Speedwell - MK1 performance conversions

SPEEDWELLMore than 40 years ago, an agent for top Mini tuner, Speedwell,put two boxes of promotional photos away in a storeroom. And that’sWords Mark Robinson where they stayed, forgotten but perfectly preserved, until now.The 1960s were the goldenage of Mini tuning, with avast array of companiesoffering a bewilderingchoice of performance orcustom accessories. Whether youwanted to go fast, look good, or ridea bit more comfortably, there wassomething for everyone. Andwhatever you wanted, Speedwellcould probably sell it to you.Formed by a group of racing buffsin the late 1950s to build modifiedcylinder heads for Austin A30 andA35 engines, Speedwell rapidlybecame the name in tuning theA-Series. When BMC fitted thatengine to its dynamic new Mini,Speedwell was quick to seize theopportunity, its first conversionsappearing almost as the earliestMinis rolled out of Morris andAustin showrooms. Later catalogueswould boast of accessories that hadbeen on sale since 1959.Of course, Speedwell alsomarketed many of its parts for otherA-Series models, offering off-theshelfupgrades for the Austin 1300GT and Austin A40 Farina. It alsodabbled with larger B-Series enginesand, through linking up withCalifornia-based EMPI, supplied bitsfor the aircooled VW range. But itwas the Mini that built thecompany’s commercial success —all the rest was just the cream on top.The beauty of Speedwell was itoffered something for every budget,and every need. “From the outsideyour car will look little differentfrom any other apart from the smallSpeedwell Badge,” boasted thecompany’s 1961 Mini brochure. “Buta mile behind the wheel and you willsoon find out what Speedwelledmeans. A Speedwell engineconversion will give you theperformance you want at a price youcan afford.”The catalogue featuredcarburetion upgrades including anadditional SU — to add to yourexisting one for a twin-carb set-up —as well as Webers, and the verydesirable Amal motorbike carbconversion. There were modifiediron cylinder heads, or alloyreplacements, high-lift rockers,oversize pistons and liners, bored-54MIM169.speedwell_pics 5421/12/09 1:49:6 pm

SPEEDWELLGiving a Mini the treatment inSpeedwell’s workshop atCornwall Avenue, Finchley.55MIM169.speedwell_pics 5521/12/09 1:49:11 pm

SPEEDWELLThe Finchley Roadshowroom in NorthLondon — nowdemolished.Exhaust system with ‘Supertone 85’silencer cost £7/19/6 in 1965.The slideshow tells the story of oneSpeedwell customer, from browsingthrough brochures (above) to visitingSpeedwell’s Finchley Road headquartersand showroom where he is presented witha tantalising array of improvements, andeventually leaving as one very happy Miniowner. The options cover all aspects ofthe Mini, including exhausts (top right ofpage), suspension upgrades ranging fromdampers to anti-roll bars (below), andsports steering wheels, additional gaugesand fancy dashboards (below right).Speedwell’s brilliance was in offeringsomething for every pocket, from themost basic fuelling upgrades through tocomplete, ready-modified, brand-newcars. The price list even included a kit tofit an additional SU, keeping the carb youalready had and fitting another alongsideit. With so much on offer, your biggestproblem was not staring at the salesman’sunusual facial hair.Keep looking at theoil temperature gauge, anddon’t look at the beard. Don’t lookat the beard. Don’t look at the beard…Speedwell had its birth inmodifying A-Series heads.Light alloy wheel withlaminated beech rim.Alloy cylinder head.56MIM169.speedwell_pics 5621/12/09 1:49:15 pm

SPEEDWELLout blocks, exhaust systems, brakeupgrades, suspensionimprovements, sound deadening,and interior accessories andadditional instruments. Parts couldbe bought individually, or in manycases as comprehensive kits. “Youwill find it more economical topurchase complete kits rather thanseparate components,” the brochureadvised. The company would evensell you a complete, brand new BMCcar, modified and ready to go.From its base in North London,not far from the Ace Café, Speedwelldistributed around the world, oftenvia local specialists and speed shops.Which is where this fascinatingselection of photos fits in, sharedwith us by German Mini enthusiastAndreas Klein. The images on thesepages are reproduced from originalslides found among the leftoverstock of a closed-down car partsbusiness in Austria. Andreas boughttwo boxes of the slides, labelled‘Speedwell Slide Trade Show’, fromthe former owner’s son. “I came in“The very ultimate inroad performance,”was how Speedwelldescribed its enginebuilds. “Modificationcan be carried out tothe customer’s ownengine or Speedwellwill supply thecomplete engine.”contact with him when he sold someSpeedwell brochures on eBay,”Andreas says. “Some months later hesent a mail asking if I would beinterested in these slides. I, likeanybody else, had never heard aboutthem and bought them.”Exactly what the slides were for isunknown. Andreas has shown themto Mark Forster, the early Miniperformance guru whose Sprint isfeatured in the previous article, buteven that has drawn a blank. Thelabel would suggest they were moreTwin SUs were just one of the fuellingoptions. Speedwell also offeredWebers, and a pioneering Amalmotorbike carb conversion.57MIM169.speedwell_pics 5721/12/09 1:49:19 pm

SPEEDWELLSome of the slides offeradvice on how NOT to treatcustomers. We hope.Speedwell claimed its highlift rocker set increasedRPM “without valve bounce”by about five per cent.Steel sumpguard.Balanced crankshaftsto fit engines from848cc to 1275cc.Ramstacks for SU carbs.“Keep looking at the brochure.Don’t look at the beard…”From the D-suffix on the customer’s Mini,these photos must have been takenbetween 1966 and 1969 — whenSpeedwell in its original form was woundup, although it continuted under newmanagement led by Graham Hill. Partsoriginally developed for the Austin A30gave Speedwell its start with tuningMinis, as well as other A-Series poweredcars. The business also did well with theAustin 1300 (our customer is examining a1300 brochure to the left), and sold partsfor the aircooled VWs — although thesewere largely sourced from CaliforniabasedEMPI. As the 1970s dawned,Speedwell had become part of Grand Prixchampion Hill’s expanding motor racingand business empire, now also offeringparts for Ford. Sadly, it all came to an endwith Hill’s tragic death, when he crashedwhile landing his light aeroplane in 1975.58MIM169.speedwell_pics 5821/12/09 1:49:24 pm

SPEEDWELLCENSOREDInsert risqué joke intoslideshow presentation here.Interior includes veneeredDeLuxe Mini Dash Panel withadditional gauges, and electronicrev counter in swivel-mounted cowl.likely aimed at businesses sellingSpeedwell parts than at the generalpublic. “Perhaps they were made fordealers who were interested inselling Speedwell products,”Andreas says. “The pictures shownearly all products, the offices, theworkshop and so on. I thinknowadays this would be aPowerpoint presentation.“The slides are very professional,if you watch them in the right order,you can see the customer coming toSpeedwell at the beginning, andleaving with the modified car atthe end.”Whatever they were fororiginally, today they are afascinating insight into the earlydays of Mini tuning, showing whatare today some of the most desirableand rarest Mini accessories.How much do we want towalk into this shop right now?Thanks toAndreas Klein for sharing these photos with us.Mark Forster, whose superb mk1-performance-conversions.co.ukwebsite provided background information for this article.59MIM169.speedwell_pics 5921/12/09 1:49:29 pm