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My brother is currently restoring a 1959 Mini and has asked me this question:

"For reference is it possible to get a 1959 Mini radiator with original one piece cowl and 4-blade fan out without lifting the engine off the subframe?
Haynes manual says, remove bottom hose, undo nuts on top mounting bracket and remove bracket, undo side bolts x 4 on cowl and 2 bolts on bottom bracket and lift out radiator.
You can't get the cowl past the fan, and the rad won't lift out either as the bottom hose connection won't go past the cowl. You can't remove the fan as the rads in the way....so you have to lift the engine up off the subframe until the radiator clears the protruding lip on the inner wing. Once the rad is out the way you can remove the cowl."

Is there a method or did BMC not allow for this until the 2-piece cowl......I know later Mini's were also 1-piece but then had no shroud fitted on the inner wing.

Thats how I always get the radiator out, these days. I don't mess about with the cowl.

Undo the LH engine mount from the subframe and jack the engine up as high as practical on the LHS. Undo the hoses and the top bracket. Remove the two small bolts that mount the lower radiator bracket to the bracket on the end of the gearbox. The radiator can then be twisted into the gap between the fan and the shroud in the inner wing, and then up and out. I don't undo the two long bolts that go front to back, they are too hard to put back in afterwards.

Tim