Bowin P3

From Bowincars

In 1968, the Bowin P3 was a bold new project to give Australia a fully professional monocoque racing car. The P3 was designed for ANF-1 and 1.5 litre categories, but mainly raced in the  

Formula Two

  class. The car was designed by John Joyce founder of  

Bowin Cars

  and assisted by Ray Parson's, better known as mechanic to the late  

Jim_Clark

 

October 1968 Bowin P3 FVA on the front cover of Sports Car World	August 1969 Glyn Scott in the Bowin P3 Formula II on front cover of Racing Car News	Glyn driving the Bowin P3.	Glyn Scott in the Bowin P3 as number 20.
Barry Garner's Bowin P3 as number 64.	Driven By Glyn Scott at the Warwick Farm Tasman meeting in 1970. Photo by Teddy Webber	Bowin P3 on the starting grid with Glyn Scott behind the wheel	Bowin P3 at Australian Grand Prix 1989

This was the first and only Bowin Car type to come out of the Joyce-Parsons association. The initial design and build project took just over 12 weeks to complete.

Three Bowin P3 cars were built. The first, P3-101-68 was for Queensland racing driver Glyn Scott using a spare  

Cosworth#The_FVA_series

  acquired from Pier Courage after the 1968 Tasman Series. The second an enhanced P3a model P3A-103-69 was powered by a Lotus twin cam engine for Ian Fergusson which he used in the 1970 Australian Grand Prix and the third P3A-110-70 had an extended engine bay to hold a 179 Holden straight 6 motor for Barry Garner to use in hillclimbs.

Contents 1 The Design 2 The Cars 3 Noteworthy Race History 4 Video Footage 5 Drawings[5] 6 Specification[6] 7 References

The Design

There were two major points about the Bowin Cars construction. The chief aim of the project was to build a car that was economical enough for Australian racers to afford and also easy to maintain - unlike most monocoques. Just as important was the fact that almost every component of the car, with the exception of the engine and transmission, was entirely manufactured in Australia.

Joyce designed his own magnesium hub carriers, and all other suspension members, his own wheels, steering and so on. All components were either fabricated in his own workshops or manufactured by  

Australian

  companies - Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation cast the wheels and hub carriers. Most non-local components simply couldn't be manufactured in Australia, although Joyce would have been willing to try local producers if they existed. Those non-Australian components include English FPT fuel cells, made of the rare material hycathane, the  

Girling

  disc calipers, fitted all round, and some other special fittings, including the lightweight aircraft battery that fits underneath the driver's knee.

The design programme for the Bowin P3 included as much planning for economic production and lifetime maintenance as for any other phase of the project. Wrapped up in the prime considerations of economics and adaptability was an intense dedication to the idea that this should be purely Australian Car.

To achieve this, Joyce borrowed no particular existing designs, but didn't consciously avoid them either for the sheer sake of novelty. He believed all ideas on the car were based on sound, established practices and that the only innovations are logical and developments of these. If anything, Joyce felt the P3 may owe something to a  

McLaren

 , but the differences were really quite marked. The  

monocoque

  chassis extends from the front bulkhead to the rearmost engine-transmission mount. The actual chassis projects forwards as far as the front suspension location, but the pedals, master cylinders, radiator and so on are hung on outriggers built on to the monocoque.

At the rear, the engine sits on integral monocoque rails, and the chassis is not an extension of the bottom or "tub"; of the cockpit part of the monocoque as on many integral chassis design cars.

The engine rails are cross-braced only at the rearmost point. The chassis is supplied complete with transmission (Hewland FT200) since the rear suspension is partly located on the transmission.

The fuel tank containers are an actual integral part of the chassis design and were built around the design intention of utilising only fuel cells as fuel carriers. The flexible cells are stuffed through apertures in the cockpit and clip into place on special mountings.

The seat is also part of the chassis and provisions has been made in its location for the installation of an auxiliary fuel tank to add to the twin 12 gallon cavities provided on each side.

The actual  

cockpit

  interior dimensions are wider than a Lotus and Mclaren monocoque, although the exterior width is small. This makes for an extremely sleek and small body, with better comfort for the driver. A neat touch is the flared-out sides to the cockpit which Joyce hoped would overcome most of the driving problems associated with lack of elbow-room. The aero-dynamics of the monocoque design basically hinged on a constant upward sloping flat line that carried through from the mouth to behind the driver's head. Which was influenced by John's practical experience with this type of design in his wind-tunnel testing work conducted on the 1968 Lotus Turbine car for  

Indy 500

 . Many of the ideas on that car were Joyce's and he has adapted them for the Bowin P3 as well.^[1]

The Cars

The link from each chassis number leads to a page for each car

Chassis	Date	First Owner	Current Owner	Status
P3-101-68	7th July 1968	G. A. Scott	I. Peters	Detailed History & 7 Photos
P3A-103-69	20th Jul 1969	I Fergusson	destroyed	Some History & No Photos
P3A-110-70	27th Jun 1970	B. Garner	T Dowd?	Some History & 4 Photos

