B8/67

B8/67 began life as a pale blue factory built 302 cu. in. 4-speed Nagari roadster. It has been reported in the club forum that it was delivered to the South Australian agent as a delete engine and transmission kit. This is not the case. Even though previous Nagaris had been delivered to South Australia in this form, this car was, in fact, the very first turn key South Australian Nagari. It was ordered for Donald Nairn (now deceased), a Glen Osmopnd dentist. He had it for a couple of years and bowing to family pressure (I'm told) sold it to Dennis Pollard from North Adelaide on 12th September 1974.
Incidentally, a few people have told me that the car came out with a non-standard colour. It was most certainly a genuine Bolwell colour and has its own special metal plate on my Bolwell colour chart. It was called Burmese Blue and the Balm Paints Ltd. number was 300-09953 issued on 28th June 1971. I know of no others that colour and can only conclude that it just wasn't popular.
I don't think Dennis had the car for all that long although I remember him being a club member for a while. Anyway, it was bought by Shirley-Anne Clements whose brother, Bob Gay, had a Mark 7. Shirl, sadly widowed in her twenties, came with us to every thing that was going. These were the days of everyone going to circuit sprints and Shirl was there. Easters - Shirl was there. She was very generous with her car and there were many Bolwell people who were able to experience driving a Nagari. Mind you, a lot of the guys were generous in return and the car was always maintained in good order and it also became repainted (only about 3 years into its life) a light metallic blue. Eventually it became impractical for B8/67 to serve the needs of a busy district nurse and it gave way to a new Celica.


Enter Kym Stark (the 4th owner) a suddenly well-heeled (from an inheritance) young man about town who was going places at a hundred miles an hour (in more ways than one). Apart from the Bolwell, he also had an E49 Charger. I remember one night Kym hopped in the Charger in Adelaide and drove to Perth, arriving next day in Perth in such a record time that it needed to be verified that he was there. And verified it was. Anyway, back to the Bolwell. Under Kym's ownership it became more and more modified and hotter and hotter and it was driven about the place at break-neck speeds. It would often be seen, especially at night, sporting 15 x 10 wheels, complete with racing slicks, tearing around the roads.
Colin McAskill became the fifth owner in about 1977. I won't say he picked up the pieces, but he did turn it back into a nice car, this time painting it a darker Monza blue and fitting it with Magnums. In 1978 Colin entered it in the Drag Nationals. On Bridgestone road tyres it had no traction. Anyway, before any decent times could be posted, the starter motor packed up.
By this time Vern Leng had bought B8/81. Vern was a cop and his patrol car mate (car 54 where are you?),Shannon Summerton, had become indoctrinated through long periods spent with Vern on night shift, and bought B8/67. I don't recall Shannon being the tear-arse that Kym and Vern were and the car was able to lead a more sedate life during his custodianship.
After Shannon came another young woman, Lynne Cockshell. I think Lynne eventually moved interstate and the Bolwell moved with her. It was here that I lost contact with the car, but I do know that the next owner became Carl Schultz in Victoria and from Carl it went to Lee Mundy in Tasmania. From Tasmania it was back to Victoria to Ross Carrington. Ross sold it to Peter Carpenter who, in turn, sold it to Guy S who has retained it to this day. I hope that's the correct sequence.
Since Guy has owned it, it has been featured in Restored Cars No.80 (May 1989), Unique Cars (October 2000) and Australian Muscle Car No.11 (January 2003).
I remember in the South Australian Slipstream of March 1980 the Editor being amazed at the rediculously high priced sale figure quoted of $6,500 as it was for sale in Melbourne at that time.