Don't know where everybody else got to. There were lots of hands that went up at the meeting.
Apart from the hoards of twin-turboed big V8 powered Falcon and Commodore utes a couple of other things caught my eye........ like this cute little Hillman Husky.....
.....and this rather dashing boat tailed Dodge Flying 4.
Last Sunday there were four Bolwells running in the Geelong Revival 1/4 mile event along the curved foreshore road. Here is a video that shows all of them. Roger's Mk4 is near the end. Also running was Ross' Rennmax 23B (not shown in this video).
Here's a couple of photos from Philip Smethurst (including one of the Rennmax).
And John Joubert took this photo of a couple of Minis that we featured in Bollyblog a while back.
Classic British sports car now compliant in Australia again
After a two-year hiatus, Caterham cars are back on the menu in Australia.
The British sports car maker needed to spend a couple of years meeting new European WLTP emissions regulations and subsequently regaining Australian Compliance Approval, but the brand’s main attraction (the Caterham Seven) is now available to order again.
With a revised range, only three versions of the Seven are up for grabs in Australia (as opposed to the eight previously available), with three models providing a span from base to halo.
At the lower end of the spectrum is the Caterham Seven 275, the $73,700 offering which forms the simplest way to get into a Caterham.
The 275 is powered by a 1.6-litre Ford Sigma inline four, good for 100kW and 160Nm, but in a package that weighs just 540kg (an international weight figure). Caterham claims a 0-100km/h of 5.0 seconds flat.
The other two model available are quite similar in specification level, but one’s packing a bit of extra kit.
At $114,000, the Caterham Seven 485 S runs a dry-sump 2.0-litre atmo engine making 177kW and 206Nm. This, in a package that weighs around 525kg, makes for a supercar-fighting track car that can hit 100km/h in just 3.4 seconds.
The 485 comes with a limited-slip diff, which the base 275 misses out on, plus adjustable suspension.
Or, for an extra $1000, you can have the Caterham Seven 485 CSR, which adds inboard front suspension, an anti-roll bar at the front (both models have them at the rear), more aero-friendly guards and, and independent wishbone rear suspension.
Both versions of 485 come with Avon ZZS tyres which are made from a soft compound that suits the Caterham Seven’s lightweight nature. On the CSR, you can wrap these tyres around a set of 15-inch CSR-specific wheels.
Interested buyers will need to contact Caterham’s Cremorne showroom in Melbourne, which can deliver to customers at an extra fee for transport.
The BT62's very first race, the 2019 Brands Hatch"Into the night" event saw a pole position and the race win for David Brabham and Will Powell. How's that?
"As the devil called the mk4a nears paint, I have now turned to the hunter, (chassis really not salvageable, so will renew as per original) and the buchanan crossmember ready to be pulled down (chassis is also a jack prior and in good condition). The fun continues."
The Mk4A is looking good.but don't stop. 3 projects at once may mean none get finished. From a man talking from experience.
He’s in his late seventies, but Campbell Bolwell still wakes up each day dreaming of building the next great sports car. He’s done so for more than 60 years now, though by his own admission the succession of coupes and convertibles bearing his family name has never made money.
The ultra-passionate Victorian engineer and designer remains a hero to many, a sort of antipodean version of Lotus founder Colin Chapman. This year Campbell is celebrating a half century since the launch of his most acclaimed model, the Bolwell Nagari coupe, and he’s marked it by previewing an all-new two-seater model.
It’s called the Nagari 500, has a 6.2-litre V8, and a claimed weight of under 1000 kilograms. By comparison, the Chevrolet Corvette from which the engine is borrowed is more than 50 per cent heavier. The Nagari 500’s unitary body construction uses fibreglass, carbon and Kevlar in various combinations, incorporating aerospace technology and proprietary Bolwell processes.
“It’s basically a showpiece for our composite technology,” says Campbell. “We use the materials to maximise efficiency, that’s how we can get a supercar like this weighing less than one tonne.”
Bolwell has used its composite expertise to build everything from flight simulator cabins to playground equipment, turbine blades, yachts, caravans, truck bodies and garden furniture. But cars have always been the major passion for Campbell and the two brothers – Graeme and Winston – who joined him in establishing a large and diverse business. Bolwell now employs 90 people in Thailand and 60 in Australia building a wide array of products.
