Web Forum for Singer Cars

She looks quite grand Colin.

Thanks Peter. She is indeed rather sweet and fortunately my wife likes her (which is a first!).

On my junction box question I have found a plausible answer - based on the original wiring and two holes in the cover plate under the dynamo which exactly fit the fixings on a small junction box I realise it is forward in the engine compartment not on the bulkhead. Fortunately I left my new wiring long enough to reach. From there the wires to the head and sidelights will go very easily to the conduits built into the front mudguards.

Better she be on board than not.

Hey Colin,

Wow! She's really coing together now!

I can confirm that on the Senior there is a Rotax junction box - and a really rare one at that - fitted to the inner wing valance in the position denoted by the two holes in your photo. The cutout is located on the scuttle near the autovac. I have limited experience with Juniors, but I would assume Singer would have used the same design logic for baby as for big brother.

I can supply photos of these items if you need them...

Thanks Phillip - I have wired her up with a Lucas junction box in that position ( Rotax boxes are clearly very rare!). My cutout which is original is on the dash. Head and sidelights are working although I wouldn't fancy driving with them at night on modern roads.

Hey Colin,

LOL! Yeah...the Senior lamps are the same!

Have you checked out this guy:

http://www.dynamoregulatorconversions.com/

I've met him at Beaulieu a few times and put my friend Barry onto him to do an electronic conversion on his LM. He did a 2 brush conversion to the dynamo and matched it to an electronic cut-out fitted into the original cut-out casing. The results were really good and Barry is dead chuffed.

This company also sell LED bulb replacements for classic lamps which give you a much brighter light with much less load. Read up on the site. He especially recommends this bulb conversion for Vintagents like us with pre-'30's machinery and minimal electrics.

He is definitely worth checking out Phillip, thanks.

I too can recommend the led headlamp bulbs from dynamo regulator conversions.

As a result of fitting them I am able to wind the three brush dynamo back from from 8 amps to 3 amps, this will help the working life of the dynamo no end. It is not driving at night that concerned me, but driving in poor daylight conditions and being able to be clearly seen by other motorists.

I also installed led bulbs (from the same company) in the rear lights but thought them not very bright. So got some led bulbs from Paul Goff http://www.norbsa02.freeuk.com/ and they are much brighter but take a little more current.

Here are my LED headlamps.



Any progress with the Spridget?

Roly

Hey Roly,

Your chap has some great stuff that can be applied to our cars too!

Thanks for the lead!

Cheers,
Phillip

The led lights look good Roly; definitely worth a try. The Spridget is awaiting attention as I will try and get the Singer generally finished before starting in earnest. I have, though, been assessing the 'new' old body I bought for the ID swap and working out what needs replacing and what can be repaired. I am pretty optimistic about it as I think the floors and sills can all be repaired and it looks pretty straight altogether (see pic). I'll drop you an email with progress when I get properly started on it.

I have a Mini in my driveway that looks like that Spridget...have to finish it before I finish the Singer but its going pretty quick, gearbox and motor are done, just have to assemble the motor to the gearbox. Subframes are done. Most (all?) of the rust has been cut out of the body and now its just welding some panels, then sand and paint and re-assemble. I promised my wife the Mini is the last car I will work on until after the Singer is finished, but I may cheat and do some woodwork on the LM this holiday just to make progress on it. I purchased a LM body from the UK and then never heard back so I am back to building my own.

By the way...a RECORD delivery from MiniSpares in the UK, I ordered parts on Dec. 14, thats Wednesday afternoon, So. Calif. time and today Dec. 16 Friday, I got a delivery e-mail that my packages are on my front porch, my wife just got home and yes they are there. 2 days from order in the UK to delivery in S. Calif. WOW !!!

I don't know how we managed before the Internet Mike! That does sound like exceptional service.

I second that. I have to say, that service from the UK to Canada is exceptional, even through the regular mail channels. I can usually count on receiving things within about 4 days. Regrettably, packages from the U.S. take up to three weeks. I don't know why the difference.

Prepare yourselves for a lash up! I decided to paint my old rad surround in chrome paint while I still search for a quality replacement or even find the one that has been lost between Australia and here. I applied a piece of steel behind the lower part of the surround to beef it up and then filled all the pockmarks with knifing putty and Halfords filler primer. After that I gave it three coats of silver wheel paint and then three coats of chrome spray paint. It will do for a while and is better than I feared it might be.

Stunning!
I wonder if nickel spray spray is also available.
Roly