Gregory,
Could you check to see what issue the Group 44 article was in, I'd like to get
a copy. I moved up to the DC area after college and use to drop by their shop
when it was in Falls Church. I'm sure I was in the way, but they always took
time out to show me around. Unfortunatly, Brian was killed in a plane crash
about 10 years ago, but I understand Bob is living in Florida and having fun
with a P-51 Mustang (a real hot rod of a plane). I bet it's been up rated. I
hope the organizers at the VIR Homecoming have talked him into attending.
Stan Vann
Gregory Nagy wrote:
> When I was a youngin, the Group 44 team (never looks right without the
> numbers backwards, does it?) was one of my favorites. Little did I know that
> they were formerly agents of [demonic refrences removed as a favor to our
> triumph driving friends =) ] Of course, by the 70's they were driving cars
> from thoughout the BL lineup and the one I recall the most was Bob's XKE.
> What a beast of a car.
>
> Sometime in the last year, Sportscar & Classic, I believe, had an
> article about Bob Tulius and the history of the Group 44 team. His sneaking
> out with his wifes TR to Marlboro (what a tie-in!) for drivers school, the
> story behind the "1964" Trans-Am car, the teams prank rivalry with PLN, and
> up to the professional years in Trans-Am, IMSA, and NASCAR. Nowadays,
> according to the article, Tulius and Furstenau are retired in the southeast,
> and restoring WWII fighter planes. [insert cheesy spitfire joke here]
>
> -
>
> >Bob Tullius was a good friend of mine back then.
> >
> >I decided to build a GT 6 into a production racer and spent 3 days at
> >the group 44 shops in VA learning everything there was to know about how
> >to build the car. Bryan and Lankie Furshett (misspelled I know) were
> >great.
> >
> >A few weeks I repaid their kindness by discovering a new half shaft that
> >would bolt up with just a little machine work.
> >
> >They had used a sliding spline shaft (axle) and it would tend to bind on
> >hard aceleration. I discovered that the shafts wout of a Datsun 510 (I
> >think that is correct) would bolt up, and it used a ball bearing slider
> >that would not bind. Lankie was amazed when he tried it.
> >
> >Cheers, Larry Dent
> >
|