BOLWELL NAGARI

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From The Classifieds: 1972 Bolwell Nagari convertible

words - Tim Britten
The Australian-designed and built V8 sports car looks as appealing today as it did 40 years ago

It is something of an affirmation of the status of the Australian-designed and built Bolwell Nagari that it is still recognised and admired today, some 40 years after it was first produced in a bayside suburb south of Melbourne.

The Nagari, which was known as the Mk VIII within the Bolwell company, was introduced in 1969 as its second venture out of the kit car business it had been operating since the 1950s. Bolwell’s first foray into actual manufacture was the 1967 Mk VII, which was available either in the normal kit form, or fully built-up by the factory.

The Nagari was a development of the MkVII and was a full production entity with a lot of influence evident from Campbell Bolwell’s experience during a UK working holiday, where he spent much of his time with British car-maker Lotus.

The Ford V8-powered fibreglass two-seat sports coupe showed remarkable design maturity with its well-balanced flowing lines and Lotus-style vertical rear window. In terms of styling, it stood very comfortably alongside European sports coupes of the era. Like Lotus, and unlike the preceding MkVII, which was built up from individual moulds, Bolwell made the Nagari body in one piece.

With its light weight (the Nagari tipped the scales at well under one tonne), it provided plenty of performance from either 302 or 351 Ford V8 engines, both of which drove through a Ford top-loader four-speed manual transmission to a coil-spring, live rear axle.

The company introduced a soft-top convertible version of the Nagari, with a strengthened and reinforced version of the forked “Y” chassis, in 1972.

As a carmaker, Bolwell eventually succumbed to the difficulties of meeting tough Australian design rules in 1974. The Nagari was its best-known model, with 127 coupes and 13 convertibles built between 1969 and 1974.

There is no denying the simple beauty of the Nagari shape today, particularly the convertible version.

With the very limited production, finding a convertible Nagari is rare – and finding one as good as this bright red, concourse-winning 302-engined 1972 example on sale at a Melbourne dealer is even rarer.

Given the 40 years that have intervened since the car was produced, it is not surprising the car has received an extensive rebuild, by Bolwell experts and fibreglass specialists Fibrecar in the outer Melbourne suburb of Bayswater. Some things have changed in the process, including the substitution of the Ford top-loader gearbox with a five-speeder from a Toyota Supra, Simmons wheels and Recaro seats.

The price, including roadworthy certificate, is $72,900 before on-road costs - which sounds pretty reasonable for a car claimed to be “perhaps the best Bolwell Nagari” in Australia.

 Powered By Motoring.com.au Published : Tuesday, 7 February 2012
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