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Steering Wheel Archive

Visit the NEW MK1 Perf Cons Steering Wheel archive.

In it you will find a continualy growing list of classic steering wheels fitted to early Minis, 1100s, 1300s, MGs etc.

Heres a chance to see some of the products made by the great names of the past like Springall, Les Leston, Springalex, Cosmic, Styla, Formula and many others.

Etched Speedwell Badge.

Just to prove that you learn something new every day I have recently come across this Speedwell badge that I have never seen the likes of before. It measures approximately 2" x 2" and is plated etched brass, it fixes with two 4BA screw threads on the back and is finished in yellow and black enamel with silver plated highlights. I am sure that this is correct but would love to hear any further info.

Cast Speedwell Badges.

There were two types of badge sold by Speedwell throughout the 60's, they were both identical apart from the fact that one had a black paint background and the other had a light matt yellow background (not unpainted as previously stated). (Part No: AC 175, Price £0, 7, 6)

Learn how to spot a fake HERE

Speedwell Rocker Cover Badges.

I have found two types of original Speedwell rocker cover badges. These differ greatly in detail from the reproductions sold regularly on ebay. The 3 pictured opposite are all originals, from the top these are 1) Very worn A Series, 2) Fairly normal wear B Series badge very similar, but NOT identical to the A Series, and finally 3) A new old stock original. Compare any of these to the ebay offerings and the differences are self evident. The most notable feature is that all 3 are etched, where as the ebay ones are simply printed.

Speedwell Cast Alloy Manifold For 40, 45 & 48 DCOE.

Once again this manifold was not specifically designed for use on a Mini but with the usual bulkhead modifications it was another cracker! As with the vast majority of Speedwell items it wears its branding proud and clear.

View 1, View 2.

Speedwell Ram Pipes.

Now this is a rare beast! Who would have thought it possible to find a new IN BAG set of Speedwell Ram pipes? Well Johan Svenningsen in Copenhagen managed to do just that and he was also kind enough to send me a couple of pictures as well. I think that the Speedwell ram pipes were by far the most attractive ever produced and they flow extremely well too. These cast metal ones are the ones to have rather than the later spin alloy efforts of later days. Originally available in either 1 1/4, 1 1/2 & 1 3/4"

FRONT BACK CONTENTS

Speedwell SU Manifold (type 1)

These small single manifolds are cast in aluminium alloy and were sold in pairs for use with type HS2 SU Carbs, on non transverse A series engines. The opening at the face (head end) is 1 1/8" and a recess for a locating ring is usually (but not always) present, I have also seen examples both with and without the locating holes on 2" centres either side of the locating recess. Of course it is not uncommon to find these manifolds have been modified for use with larger (usually 1 1/2") SU Carbs. (Part No: CA 41, Price £2, 5 shillings ea.)

Speedwell SU Manifold (type 2)

These slightly larger single manifolds are cast in aluminium alloy and were sold in pairs for use with type H2 & HS2 SU Carbs, the opening at the face (head end) is usually 1 1/4" and a recess for a locating ring is rarely present, I have also seen examples both with and without the locating holes on 2" centres on the face. Of course it is not uncommon to find these manifolds have been modified for use with larger (usually 1 1/2") SU Carbs. This is in actual fact not a very good idea, the small nature of the balance pipe hole (chimney) makes it very difficult to balance 1 1/2"'s on the vehicle. (Part No: CA 42, Price £2, 5 shillings)

NEW! Speedwell Alloy Cylinder Heads NEW!

There is probably more bull talked about these cylinder heads than any other item manufactured by Speedwell, click HERE for more info.

To see a head that has been restored to as new condition follow the links below.

CLUBMAN1, CLUBMAN 2, CLUBMAN 3.

