Visit to Fury Sports Cars

Today I visited Fury Sports Cars for the first time. I was very impressed witht eh setup and was lucky because they had three cars in at the time. One was a race car having a new Blackbird engine fitted, one was a Zetec and another was a superb Hayabusa.

Both Steve and Jake(?) were very welcoming, helpful and open. I was there for about two hours looking over the cars and discussing options. The Hayabusa car was probably the most professional and smart Fury I've seen to date. It is a complete factory build with metallic paint, a meaty bonnet scoop and beautifully frenched in lights. Clearly no expense spared. Apparently the guy who has ordered it is in his '70s! Respect.

I found it very reassuring meeting Steve in person and have him talk me through all the steps required to build. I was intimidated by the mechanicals, and was starting to think perhaps I'd get them to build a rolling chassis so at least there's a chance of me finishing it within the next year or so, but Steve said most of the serious time is in panelling the chassis, electrics and fitting the bodywork. The result is I'm now convinced again that I should build it from scratch. This was my initial plan, but with a toddler and another baby on the way, I'm gonna have to find some time!

We discussed bike engines a fair bit. Most of the furies I've seen are bike engined after all, and two of the three in shop were as well. It's obviously a popular route, but not for me this time at least! You will get 160bhp out of a 2.0l zetec on throttle bodies, and this can be raised up to ~200bhp with some work. That'll give some serious grunt.

Regarding bodywork, the paint job on the Hayabusa was gorgeous, but costs around £1600, so it'll be gel coat for me. The finish on the gel coat cars was very nice as well, it just means no metallics. Steve and french in the lights even with a gel coat, so I'm gonna ask for that on mine.

I sat in the cockpit of the zetec car. This has the lowered seating position, which I am planning on going for. It was lowered around 40mm, but Steve reckons he could go lower. It felt perfect if you ask me. The seats were Mambo L7 cub sports and were very comfortable. I could've sat in it all day. It was reassuring as I felt a bit cramped in Steve Matthews car at Stoneleigh last weekend. That was probably due to the fact that his seats were forward a little on rails and he had quite a large steering wheel.

The other thing of note from the day was that they now offer a heated windscreen, which means no heater box and vents! This is a fantastic offering for those needing to IVA but not wanting the extra weight and complexity of a heater system.

Stoneleigh 2015

Went to the national kit car show at Stoneleigh today. 95% of the cars were seven or Cobra replicas, but there were a handful of Furies there at least. I was really pleased to see Steve Matthew's Pinto fury as I think his design is gorgeous. All hand-painted by roller as well! He had JK Composite seats which he let me try out. I made a twat of myself trying to get in and out because I was paranoid about damaging it.

Had a long chat with a guy called Richard on the jpsc.org.uk pitch who had owned his Fury for around ten years. He originally had a 2.0 Lancia lump under the bonnet but eventually changed it ouw for a bike engine. He said the power was similar, but the feel was completely different and handling improved.

A couple of things I hadn't noticed before about Steve's car: I like his rear light layout, and also the wind shields on the side of his screen.

An introduction

Back in 2012, I sold my beloved '02 MG TF and bought a regular saloon when my job changed location. The new location meant I'd be running up and down the motorway for an hour each way instead of flying around the country lanes so needed something more quiet and smooth.

I'd done a lot of cosmetic work on the car, particularly on the interior where I'd reupholstered in electric blue and fitted Mike Satur roll hoops.

Ever since then, I've missed the fun of a roof-down RWD two-seater. I'd had track days in the TF and since selling it have had a drive around Rockingham in an Ariel Atom. The Atom experience made me realise I needed to get a fun car again, and ideally I wanted something more 'raw' than the TF. I've since moved house, closer to work, and also have a garage for the first time in my life. I just need something to put in it...

I had been aware of Caterhams for a long time, but not so aware of the huge 7 replica kit car industry until a couple of years ago. I knew I couldn't afford an Atom or Caterham, but reading around it seemed possible to build a very nicely specced 7 style kit car for around £10k. In reading around online, I came across pictures of the Fury and immediately knew it was the car for me. It looked like a cross between the '60s roadsters and the American muscle cars I loved when growing up. I liked the idea of a 7 replica, but to be honest was never that keen on the styling/looks.

Whilst reading Rob Collingridge's excellent Fury build log, I noticed that he is based in Ipswich, less than an hour's drive from me. I got in touch and he was willing to take me out for a spin. It was immense. His car is one of the very finest Furys I've seen (from browsing online), and was the first I've seen in the flesh. He runs an R1 engine - it was a seriously visceral experience.

After that, I spoke with Steve at Fury Sports Cars, and starting getting ideas for what I will build. We mostly talked about engine options, and he has done plenty of one-offs, but not being very mechanically minded, I intend to play it safe with a Zetec. Steve claims these can be tuned to 170BHP+ quite easily, and that will suit me plenty!

I have my mind set on a Fury Spyder, with windscreen and a Lemans bonnet. No idea if that's where I'll end up...