Pre-War Singer Sports Cars

2008-01-27T17:08:00.000-08:00

Happy Daze...

The recent invitation from Robert 'Stainless' Moreau to visit his 1948 Singer Roadster on display at the 2008 Montreal International Auto Show brought back many happy memories for this scribe.

ABOVE: Back in 1976, I was a spotty teenager with the ink barely dry on my driver's license and found myself in petrolhead heaven. My 1933 Singer Nine Sports was invited to the auto show as part of a European car display and I was parked next to a Maserati Bora, of all things.

We were all part of the V.E.A.E, or Vintage European Automobile Enthusiast's club, where I had the dubious distinction of being the youngest member with the oldest car.

ABOVE: I drove the Singer to and from the event, in spite of it being the 'wrong' time of year to be driving a sports car, especially one with no top at all! To give my girl friend of the time credit, she sat in the passenger's seat both ways rather than in the warmth of my Father's Ford LTD wagon following behind.

As I like to say to my friend Gene Abdondelo, a recent Pre-War Singer convert..."The chicks dig the car, Gene, the chicks dig the car!" :-)

LEFT: Fast-forward to 2008 and Robert's 1948 "FrankenSinger' Roadster gleams under the halogen lights like a perfect diamond in contrast to my Sports 'way back in time, but some things don't change: Both cars drew a huge amount of attention and for many it was their first look at a Singer car.

Congratulations Robert and well done!

2007-08-07T20:02:00.000-07:00

Myths & Legends...

Like Haley’s Comet, this 1933 Singer ‘racing car', registration VD2659,’ has appeared for sale and then disappeared time and again.

The most recent appearance was on August 4^th, when it turned up at an auction in Millbrook, New York, where we had ‘our man’ Chris Hicks on the scene. Chris visited the house-come-antique shop where the contents were being auctioned off and sent back detailed photos of the Singer parked along with an MG TD and a Rover 2000.

Chris is well positioned to report on this car as it was he, along with NASOC member Len Pearcey, that first discovered this strange concoction over twenty years ago on their way to the vintage races at Lime Rock. Len once owned a ’35 Singer Le Mans and he knew that what he was looking at was no pukka Singer Le Mans. The owners were adamant that it raced at the famous Sarthe circuit and was completely original. Large sums were required to purchase it as a result..

In the early nineties, our NASOC Pre-War Registrar Phillip Avis was in communication with the owners and was able to confirm the car’s identity at their request. The registration number VD2659 is a Taunton, Somerset number used between 1932 and 1934. The car is actually the remains of a 1933 Singer Nine Sports 4 seater, car number 48285, which has been very heavily modified.

Whilst still n the UK, probably on its last legs as an old banger in the early 60’s, it had the back end cut off and a crude attempt made to turn it into a Le Mans two seater styled ‘special’.The car had been imported into the USA along with a Bentley and the Singer subsequently sold off.

The steering wheel is from a post-war Roadster and the gauges largely a mixture of SS Jaguar and Bentley bits. The seats, rear wings and hood frame are all home-made. The radiator shell, front wings, bonnet, scuttle, doors and windshield, along with the basic frame, axles and wheels, are all that remain of the original car. Even the radiator badge is from an earlier model Head lights and sidelights are also wrong and the front valance is missing. The spare wheel assembly and petrol tank are actually Singer Le Mans, but don’t fit this model chassis at all as can be seen.

The engine fitted is a BMC A-series unit running on twin SU carbs. Phillip was told that the engine had been changed for an MG unit after the Le Mans race, but that the head was the original racing Singer one. This, of course, is mechanically impossible and seems to have been based on the fact that the aftermarket alloy valve cover has a Rootes Singer badge screwed onto it!

As can be imagined, the report Phillip gave was not well received and not a confirmation of the story, but the information was passed onto the rest of NASOC for future reference. A good thing too, as a number of Officers and members have been involved or approached and by then all knew what the car was.

So here we are back in August of 2007 and the very same owners are selling again, this time at auction along with most of the contents of the house. Chris was advised by the Auctioneer that a pre-auction bid that met the very high reserve had already been received on the viewing day. Chris will report back with the rest of the story very soon.

Stay tuned!

2007-04-07T14:14:00.001-07:00

A Model Example!