Speedwell 1.5 : 1 High Lift Rockers

Everyone is using 1.5 : 1 offset rockers nowadays, but in the 60's Speedwell couldn't shift them, oh how fashions change! Click HERE for the full story. (Part No: VA 100, Price £13, 10 shillings)

Speedwell Cadmium Plated Rocker Cover

Contrary to what the wide boys will tell you (and try and sell you) Speedwell NEVER manufactured or sold an alloy rocker cover. They did however do one plated in Cadmium! These were std BMC covers that had been gently blasted and plated with a light matt grey metal. This gave these covers a similar appearance to the alloy heads. (Part No: VA 160, Price £2, 12, 6)

Speedwell Chromium Plated Rocker Cover

This one wasn't an Alloy one either! This was the standard BMC Van den Plas / MG style chrome plated rocker cover with a Speedwell badge fitted. (Part No: VA 155, Price £3, 15 shillings)

Speedwell Special Overbored Blocks & Pistons.

Speedwell based many of their most famous engine conversions around the massive over boring of standard A series blocks. It true to say that this is probably the most reliable way of increasing an engines power, as my wife says, there is no substitute for size!

While there are to my knowledge one or two of these engines still in existence, if you are thinking about "recreating" one there are a few factors that need to be given serious consideration. Some of these issues are discussed in more depth HERE.

PAGE 2

Speedwell Valve Guides.

Over the years Speedwell made some excellent products, some average products and some downright bad products, have a look at the very worst! HERE

Delaney Gallay 3 Point "Racing Harness".

These lovely period seat belts were sold by among others Speedwell, they were always a "Budget" alternative to the better Irvin or Britax Racing harnesses. With their simple slide & lock principle they look fantastic on any early Mini. Follow the links below for a copy of the fitting instructions. Page 1, Page 2.

Smiths / Jaeger-le-Coultre Time Of Trip Clock.

Forget Heuer or Logines, this is the type of clock you want in your pre 1965 Rally car. These fantastic clocks were ex war department surplus, they are accurate to less than a minute in every 8 days and had the pause function so essential for rally timing. As sold by les Leston, See his advertisement HERE.

Click HERE for a better look.

Smiths 0 - 8,000 Impulse Tacho.

The ubiquitous Smiths 0 - 8. These have been manufactured in 3 mani styles from the mid 50 to the present day. This is a late 60's one, as identified by the silver hubcap with the black dot in the middle, the earlier ones had a similar middle but much squares numbers, the later ones had that horrible Red line.

See what smiths had to say about them HERE

Download the fitting instructions here, Page 1, Page 2.

WARNING

Crypton 0 - 8,000 Tacho.

Not from the same planet as Superman, but manufactured by the same folks as the rolling road. This was a superb quality Tacho manufactured to compete with the daddy. The Speedwell Weston. Very rare now as they were not as robust as either the Smiths or the Speedwell.

Speedwell / Weston Rev. Counter.

This is the one that everyone wants! The Speedwell weston "Racing Tacho was a superb quality instrument by the standards of the day. Based on Aircraft internals it would give a good steady reading where others would give up. Rare & Very expensive now, reproductions are occasionally available. See what Speedwell said about them;

PAGE 1 PAGE 2 For a copy of the fitting ionstructions CLICK HERE.

Speedwell / Smiths ) - 8,000 Tacho.

This is an example of the "other" Speedwell tacho. This unit was manufactured by smiths and is basically a Smiths "induction loop" instrument with a Speedwell fascia. Less reliable and accurate than the Weston units, but now very rare and sought after. Click on the picture for a better view. (thanks Ben Zwirs)

Fitting instructions are same as Smiths Impulse trach above.

Speedwell Bulkhead Shield.

This is the bulkhead shield supplied with some of the Speedwell kits, it was designed to block up the hole in the bulkhead where the speedo sits. Although in the Speedwell catalogue this is listed as an item for Morris 1100 / 1300 cars, I understand it was also suitable for use on Minis. (thanks Ian Gray)

Speedwell / BRM Magnesium "Racing" Wheels.

These Magnesium alloy wheels were supplied to Speedwell by the Racing Car manafacturer BRM in the mid to late 60's. Presumably this was something to do with the fact that Graham Hill was a long time member of the BRM F1 team among others. Reputed to be amongst the strongest and lightest wheels ever made for a Mini they disolved very quickly in the wonderfull British weather and are practically impossible to find today in any condition. Click on image for better pictures.

Landar Alloy Rockercover.

