SEAL of Approval

In Mini Tech News November 1992, we ran a piece by Tom Seal on the Cooper'S' he was building for Timo Makinen. For reasons which are frankly unprintable, the story was neuer completed, so I decided to pay Tom a visit to find out what was going on.

It turned out to be rather a lot.

Tom Seal is one of those back room boys always mentioned in award ceremonies in the same breath as 'without whom, none of this would have been possible.'

Certainly his behind-the-scenes services are in demand at the highest leveL but Tom maintains his matter-of-fact demeanour as each famous name drops its way into the conversation - Timo Makinen. Rano Aaltonen, Russell Brookes. Tom Walkinshaw, Tiff Needell - names that most enthusiasts would kill to meet, let alone have aquaintance with.

After 25 years in the industry , Tom has the endearing habit of speaking his mind with no apparent fear of the consequences. He has also built up a quiet reputation as Research and Development man extraordinaire, as well as the numero uno preparer of ex-works Minis (when Timo Makinen needs a Mini for the 1000 lakes, who does he call?).

Tom's working maxim reads 'Quality is non-negotiable', so his quality control skills have become invaluable to 1'V1ini Spares Centre over the years for sourcing and developing new components (we developed the Arden 8-port head with Tom). The behind-the-scenes sorcerer began his rise to non-stardom in 1968 at the BMC holiday camp known as Jaguar Cars. (Tom's words, not mine). He worked in the experimental department there, where he was involved in the development of many new components for the V12 and Straight Six engines, with particular emphasis on fueling systems .Racing Jaguars soon began to occupy his mind when he became involved with Broadspeed and eventually TWR racing, to whom he was seconded while still at Jaguar in 1982, TWR boss Tom Walkinshaw (he of Benetton, and other racing connections) offered Tom a job in 1984, so he began working full time on V12 group C engines.

His career progress could have been totally predictable from this point couldn't it? Le Mans" Formula 1 '" (see Benetton, name dropped earlier),But no, Tom had a dark secret going back to the late sixties, and it was this weakness that was to shape his future career more than any other, He had made the fatal mistake of falling in love with the Mini,

So while he and his colleagues were pouring over the blueprints of multi-million pound Jaguars during the day , Tom was quietly building astonishingly good ex-works Cooper S's in his garage after work With his meticulous approach to parts manufacture, gleaned through the tight quality control demands at Jaguar , Tom made it his business to acquire the very best components to build the very best Mini of its day, The ex-works (and ex-Phil Cooper) Mini Cooper S OBL 45F was a shining example of his work, and in February 1972, it was hailed in Cars and Car Conversions (reproduced here with their kind permission) as the most powerful Mini they had ever tested, Complete with its Arden 8-port head and 4 Amal set up. this Mini was' .. unbelievable' . ' .. like being blasted from a human cannon'. That gearbox'. they went on, 'a dream. Straight cut, close ratio. all synchrony. . Despite their description of the gearbox noise as: 'Shattering .. an earsplitting whine ... which drowned everything else'. they seemed genuinely awestruck by the car. ..'we reckon he's got one of the best Mini Rally engines he could'. seemed to sum it up. From 1987, Tom decided to work for himself and, having seen many broken drive shafts etc. down the years. set himself up as a competition parts manufacturer. His valve trains are, even as we speak. powering BTCC cars; his cam followers becoming pride of place in works Rover 6R4 s.

He has continued his Mini preparation work. and in 1990 became involved with one Timor Maine: a man hankering to relive his past victories in the Finnish 1000 lakes. Tom dialed him EWK 799C and the great man romped home to a memorable victory. in the best prepared car in the event (over 50% of all mechanical parts were of Mini Spares' manufacture). Tom has had more successes since then, with the 1991 RAC/Autoglass historic rally being won in car built by him -BJB 77B. A higher spec car -LLX 3580 - was used by Timo in the Rally Britannia 1991 and by Tiff Needell in the Historic RAC/Charring ton in 1992.The coverage on Top Gear was most satisfying from a Mini Spares' point of view. and I did enjoy watching the editor of a very well known classic magazine getting some serious stick from the wrong-slotted Tiff.

Tom's latest project is currently occupying large areas of his workshop, which is understandable. since he is in the process of recreating a 1967 car similar to that featured in CCC 21 years ago. As you can see from the photograph, Tom was experimenting with mechanical fuel injection for this engine when I saw him. Note the Lucas mechanical fuel injection metering unit - a genuine (and very expensive) works item. The individual butterfly system looks interesting, but I'll bet that slide-throttle system will sort the airflow better. These experiments are, apparently, to provide an initial benchmark. in horsepower terms. using what was available in 1967.

I wonder how far he can progress using 1993 technology? (with a little help from Mini Spares). The truth is that. using the old or the new, Tom Seal will get the best out of anything he produces. and while others in the industry are desperately trying to give away free tickets to their next ego trip, Tom will be quietly researching and developing the very best new products for himself. Mini Spares and ultimately. every Mini enthusiast.

Graham Austin