2006 was significant in that it saw not one, but two Singer Le Mans team cars come on the market via the inevitable eBay.

One of them was KV 9245, also known as Number 47, a 1934 Singer Le Mans two seater that was driven by the team of Tommy Wisdom and Stanley Barnes in the Le Mans race of that year. It was also once owned by John Horne of the Association of Singer Car Owners in the UK. John has a huge amount of experience with pre-war Singers and has owned a number of notable historic examples.

More on the second sister car, Number 48, in a later post.

Now, if buying the real thing is beyond your grasp, perhaps you'd like to pick up a smaller version at a more reasonable price? Say...1:43 scale at @ £40.00?

Enter Grand Prix Models, one of the best-known model shops in the UK. They carry a range of kits and ready-builts made by a French company called SLM-43. This company specialises in creating models of cars that ran at Le Mans...and...yes...they plan to build them all!

On the list is Number 47, as well as Number 48, plus a range of other Singer cars that ran on the famous Sarthe circuit. The photo depicted on the website is a pre-production model and no delivery date has been set yet. Still, if you want to start your own collection of Singer racing cars, keep an eye on the Grand Prix website!

Learn more about Grand Prix and the Singer models at:
http://www.grandprixmodels.co.uk/newspages/lemans.htm

2007-04-07T14:14:00.000-07:00

Tyred Out No More!

I recently received an exciting tip-off from fellow '36 LM owner Simon Worland in the UK. Seems he and well-known motoring scribe John Siminster (love your work in Octane John!) were attending an event in the UK and were privy to a viewing of the first set of 4.50 x 18 Blockley tyres out of the mould.

Now, for those of you who haven't heard of Blockley, they are a small company in England who, in their relatively short time in business, have become very highly regarded for their period vintage tyres.

The company was started by Julian Majzub, who is well-known in classic car circles, and the tyres were developed by ex-Dunlop man Derek Freathy. I had the good fortune to meet Derek a few years ago at Beaulieu and tried to convince them to produce a 4.50 x 18 tyre for Singers. Derek was very gracious and said that it was not out of the question, but an order of 50 or more would have to be secured to produce the mould. There weren't that many cars using this size in the '30's evidently. I never really got momentum going to get 50 orders, so nothing ever happened.

So, fast-forward to 2007 and here we are! Simon says that pricing and availability should be known some time in June. Blockley tyres are renowned for their performance, hard-wearing and handling, especially in the wet, and can be used for road or race. They also have a DOT rating in the USA. Prices are very competative considering the market and start at a very reasonable £69.00.

I can't wait to get a set for my 1933 Singer Nine Sports which will really look the business with proper pre-war style triple stud tyres on her. The Goodyear All-Weather cross-hatch pattern tyres didn't appear on the cars until late 1935.

Learn more about Blockley Tyres at: http://www.blockleytyre.com

2007-03-17T15:52:00.000-07:00

From Little Acorns Grow...

A few years ago I received this lovely Christmas card from old mate Bob Tayler. Bob has owned a 1934 Singer Le Mans for many years and brought it with him when he emigrated from the UK.

Lo and behold, the red car in the picture is a child's view of Bob's very own car parked by his cottage near Lac Magog. Drawn by a young friend of the family, the artwork was turned into a card called 'Les Amis de George, Georgeville.' It was printed by a company called 'A la Carte' and the catalogue number is 108.

There's certainly a great deal of detail in the Singer and some artistic licence too- as Bob mentions in his text- the car is still British Racing Green in real life!

Let's hope little George has developed an interest in our favourite marque as a result of his artistic endevours. He's aptly named, too, as it was a George Singer who founded the company and bore his name, although he never saw cars like the Le Mans produced.

Small world!

2007-03-02T14:47:00.000-08:00

Mini Blue?

Hey, doesn't this little fellow look familiar!?

I've collected a few of these interesting 'home craft' style tin models and I find they have a lot of charm.

So far, I've picked up a large scale Edwardian Roll-Royce Silver Ghost and a neat '30's Alfa-Romeo racer. There's also a gorgous clockwork model of the Golden Arrow record breaker on my fireplace mantle, but that is in a different league and more of a collector's piece.

