Where is it now? - No.3

The other night I was on the phone talking to Col Watson and among other things the conversation got around to a bloke in Sydney who had taken the radical step of fitting Nagari doors to his Mark 7. I say radical mainly because it must have been a daunting task. I asked Colin where it was and he said he hadn't seen it in years. As we were talking a bell rang on my computer which it does every time an email comes in. I looked and it was from Peter G with a photograph of the very car we were talking about and the suggestion that it would be a good idea to include this one in our "Where is it now?" series. A greater coincidence has never occurred. So here it is. Where is it now?

Baby Boomers Fitness Centre

Jim S sent me this. Obviously it's his style of fitness centre.

A black Mark 7 with wires.

Peter G just keeps on finding them. This time from a site called Performance Forums. Apart from the wire wheels it also features GTO nose vents and a windscreen with curved edges.


From the forum we are able to deduce that it belongs to a guy called Glen who lives in Brisbane and has owned it since 2000. Other features explained are that it has a fibreglass body, a steel backbone chassis, a Holden179 with a Yella Terra head and triple side draft Dellortos, a Celica 5-speed box, UC Torana front end, HQ discs, Jaguar walnut dash and instruments and cream leather interior.

Laro update

I've had a few enquiries about how the Laro is coming on lately. I can say that the body is maturing slowly but surely. Meanwhile the chassis is being prepared for painting which includes remaking the doors with intrusion bars raised to suit the new higher window line. There are little things happening like putting the handbrake lever in properly and fitting the adjustable steering column etc. Once the chassis is painted it will be mechanically re-assembled and then it can be test driven at Mallala without a body.

Seeking an old Mark 5

Almost seven years ago a former Mark 5 owner/builder emailed the club seeking information about his old car. The emails were circulated in SA and Victoria about this very distinctive Bolwell but there were no positive reactions. This week we had a short conversation about it and decided that with this blog now up and running and the odd Mark 5 coming out of the woodwork it might be worth another try. His name is Bernie Evans. Does anyone remember him? Here is most of what he said in his emails of November 2001 and July 2002:-

I am trying to track down a Mark 5 Bolwell that I owned in Melbourne in the late 60s, early 70s. I didn't build it but did do a lot of work on it. I sprayed it GTR Torana Orange with a black tail and black interior. (At some stage it must have been Holden Monaro yellow as well because that colour was also mentioned later - Ed.) The rear bubble window was tinted green and the door windows were sliding ones off a 1963 Morris Mini. The dash guages were Smiths and it had a custom made 3 spoke steering wheel with rack and pinion steering.
It was fitted with a very hot 186 Holden motor with triple 2" SUs with a custom made extractor exhaust along the side of the car exiting at the rear wheel. The motor was dynoed at 200bhp and the car weighed 15 hundredweight.
The gearbox was from a 1957 Dodge Cranbrook with 3 gears and 3 overdrive gears giving 6 speeds altogether with a free wheel clutch. The front end was FB Holden and the rear EH Holden with coil springs, a panhard rod and four shock absorbers. It had drums all round and a set of mag wheels.
I think the rego number was JSZ-580 as it was first registered in 1967. I sold it in about 1972 and it was owned after that by a chap called Kevin Ross who lived in Hawthorn. I checked out most of the Mark 5s that made it on to the road and naturally thought mine was the best. The gearing gave it 29 mph per 1000 revs and I had up to 5,200 in top one day which was about 150mph.
I have always wondered what became of it so if anyone knows I'd like to hear.

More on "Then & Now - No.1"

Just when I'm planning on moving on to another subject, in comes a couple more photos of Peter Mac's Mk.7, this time from Colin McAskill who you might have noticed has added some more history on the car in the comments section on "Then and Now - No.1" from a couple of days ago. These pictures are even older than the one I posted of it from the Grant Deckert days in its undercoat grey livery. This must be how Colin bought it from Geoff. The most significant thing in this photo would have to be the headlight covers.
This is the car after Colin painted it. Note the flat bonnet.

Dinky revisited

Back on May 12th I did a little post on Dinky as I remember it in the seventies and eighties. The other day an email arrived from Peter Chandler who lives in Melbourne. It seems his father built the car in the sixties over a period of about 5 years and he's sent some photographs of it. It is definately the same car (same rego. no. and everything). He apologised for the quality of the photos as they are photos of photos. The pictures were taken after the Chandlers had sold the car and when it was owned by John White (early 70s).

John had raced the car at some time. Speaking of John, I'd like to say that I am going to do a post on the SR6 very soon, now that it has changed hands again. Anyway, back to Dinky. I had no knowledge of any ownership prior to Peter Jones so it just goes to show you can learn something every day. Peter Chandler and his dad are keen to learn of its subsequent history and after speaking to Judith today I can report that the car still exists although she hasn't seen it for a while now because when she moved to a smaller house Dinky ended up being stored with a family member.

Chris Westren hits the road.

This is the magnificent GT40 replica of Chris Westren, now in its final stages. It has taken 11 years to get to this stage and I'm sure Chris is ready to reap the rewards. It just left the painters last week and it looks fantastic. It is powered by a 5 litre fuel injected Ford and uses a Porsche gearbox. The car is air-conditioned. The interior is trimmed by Chris' dad, Ron. He must be proud of that. Tomorrow it is off to Regency Park for its inspection and I know Chris is very nervous. It's all very well for me to say "Don't be Chris" but I am confident you'll be heaving a sigh of relief after it is over and you can get on with enjoying it.

Leyburn Historic Sprints

I watched and enjoyed the story on the Leyburn Sprints on the 7.30 Report last night and immediately thought "John Davies usually goes in that, I wonder if he did this year". A quick look on Flickr this morning and sure enough there he is, number 113. It's a great action shot and full credit to Simon who took it. John, the car is looking beautiful. I would love to see the old girl again. I'm planning on coming up for Woodford at Christmas time. Will you be around?

Then and Now No.2 - My how they change.

It's hard to believe that the deep red car in the foreground is the same in the following photo. Taken at a Southern Vales winery many years ago this 260 cu. in. V8 coupe is the same car that Roger has done such a great job on. Note the position of the outside mirror, the opening quarter window and the flat, round scoop.
It's a 302 now but there are a few other changes as well.

Then and Now No.1

Here are a couple of photographs of the same Mark 7 about thirty years apart. It is the old Grant Deckert car that is now owned by Peter Mac. Grant wasn't the original owner/builder. It was an early kit built by a guy called Geoff Wood who, in 1966 or 1967 was at Adelaide Uni and built up the car to get around in, quickly notching up hundreds of thousands of miles. It was painted a dark blue in those days. I recall it having the deepest gel-cracks I have ever seen. When it became for sale, Colin McAskill bought it and the next owner was Grant who drove it for years and years as a work in progress. I have mentioned in another post that Barry Downie-Leslie was the next custodian and finally, via John McLean, Peter Mac bought it and began the mammoth restoration which is well documented in the South Australian pages of the BCCA website.
Here it is at our local brewery at Greenock, looking very smart. The International truck, by the way, is an old truck body dropped onto a Holden one-tonner chassis and mechanicals.

For Mike Hodgson

Mike, Here are a couple of photos of your old Nagari in its Guards Red livery taken at the Fibrecar factory about 1985 when it was in the hands of Peter Carpenter.
A bit of trivia from Jim Shanahan :- Royce made the cross-member under the engine a bolt-in item.