SPEEDWELL More Than 40 Years Ago, an Agent for Top Mini Tuner
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SPEEDWELL More than 40 years ago, an agent for top Mini tuner, Speedwell, put two boxes of promotional photos away in a storeroom. And that’s Words Mark Robinson where they stayed, forgotten but perfectly preserved, until now. he 1960s were the golden appearing almost as the earliest your car will look little different age of Mini tuning, with a Minis rolled out of Morris and from any other apart from the small vast array of companies Austin showrooms. Later catalogues Speedwell Badge,” boasted the offering a bewildering would boast of accessories that had company’s 1961 Mini brochure. “But choice of performance or been on sale since 1959. a mile behind the wheel and you will Tcustom accessories. Whether you Of course, Speedwell also soon find out what Speedwelled wanted to go fast, look good, or ride marketed many of its parts for other means. A Speedwell engine a bit more comfortably, there was A-Series models, offering off-the- conversion will give you the something for everyone. And shelf upgrades for the Austin 1300 performance you want at a price you whatever you wanted, Speedwell GT and Austin A40 Farina. It also can afford.” could probably sell it to you. dabbled with larger B-Series engines The catalogue featured Formed by a group of racing buffs and, through linking up with carburetion upgrades including an in the late 1950s to build modified California-based EMPI, supplied bits additional SU — to add to your cylinder heads for Austin A30 and for the aircooled VW range. But it existing one for a twin-carb set-up — A35 engines, Speedwell rapidly was the Mini that built the as well as Webers, and the very became the name in tuning the company’s commercial success — desirable Amal motorbike carb A-Series. When BMC fitted that all the rest was just the cream on top. conversion. There were modified engine to its dynamic new Mini, The beauty of Speedwell was it iron cylinder heads, or alloy Speedwell was quick to seize the offered something for every budget, replacements, high-lift rockers, opportunity, its first conversions and every need. “From the outside oversize pistons and liners, bored- 54 MIM169.speedwell_pics 54 21/12/09 1:49:6 pm SPEEDWELL Giving a Mini the treatment in Speedwell’s workshop at Cornwall Avenue, Finchley. 55 MIM169.speedwell_pics 55 21/12/09 1:49:11 pm SPEEDWELL The Finchley Road showroom in North London — now demolished. Exhaust system with ‘Supertone 85’ silencer cost £7/19/6 in 1965. The slideshow tells the story of one Speedwell customer, from browsing through brochures (above) to visiting Speedwell’s Finchley Road headquarters and showroom where he is presented with a tantalising array of improvements, and eventually leaving as one very happy Mini owner. The options cover all aspects of the Mini, including exhausts (top right of page), suspension upgrades ranging from dampers to anti-roll bars (below), and sports steering wheels, additional gauges and fancy dashboards (below right). Speedwell’s brilliance was in offering something for every pocket, from the most basic fuelling upgrades through to complete, ready-modified, brand-new cars. The price list even included a kit to fit an additional SU, keeping the carb you already had and fitting another alongside Keep looking at the it. With so much on offer, your biggest oil temperature gauge, and problem was not staring at the salesman’s don’t look at the beard. Don’t look unusual facial hair. at the beard. Don’t look at the beard… Speedwell had its birth in modifying A-Series heads. Light alloy wheel with laminated beech rim. Alloy cylinder head. 56 MIM169.speedwell_pics 56 21/12/09 1:49:15 pm SPEEDWELL out blocks, exhaust systems, brake not far from the Ace Café, Speedwell “The very ultimate in contact with him when he sold some upgrades, suspension distributed around the world, often road performance,” Speedwell brochures on eBay,” improvements, sound deadening, via local specialists and speed shops. was how Speedwell Andreas says. “Some months later he and interior accessories and Which is where this fascinating described its engine sent a mail asking if I would be builds. “Modification additional instruments. Parts could selection of photos fits in, shared can be carried out to interested in these slides. I, like be bought individually, or in many with us by German Mini enthusiast the customer’s own anybody else, had never heard about cases as comprehensive kits. “You Andreas Klein. The images on these engine or Speedwell them and bought them.” will find it more economical to pages are reproduced from original will supply the Exactly what the slides were for is purchase complete kits rather than slides found among the leftover complete engine.” unknown. Andreas has shown them separate components,” the brochure stock of a closed-down car parts to Mark Forster, the early Mini advised. The company would even business in Austria. Andreas bought performance guru whose Sprint is sell you a complete, brand new BMC two boxes of the slides, labelled featured in the previous article, but car, modified and ready to go. ‘Speedwell Slide Trade Show’, from even that has drawn a blank. The From its base in North London, the former owner’s son. “I came in label would suggest they were more Twin SUs were just one of the fuelling options. Speedwell also offered Webers, and a pioneering Amal motorbike carb conversion. 57 MIM169.speedwell_pics 57 21/12/09 1:49:19 pm SPEEDWELL Some of the slides offer advice on how NOT to treat customers. We hope. Speedwell claimed its high lift rocker set increased RPM “without valve bounce” by about five per cent. Steel sumpguard. Balanced crankshafts to fit engines from 848cc to 1275cc. Ramstacks for SU carbs. “Keep looking at the brochure. From the D-suffix on the customer’s Mini, Don’t look at the beard…” these photos must have been taken between 1966 and 1969 — when Speedwell in its original form was wound up, although it continuted under new management led by Graham Hill. Parts originally developed for the Austin A30 gave Speedwell its start with tuning Minis, as well as other A-Series powered cars. The business also did well with the Austin 1300 (our customer is examining a 1300 brochure to the left), and sold parts for the aircooled VWs — although these were largely sourced from California- based EMPI. As the 1970s dawned, Speedwell had become part of Grand Prix champion Hill’s expanding motor racing and business empire, now also offering parts for Ford. Sadly, it all came to an end with Hill’s tragic death, when he crashed while landing his light aeroplane in 1975. 58 MIM169.speedwell_pics 58 21/12/09 1:49:24 pm SPEEDWELL CENSORED Insert risqué joke into slideshow presentation here. likely aimed at businesses selling if you watch them in the right order, Speedwell parts than at the general you can see the customer coming to public. “Perhaps they were made for Speedwell at the beginning, and dealers who were interested in leaving with the modified car at selling Speedwell products,” the end.” Andreas says. “The pictures show Whatever they were for nearly all products, the offices, the originally, today they are a Interior includes veneered workshop and so on. I think fascinating insight into the early DeLuxe Mini Dash Panel with additional gauges, and electronic nowadays this would be a days of Mini tuning, showing what rev counter in swivel-mounted cowl. Powerpoint presentation. are today some of the most desirable “The slides are very professional, and rarest Mini accessories. Thanks to Andreas Klein for sharing these photos with us. Mark Forster, whose superb mk1-performance-conversions.co.uk How much do we want to walk into this shop right now? website provided background information for this article. 59 MIM169.speedwell_pics 59 21/12/09 1:49:29 pm.