When I spotted this model on the shelf, it caught my attention immediately and I had to have it! The shape...the colour...the wheels...looks like the artist had a certain Singer Le Mans on his mind when he made it! It might be fun to detail it further to look even more like a Singer!

You can check out some other tin display models at: http://www.popblue.com/models/

2007-02-24T18:17:00.000-08:00

Cars as Stars...

This is probably one of the most famous pre-war Singers in the world of film: A 1935 Le Mans Special Speed Model driven with verve by Michael James, AKA Peter O’Toole in the 1965 comedy ‘What’s New Pussycat?'

Besides featuring a Singer car, the movie was notable for making a household name out of Singer Tom Jones, who sang the theme song written by Burt Bacharach..”woah woah”...
Who can forget that!

It was also Woody Allen’s film debut and his first produced script. Other stars included Peter Sellers, Romy Schneider and Ursula Andress who, in very James Bond style, parachutes into the passenger seat on the way to the film’s climax at Chateau Chantelle.

NASOC member Gene Abbondello will probably note with some satisfaction that the French registered Singer is fitted with his favoured yellow headlamp bulbs!

Actually, Singer cars have appeared in more films that you’d think. Take a look at the amazing Cars in Film Database at www.imcdb.org/vehicles.php?make=singer&model=

Photo courtesy Cars in Film Database
Film brief courtesy Wickapedia

2007-02-18T15:48:00.000-08:00

A Brand New Baby...

It's the summer of 1936 and Mr and Mrs Revecomb of Revecomb Motors look pleased with their latest delivery.

It's a 1936 Singer Le Mans Special Speed Model and fresh off the boat from England, ready for shipment to its first owner waiting with anticipation down in San Diego, USA

This little blue car is just begining 0ver 70 years of adventures to date and still going strong and know to all as 'Baby Blue'

Look may she roll!

Photo courtesy of Gladys Revecomb / John Beresford

2007-02-17T18:41:00.000-08:00

The Third Man?

The time...June 1937.

The place...Los Angeles.

The man...Mr T. H. M. Taylor of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

The car...a light blue 1936 Singer Nine Le Mans Special Speed Model.

This photo accompanied an article by Mrs Taylor that was printed in the January 1938 edition of Popular Motoring, the Singer Company in-house magazine. It chronicles the Taylor's adventurous drive from Vancouver down to Mexico and back again. All-in, they travelled over 5,000 miles in three weeks at an average of 41 miles per gallon and the Singer never missed a beat. Not bad!

Here's the mystery: Revecomb Motors only sold ONE Singer Sports car via their dealerships in Vancouver and Victoria. That car, according to Gladys Revecomb, was sold new to a US resident and shipped to San Diego. This would have been my car, as discussed in this blog.

Toronto was the other popular city for British cars in Canada and a number of Singers were sold there. As mentioned in a previous post, Jack Luck's car was probably the 2nd of 3 officially imported 1936 Le Mans models sold new in North America and it lived in Ontario for much of its life, possibly going to the USA later. It is also possible that car was originally painted ivory and apple green. So where does Mr T. H. M. Taylor's car fit?! Unlike 'Baby Blue', my car, which was shipped down to California and worked her way north, this car was based in Vancouver and drove south.

Is there some convoluted way that my car and Mr Taylor's are one and the same? Unlikely, I expect, unless the Revecomb information is off and the car was traded in by the Taylors and shipped to the USA after to be purchased by Irene Fergusen.

So was this car a private import, but still one of the original three, as reported in the factory ledgers?

Any leads gratefully received!

Photo courtesy the Avis Collection

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2007-02-16T21:29:00.000-08:00

Number Two?...

Could this 1936 Singer Le Mans be the second of three cars originally imported new into Canada?

Taken somewhere around Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in the 1950's, it shows proud owner Jack Luck at the wheel. Jack, a designer by trade, was an early member of the Singer Owner's Car Club as formed by Keith McDowall and which has grown into the current UK Singer Owner's Club. Jack designed the original club badge, another Canadian connection.

It's interesting to note the similar modifications made on Baby Blue, my Singer, and Jack's car back in the '50's, including bumper bars and a conversion to Lucas 700 series headlamps.

