As has been mentioned I first saw this car in 1984 and just knew it as a " Jaguar powered Special " until one of my photos was followed up with information from the Bennett's, Jim and Warren.
This is Jim's story of Furi 2 .
" FURI 2 (registered 1979)
I had acquired a Raymond Mays cylinder head but didn’t have enough courage to cut two cylinders off to make it fit one of the Consul engines in the Wolseleys.
When the Wolseleys were sold the image of a GMC powered sports car remained and morphed into a Zephyr powered car with a Raymond Mays cylinder head instead. Parts were being gathered for this car when I was offered a cheap Mk 7 Jaguar engine and about the same time was given a big supercharger off a Commer TS3 2 stroke diesel. These unusual engines had 6 pistons horizontally opposed in 3 cylinders operating through a series of connecting rods and levers to a crankshaft under the cylinders.
In a short time the GMC then Zephyr became a supercharged Jaguar powered device. A "simple" clubman body style was envisaged. As I had only a single phase electric welder the chassis was made out of heavy wall 40mm square tube. This was also reasoned as being more durable for long term road car use.
After the rolling chassis was finished it was found that "power bulges" would be everywhere to cover the tall engine and supercharger. It had been hoped that brother Cliff might be prevailed upon to do an alloy body, again. However he was assisting Ivan in the complete restoration of a 1923 Lorraine Dietrich for which the only bits of body were not much more than a door and a bonnet.
Cliff had also acquired the remains of a Lotus Europa which had been run over by a Chev Impala. The body was destroyed in the ensuing conflagration. It was obvious that my project would be a fair way down the body-builder’s list so the decision was made to try my hand at making a fibreglass body.
The chassis was built one Easter. Three months were needed to build the buck from which the body would be moulded. Three days to lay up the glass. Three years to grind out the buck, fill and sand the body and finish the thing off.
Just after it was finished Lin Neilson suggested that I take it to a "Country Gents" meeting at Levels. Approval would have to be sought from the organiser. He said that because it had a Jag engine it was OK so we were allowed to participate.
Furi 2 continued – a couple of my own photos follow;
Practice was spent trying to come to grips with the performance which was more than 200 hp greater than anything else I had raced. As well I was somewhat rusty having not been on a track for over 10 years.
Raced over the next ten years some improvements were made to the handling and braking but greed for horsepower and increased boost made the car less reliable. Even with this it was driven to and from many events. The car has always been driveable after an event..
The car was re-chassied in 1991 with “Frank Costin Lister” type spaceframe in light gauge tube. Falcon limited slip diff, Mk4 Cortina front suspension, Falcon front discs with Mazda RX7 Series 4 - 4 pot calipers, Turbo Commodore rears. SD1 Rover 5 speed gearbox. More room inside the car plus better routing of the exhaust has made this car much more pleasant for touring. "
Photos of Furi 2 ..
Chasing Thelma Bennett in Furi 6
My photos Dunedin 1984 Festival Meeting.
The engine and supercharger
Details of the Commer TS3 Motor and twin roller supercharger.
Have a couple more photos of the car but need to be changed to Jpg file for posting - a work in progress
