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