“It is all based on the cars, because people know us from the cars, and it opens all the doors to potential customers because they say ‘if you can do that, you can do this’.”
Campbell built his first car at 16. He began working at Coles as a management trainee, but his mind was elsewhere. “I was a petrol head and when I got to the age of 20 I sacked my boss.” With just £200 in the bank, he told his headmaster father he was going to build sports cars. “He rolled his eyes. But he’d always told me, ‘Campbell, whatever you put your mind to you can do.’ That was his philosophy, so he couldn’t really say no.”
A succession of low-slung machines followed, mainly with Holden mechanical components and fibreglass bodies. “I’ve got to admit I hated fibreglass, wet and sticky … the splinters get in your skin, you itch like crazy. But it allowed us to do complex curves. And of course the technology has gone a long way and you can see the result of technology we’ve now developed.”
Hundreds of the early Bolwell cars were sold, though mostly in kit form, and many were badly built by their owners. The brothers believed they could establish a reputation for high quality only if they sold a “turnkey” car. “Graeme worked at Lotus in the mid-1960s,” says Campbell, “and he came back bristling with ideas which we put into the early Nagari.”
This was their turnkey model and the spectacular styling (by Campbell and Graeme) made it the star of the 1969 Melbourne Motor Show. With an eight-cylinder engine it was also quicker than any of its predecessors. “We hate to say it sometimes, but we are a V8 culture,” says Campbell. “It struck a nerve with the motoring public immediately.”
That’s why the new car has a V8 – and one with 372 kW and the further option of adding a supercharger. A 2008 predecessor known as the Nagari 300 had a V6 and failed to sell. Campbell claims there were plenty of buyers, but they walked away after government approval processes that should have taken six months dragged on for four bureaucratic years.
The styling of the new car is a further development of that body, with a smoother profile and more balanced proportions.
About 100 examples of the original Nagari coupe were built, along with 18 convertibles. The 500 version is a one-off prototype, but Campbell insists it is almost production ready. He says his dilemma is whether to build a handful a year in his factory in Seaford, Victoria, or try to partner with a big manufacturer. “It has a lot of interest from overseas and they’re not talking ones and twos, they’re talking serious volumes.”
Either way, he can’t even guess a price as it will depend on so many factors. “But it’s not going to be cheap, it’s a hand-built car.”
Bob Hampton was one of the original members of the Crusaders Rod and Custom Club, one of the 4 Hot Rod clubs that got together and built the track. You don't seem to see working bees of this magnitude these days. He has directed us to this website.....http://www.speedwayandroadracehistory.com/two-wells-brooksfield-dragstrip.ht ml
Bob waxes lyrical about Ken Virgin as everybody did in the period. Ken was a clever VW specialist who drove a beetle in every form of motorsport going at the time and winning always AND driving the car to and from the track on most occasions.
We've featured this car before but it's raised its head again which is understandable as it's a regular around the Port Adelaide area. A rego check reveals it as a Simca but that is only because it once had a Simca engine in it.
Roger WrightOk guys. Well we are going back a while here. This car was built in Adelaide by a colleague of mine who worked with me in DCA, when I had my Bolwell Mk7 (RFN145) in the 70s. The car was a Simca and the inspiration was a Ferrari Daytona. The owner builder had the initials GAL and from memory they were attached to the front of the car. While the car initially had all Simca running gear Peter Nelson and I suggested that the engine and gearbox be changed for something more modern. A Mitsubishi Sigma engine and gearbox replaced the Simca. Good to see this car still in use and looking good.
Pete S. says......I went in the Run with Howard Parslow in his 1951 LandRover....NEVER AGAIN!!! Bone jarring, slow, uncomfortable, noisy......but for a $1000 you would be happy with it. It made it there and back!!
Now, Ben, I bet you've got a duck in the Strathalbyn duck race.
Don't know where everybody else got to. There were lots of hands that went up at the meeting.
.....and this rather dashing boat tailed Dodge Flying 4.
And John Joubert took this photo of a couple of Minis that we featured in Bollyblog a while back.
Good to see.
And here's one I tossed in for good measure.
I wonder if that's impersonating a police officer.
Roger Wright Ok guys. Well we are going back a while here.
Pete S. says...... I went in the Run with Howard Parslow in his 1951
