The first Mark 3

This little post was going to be called "The Mark 2" to start with because this is what we used to think was the Mark 2. However, when I ran what I was going to write past Campbell (for verification and authorization) he said "no, that's not the Mark 2 at all, the Mark 2 was built on an MG J2 chassis and was powered by a Ford 10 engine, and there were, in fact two Mark 3s". He also said that he had a photo of the Mark 2 that we probably haven't seen and when he gets a chance he'll dig it out and Owen can put it on the archive page on the Car Company website. When I was young, the Ford 10 engine formed the basis for all kinds of specials. There were numerous books produced on building the Ford 10 special, just like the Austin 7 special. Colin Chapman was caught up in this too and his messing around with "trials cars" culminated in the Lotus 7 and before that the Lotus Mark 6. In SA, the VSCC had an annual "English-type trial" for the Jack Watts Trophy, usually on rugged dirt tracks and creek beds in the Adelaide hills, and there were the odd Ford 10 specials built up for that. Mike Pryce had a perfect example. Ford Anglias and Prefects and Populars were gutless things but when you removed the body, lowered the steering column and fitted and aluminium clad 2-seater body frame, it was amazing how they were transformed.
Anyway, as usual, I digress. Let's call this car that I am about to mention, the Mark 3A. It started life as a BN1 Healey. It was purchased by Winston Bolwell. The front finally got smashed so he built his own fibreglass nose and fitted a Jaguar engine. The car also had a radical hardtop and a huge home made flip-top petrol cap on the back shroud. This car was never raced. Winston eventually swapped the car to his good friend Paul Morton for a Mini. Winston was duly killed in the Mini. Paul put the Bolwell under a tree and never drove it again (1964 approx.). His house was across the road from the beach and at the time was covered with a tarp. Over the years, the tarp rotted away. It was eventually believed that if the car was moved it would probably break in half. Paul was very sensitive about the car and resisted offers to have it put under cover. It may very well no longer exist.