This alloy rockercover was produced specifically for use on a "Landar" kit car. This rear engined Mini derived racing car was produced in small numbers towards the end of the 1960's. There are a few surviving examples but there are a few more of the rockercovers now. Click on image opposite for better view.

Speedwell Rockercover Finisher.

This is not another Speedwell chrome rockercover! This is an item manufactured by Speedwell towards the late 60's or early 70's. It is a shiny plastic cover that fits OVER a standard tin rockercover. Click on the image opposite for more detail.

Speedwell Throttle Pedal.

This is an example of a genuine Speedwell Throttle pedal. Unlike the "Paddy Hopkirk" item the Speedwell pedal was always manufactured in black plastic NOT alloy! Reproductions are currently available that are alloy, making them easy to spot as fakes.

Speedwell Instruments and Instrument Pod.

Pictured here is an example of one of the instrument pods supplied by Speedwell by the later 60's to accomodate their excellent range of auxilliary guages.

Speedwell Shock Absorbers.

How long have I been looking for these?

Opposite you can see a genuine set of Speedwell Performance shock absorbers for the Mini. These were the later TSR A1 type that were sold from about 1964. They are not adjustable, but are suitable for either lowered or standard height minis. If you follow the link below you will see a larger pictures of them and an insert showing that they are stamped with the correct Speedwell Part number.

PHOTO

The Reece Fish Carb.

Made famous by Clive Trickey through his column in CCC, this was a "Must Have" tuning component of any Mini Se7en racer from the mid 60's. Follow the link below for a good overview.

LINK

The Allen / Pinion 8 Port Head.

The pinion 8 port head. This head has a very interesting history as well as a fantastic claim to fame, follow the link below for the full story, or click on the image opposite for more pictures.

THE FULL STORY

Speedwell SU Sprint Kit.

The Speedwell Sprint Kit came in 3 seperate types. These kits were similar apart from the Carbs supplied with the kit. The most popular was the SU Sprint Kit like the one pictured opposite. This was effectivley the basic tuning kit supplied by Speedwell that could be added to by increments to increase power progressivly or as your budget would allow. This complete kit was found only recently and is predominantly still bagged.

GQ Parachute Company Ltd. Safety Harnesses.

In the early 60's there were a whole variety of companies manufacturing safety harnesses for cars. Most of which were originally parachute harness manufacturers. One of the very best of these was G.Q. Amongst their claims to fame are that they made the harness that saved Donald Campbell's life in his 300mph + accident of 1960. Very soon this market was cornered by the two giants, Kangol & Britax, leaving other companies to wither or concentrate on their core business. GQ are now known as IRVIN-GQ and manufacture harnesses for the RAF amongst others. I have a set of these fantastic belts fitted in my 1071. For a full copy of the catalogue, follow the links below.

Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5.

I also have fitting instructions available for these belts.

Speedwell Amal Manifolds.

Among the most sought after of all early tuning parts are the now legendary Speedwell Amal conversions. This was a conversion that fitted the famous Amal Motorcycle carb to a manifold suitable for a A series engine. Although the performance of this particular conversion was superb, being better than both the SU and Weber conversion, it did have its problems. The main ones being poor cold starting and an uneven tckover. Thanks to Kiyoshi Ise for the acompanying pictures. If you have any info on this particular kit, I would be very glad to hear from you.

View 1, View 2.

The Ultimate A Series Configuration.

The picture opposite was submitted recently. It is of a Works spec Weslake 8 port / Injection set up as used on a lot of the Works and Works supported Racers towards the late 60's. This one is completely finished and will be out and about again before too long.

There were 4 versions of this Weslake head, these changes broke down as follows,

MK1 - As it came, ported etc

MK2 - As MK1, but with dry deck water outlet. Link pipe from block to head.

MK3 - As MK2, but with dry deck water outlet utilising Auxiliary radiator on OS inner wing.

MK4 - As MK3, but with extra piping to the head. Special tubing used, tapping in 3 places. (as per OBL 45F - Tour de France). - Over-heating problems finally sorted.

A very rare collection of original competition helmets.

Another kind contributor has submitted a series of pictures of original racing helmets from the hey day of the competition mini, you will find the details below.