetected. Despite its looks, it is a sad sight to know that the car, despite being as good as complete, will likely never drive under its own power again.

The ultimate expression of fascination for the Novi? Mr Eddie Evans of Bedford, IN (1931-2006)) owned a limestone company. A big-time race fan who also owned his own car museum. He commissioned several racing cars to be carved out of limestone. One of the most famous in the collection was this half-scale tribute to Duke Nalon and the Novi as the highlight of the Novi legend. The Evans family donated it to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 1,2016.

Parked within its cage, it reminded me about ‘Sleeping Beauty’. It will take time and efforts to get all the running gear sorted out and verified for active use again. In theory that could be done, but will everything else that is needed to make such an overhaul possible ever happen? Will we ever see an air pressure starter ‘kissing this Sleeping Beauty’ back into life again?

Finally: This article was written with the intention of becoming a joint venture between Bill Munro and myself. The untimely death of Bill in October 2024 prevented this to happen. Fortunately it has been possible to see this manuscript being used and printed after all. Not thanks to Bill Munro, but as my personal tribute to Bill Munro within a society of which I know he was very proud to be part of. Rest in peace dear Bill, and thank you for your friendship, it was a joy and honour for me to have known you and to be able to work with you. My sincere thanks to Chris Maughan, a Ferguson Club member, for his assistance in editing this article and in translating my ‘Dutch English’ into ‘English English’!

‘Sleeping Beauty’ or caged tiger??? All photographs Henri Greuter

Published in Journal No.114