Photo courtesy The Singer Owner / Keith McDowell

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2007-02-16T20:56:00.000-08:00

Racing Red...

Here's a great snap of Jean Burkhard, wife of Jack Burkhard, preparing to take my Singer out for a run around the cones at a Gymkana somewhere in Los Angeles circa summer of '53. The car is sporting a fresh coat of fire engine red on the body and a slightly darker shade of red on the wings.

Not to be out-done, Jack Burkhard's friend Curt Parker puts the Singer through its paces with a young John Burkhard in the passenger's seat taking photos.

Photos courtesy of John Burkhard

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2007-02-16T19:22:00.000-08:00

Just The Facts Ma'am...

It's certainly not uncommon for the facts to get blurred or mistaken when you're dealing with rare marques like Singer and 'experts' often make assumptions. Given the scarcity of information about these cars, it's not surprising perhaps, but when information is being 'archived for future reference', it begs the proper crossing of 'T"s and dotting of 'i's'.

This photo of an old familiar face appeared recently in an e-mail missive archived on singercars.com and, yes indeed it is my own car, 'Baby Blue' a 1936 Singer Le Mans Special Speed Model as seen in earlier posts of this blog...although I was not credited as the current owner in the actual archived message.

According to the message text, the photo was taken in 1949 at the Cal Club Time Trials in Van Nuys, California and the car was driven by David Addison, further credence to the car's early competition history. It was owned at the time - and likely purchased new (although more on this in a later post!) - by a Miss Irene Fergusen of San Diego who emigrated to the Middle East probably late in 1952. By then, she had clocked up about 60,000 miles in the car. Irene must have been quite a character!

The car is claimed to be in it's 'original darker hue' (of blue) which is incorrect. British lacquer paint and leather trim did not fare well in the California climate and a few years is all one could expect. It had been painted black during Irene's ownership and had been upgraded with chrome bumpers and tan canvas spare tyre covers. This is confirmed by areas of black paint that survive under the present light blue, along with traces of red paint, with the factory original light blue appearing under all.

The Singer was purchased by Jack Burkhard- not 'Burkhardt'- in the fall of 1951 after Irene had left the country. In the spring of 1952, Jack painted the car a two-tone red and 'souped up' the engine for more competition work. Jack was a friend of the gang that produced Road & Track magazine at the time. They were all true sports car enthusiasts and so he was asked to provide the car for a feature in the March 1953 edition of the magazine. After Jack sold the car in late 1953, it was repainted back to the original light blue by the next owner, William Smith, who ran British Motor Works in La Jolla.

The Singer Owner's Club in the UK confirms this car as being one of the three Singer Nine Le Mans that were officially imported into North America prior to the second world war, so it never had a British registration number. Amazingly, I purchased the Singer with only 67,000 miles on it and am most probably the fifth owner. Most of the cars history is pretty much known from new and I have been in communication with the family that owned the dealership that imported the car (and who supplied photos of it when new) as well as John Burkhard, son of Jack, who also supplied photos taken during his Dad's ownership. John actually learnt to drive in the Singer and used it as daily transport for a while.

The car was shipped new to British Columbia, Canada for Revecomb Motors, either to their Vancouver or Victoria office. The Singer then lived most of it's life in California, first in San Diego, then Los Angeles, then La Jolla, then back to San Diego. Tom Turner purchased the Singer from William Smith in late 1961 and shipped the car with him when he moved east to Chicago. There it stayed, mostly in storage, along with Tom's other cars, until I purchased it from his wife Betty. Tom had passed away and it was very important to Betty that the car went to someone who would really care for it, a caveat of the sale being that they had first refusal to buy it back!

I still keep in regular touch with Betty Turner and she enjoys hearing about the exploits of the 'Little (light!) Blue Car'!

Photo courtesy www.singercars.com

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2007-02-10T15:50:00.000-08:00

The Next Generation...
Here's a great photo of young Kit Keyser, son of Eric and Jane Keyser in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

When they were living in the UK, the Keyser family bought this 1937 Singer Nine Le Mans from Paul Barnes, a member of the British Singer Owners Club. Paul had bought it from Tony Raynor, also a member of the SOC. Tony subsequently emigrated to California and is now the Historian for our North American Singer Owners Club.

