The 1960s were the golden age of Mini tuning, with a vast array of companies offering a bewildering choice of performance or

custom accessories. Whether you wanted to go fast, look good, or ride a bit more comfortably, there was something for everyone. And whatever you wanted, Speedwell could probably sell it to you.

Formed by a group of racing buffs in the late 1950s to build modified cylinder heads for Austin A30 and A35 engines, Speedwell rapidly became the name in tuning the A-Series. When BMC fitted that engine to its dynamic new Mini, Speedwell was quick to seize the opportunity, its first conversions

appearing almost as the earliest Minis rolled out of Morris and Austin showrooms. Later catalogues would boast of accessories that had been on sale since 1959.

Of course, Speedwell also marketed many of its parts for other A-Series models, offering off-the-shelf upgrades for the Austin 1300 GT and Austin A40 Farina. It also dabbled with larger B-Series engines and, through linking up with California-based EMPI, supplied bits for the aircooled VW range. But it was the Mini that built the company’s commercial success — all the rest was just the cream on top.

The beauty of Speedwell was it offered something for every budget, and every need. “From the outside

your car will look little different from any other apart from the small Speedwell Badge,” boasted the company’s 1961 Mini brochure. “But a mile behind the wheel and you will soon find out what Speedwelled means. A Speedwell engine conversion will give you the performance you want at a price you can afford.”

The catalogue featured carburetion upgrades including an additional SU — to add to your existing one for a twin-carb set-up — as well as Webers, and the very desirable Amal motorbike carb conversion. There were modified iron cylinder heads, or alloy replacements, high-lift rockers, oversize pistons and liners, bored-

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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

where they stayed, forgotten but perfectly preserved, until now.Words Mark Robinson

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Giving a Mini the treatment in Speedwell’s workshop at

Cornwall Avenue, Finchley.

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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 it. With so much on offer, your biggest problem was not staring at the salesman’s unusual facial hair.

Speedwell had its birth in modifying A-Series heads.

Alloy cylinder head.

Light alloy wheel with laminated beech rim.

The Finchley Road showroom in North

London — now demolished.

Exhaust system with ‘Supertone 85’ silencer cost £7/19/6 in 1965.

Keep looking at the oil temperature gauge, and

don’t look at the beard. Don’t look at the beard. Don’t look at the beard…

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out blocks, exhaust systems, brake upgrades, suspension improvements, sound deadening, and interior accessories and additional instruments. Parts could be bought individually, or in many cases as comprehensive kits. “You will find it more economical to purchase complete kits rather than separate components,” the brochure advised. The company would even sell you a complete, brand new BMC car, modified and ready to go.

From its base in North London,

not far from the Ace Café, Speedwell distributed around the world, often via local specialists and speed shops. Which is where this fascinating selection of photos fits in, shared with us by German Mini enthusiast Andreas Klein. The images on these pages are reproduced from original slides found among the leftover stock of a closed-down car parts business in Austria. Andreas bought two boxes of the slides, labelled ‘Speedwell Slide Trade Show’, from the former owner’s son. “I came in

contact with him when he sold some Speedwell brochures on eBay,” Andreas says. “Some months later he sent a mail asking if I would be interested in these slides. I, like anybody else, had never heard about them and bought them.”

Exactly what the slides were for is unknown. Andreas has shown them to Mark Forster, the early Mini performance guru whose Sprint is featured in the previous article, but even that has drawn a blank. The label would suggest they were more

“The very ultimate in road performance,” was how Speedwell described its engine builds. “Modification can be carried out to the customer’s own engine or Speedwell will supply the complete engine.”

Twin SUs were just one of the fuelling options. Speedwell also offered Webers, and a pioneering Amal motorbike carb conversion.

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From the D-suffix on the customer’s Mini, 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.

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.

Ramstacks for SU carbs.

Balanced crankshafts to fit engines from

848cc to 1275cc.

Steel sumpguard.

“Keep looking at the brochure. Don’t look at the beard…”

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likely aimed at businesses selling Speedwell parts than at the general public. “Perhaps they were made for dealers who were interested in selling Speedwell products,” Andreas says. “The pictures show nearly all products, the offices, the workshop and so on. I think nowadays this would be a Powerpoint presentation.

“The slides are very professional,

if you watch them in the right order, you can see the customer coming to Speedwell at the beginning, and leaving with the modified car at the end.”

Whatever they were for originally, today they are a fascinating insight into the early days of Mini tuning, showing what are today some of the most desirable and rarest Mini accessories.

CENSORED

Insert risqué joke into slideshow presentation here.

How much do we want to walk into this shop right now?

Andreas Klein for sharing these photos with us.Mark Forster, whose superb mk1-performance-conversions.co.uk website provided background information for this article.

Thanks to

Interior includes veneered DeLuxe Mini Dash Panel with

additional gauges, and electronic rev counter in swivel-mounted cowl.

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