Noteworthy Race History

RACE	DRIVER	PLACE	TIME	YEAR	LAPS
34th Australian Grand Prix[2]	Glyn Scott	8th	-	1969	55
Australian Gold Star round 4	Glyn Scott	1st outright		1968
Auto Federation Japanese Grand Prix[3]	Glyn Scott	4th	-	1969	39
35th Australian Grand Prix[4]	Ian Fergusson	11th	-	1970	41
Queensland Hillclimb Championship	B. Garner	1st	-	1970	N/A

Video Footage

Glynn Scott in Bowin P3 - Ford Cosworth starting 3rd on the grid. Finished 4th Overall IV Grand Prix of Japan 1969 J.A.F. Grand Prix - Fuji Grand Prix - Fuji International Speedway, Japan

Glynn Scott in Bowin P3 - Ford Cosworth. Finished 8th Overall - 34th Australian Grand Prix 1969

Drawings^[5]

All Bowin P3 drawings can be viewed and printed from the following location.

Bowin P3 Drawing Library

Specification^[6]

CHASSIS: High stiffness monocoque of high strength  

alloy

  and steel, utilising latest techniques in assembly with emphasis placed on ease of maintenance and repair.

FRONT SUSPENSION: Independent by  

double wishbone

 s, operating entirely on adjustable rod-ends and a separate  

anti-roll bar

 . Springing by  

coil spring

 s in conjunction with  

shock absorbers

  known as Armstrong dampers incorporating adjustable spring platforms. Suspension has built-in anti-dive qualities.

REAR SUSPENSION: Fully independent double wishbone and radius arm configuration incorporating anti-squat characteristics. Fitted with Armstrong adjustable dampers and spring platform adjustment. Coil Springs. Separate adjustable anti-roll bar. Outboard  

driveshaft

 s hollow to reduce  

unsprung weight

 . Rear hub carriers magnesium, cast. Suspension operates entirely on adjustable rod-ends with provision for toe-in and  

camber

  adjustments.

BRAKES:  

Disk brakes

  all round, 9 3/4 inch diameter. Rear discs mounted inboard of hub carrier. Girling A.R alloy callipers. Twin master cylinders with adjustable ratio balance bar.

STEERING: Lightweight  

rack and pinion

  with adjustable  

steering column

  and lightweight 10 inch leather-covered  

steering wheel

 . Steering arms connected to rack by adjustable rod-ends.

TRANSMISSIONS: Hewland gearbox F2 type FT2000 with full magnesium casing. Five forwards speeds, plus reverse. Full choice of ratios.

 

Gearbox

  inclusive in overall price car.

WATER COOLING SYSTEM: Crossflow radiator low-mounted in nose, connected to power unit by allow pipes and flexible hoses. Includes allow swirl pot.

OIL COOLING SYSTEM: Crossflow alloy oil cooler connected to engine via alloy pipes and high pressure flexible hoses. Incorporates separate  

filter (oil)

 and alloy oil tank.

FUEL SYSTEM: Capacity 12 gallons each side in fuel cells in side panel. Twin filters and breathers. Provision for auxiliary tank under driver's seat.

BODYWORK: Removable  

fibreglass

  nose panel and engine cover of advanced  

aerodynamics

 . Twin alloy rear vision mirrors. Seat integral in chassis and covered with detachable lightweight padding.

ELECTRICALS: Fitted with master  

Battery (electricity)

  switch and separate  

ignition system

  switch and starter  

solenoid

 . Lightweight aircraft battery fitted beneath driver's knee.

INSTRUMENTS: Electrical  

tachometer

 , 0-8000  

rpm

 , oil  

pressure gauge

 , water  

temperature gauge

 .  

Thermometer

   

wheelbase

 

WHEELS: Magnesium four  

spoke

  four stud fixing of 13 inch diameter. Front 8 inch  

rim

  width, rear 10 inch rim width.

EXTERNAL DIMENSIONS:  

wheelbase

  90 inch. Track front 56 inch. Track rear 56 inch ground clearance 3 1/2 inch.

OPTIONS: Long range  

fuel tank

  and fittings. Alternate  

engine

  installations.

PRICE: Purchase price in 1968 was $7000 Australian dollars including transmission and wheels.

CONSTRUCTORS: Bowin Designs, 18 Consul Road, Brookvale, Sydney 2100 Tel: +612 9938 5433

References

1. ↑ Rob Luck, Racing Car News, May 1968 Page 40-44
2. ↑ The Official 50-race history of the Australian Grand Prix page 344
3. ↑ Racing Car News, June, 1969 page 17
4. ↑ The Official 50-race history of the Australian Grand Prix page 352
5. ↑ Bowin Designs Pty Ltd - Bowin Drawing Archives
6. ↑ Bowin Designs Pty Ltd - Company Files