The car started life as a Sports 4 seater, of which only 19 were produced before the Nine range of sports cars were phased out in 1937. The car had already been converted to a two seater by the time Tony bought it. The Singer was featured in The Autocar magazine at the time Paul and Tony were arranging the deal back in August of 1978. The Keysers were considering selling the car, but Kit has developed an interest in the Singer and after a visit from Phillip Avis, our NASOC Pre-War Registrar, have decided to keep it and get it back on the road. Congratulations!

Look for the full story in issue 2-2007 of NASOC NEWS!

Photo courtesy Eric & Jane Keyser

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2006-12-30T19:13:00.000-08:00

WHO WOULD BELIEVE IT?!

What's wrong with this picture?

Well, I suppose 'Wingco' would object to this pilot's bad kit and his kite could do with a bit of spit and polish, but, no, it's the weather!

Generally at this time of year, those of us North of the 49th have long since confined our cars to the garage for the long and bitter winter.

This picture was taken on DECEMBER 25th...YES! CHRISTMAS DAY! Amazing!

And it really was an amazing Christmas present because next day we were indeed visited by the white stuff in abundance...although NOT as bad as poor Denver!

Photo courtesy Andrea Bottomley

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2006-08-21T18:01:00.000-07:00

ALLOY DRUM PROTOTYPE INSTALLED!

Well, it's been a bit of a gap since our last post, it's summer after all and we've been enjoying a bit of a vacation, but we're back now and happy to post or next update...

Fresh back from a visit to Prince Edward County, we returned with the first set of alloy brake drums produced by Len Pearcey. They look superb, as can be seen by this photo. Some minor machining is being done to make them fit the very early backplate style, but this is minor.

Next step will be to install some shoes then test the fit and free-running. A second set machined for the later style backplate is already finished and will be sent off shortly to a Mike Rambour in California for his 1934 Singer Le Mans restoration.

Photo courtesy Phillip Avis

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2006-06-11T07:35:00.000-07:00

A real 'Boy Racer' Project...

There were a number of 'go-faster' goodies available for sports cars in the 1930's just as there are today for the 'Fast & Furious' generation driving slammed Japocars.

These included Brooklands Aeroscreens; Blumels spring steering wheels; leather bonnet straps; twin spare wheels; headlamp stone guards; Bonora 'racing filler caps'; alloy valve covers; finned alloy sumps and, of course, finned alloy brakes drums.

Today, many of these bits and pieces are still available from a number of sources, such as Paul Beck, Gregory's Autoparts and Holdens and many are suitable for the '30's Singer sports cars...with one expection: The alloy brake drums.

I thought it was high time we corrected that situation as I wanted a set for my '33 Sports 4 seater. Now, thanks to the pattern making skills of Len Pearcey, we are casting a set featuring a keyed cast iron liner with a finned alloy shell. They'll look very much like the one in this photo, which were made up for a Singer 4AD Roadster fitted with wire wheels...very tasty!

Additional sets can be made up and the flange design means we can produce them for any type of Singer Nine produced between late 1932 to late 1935. Either straight frame or over-slung double-drop frame type cars. Either with back plates that wrap around the edge of the drum or the type where the drum wraps over the edge of the backplate. "Bantam based" underslung frame sports cars have a different size drum and we may look into that at a later date.

Prices are aimed at @$1,700.00USD/set of 4, which is a bargain for such a bespoke item.

Photo courtesy Paul Bouchard

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2006-05-31T14:55:00.000-07:00

HITTING THE ROAD...

This is a new blog produced as part of my responsibilities as Pre-War Registrar for The North American Singer Owners Club. It is an on-line supplement to NASOC NEWS, our club magazine, which I also edit.

I bought my first Singer, a 1950 4A Roadster, at the age of 14 and, at the age of 17, imported my first Pre-War Singer, a 1933 Nine Sports 4 seater. I still have that car, as well as a 1936 Nine Le Mans Special Speed 2 seater.

My love affair with the Singer Marque now spans over 30 years and hasn’t dimmed. I’m happy to help anyone else who shares this passion with information, advice, parts or even just tea & sympathy.

Stay tuned for more!

Phillip Avis,

Editor & Pre-War Registrar, NASOC

Photo courtesy Paul Bouchard

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