34 LM rear end gearing

For now, I lumped all the pre-war cars together, I would LOVE for there to be enough demand to split it into groups (hint...hint, post here about your pre-war Singer)
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mikeyr
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34 LM rear end gearing

Post by mikeyr »

Anyone know what the gearing is on the rear axle ?

I have mine rebuilt but a friend suggested swapping rear axles with that of a Sprite to get better gearing for modern day speeds and roads. It actually looks pretty easy to do, just narrow the Sprite axle by 2 1/4" and some mods to the axle ends to fit Singer back plates for the brakes, etc.

And I happen to have a Sprite rear end available. But If the Singer is close then I won't bother.
Mike Rambour. Site Administrator
1953 Singer 4ADT (sold), 1934 Singer 9 Le Mans, 1934 Singer 1 1/2 4-Seater Sports (sold), 2009 BMW K1300GT
DarcyG
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Re: 34 LM rear end gearing

Post by DarcyG »

Hi have you seen articles in The Singer CarData Book?
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Re: 34 LM rear end gearing

Post by mikeyr »

no I have not
Mike Rambour. Site Administrator
1953 Singer 4ADT (sold), 1934 Singer 9 Le Mans, 1934 Singer 1 1/2 4-Seater Sports (sold), 2009 BMW K1300GT
DarcyG
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Re: 34 LM rear end gearing

Post by DarcyG »

Did you see message Board for you?
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mikeyr
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Re: 34 LM rear end gearing

Post by mikeyr »

I now have the book Darcy talked about and WOW, super easy to swap rear axle parts with MOWOG parts for better gearing and also better parts availability. Basically you swap out the carrier and modify the axle shafts and voila, much better gearing for modern day traffic and you got to keep the Singer rear axle housing so all the brakes and suspension parts stay correct (in my case I can use those expensive finned drums I have).

Mike
Mike Rambour. Site Administrator
1953 Singer 4ADT (sold), 1934 Singer 9 Le Mans, 1934 Singer 1 1/2 4-Seater Sports (sold), 2009 BMW K1300GT
cdk84
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Re: 34 LM rear end gearing

Post by cdk84 »

Hello Darcy, Hello Mike,

Can you direct me please to, or send on a copy of, the pertinent information about Singer and Sprite interchangeability for rear end bits?

Thanks very much.

Best,

David
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Re: 34 LM rear end gearing

Post by mikeyr »

If you measure a Sprite/Midget rear axle, you will find they are 2 3/4" different in length, yet the mis-leading part is that the wheelbase is the same. I only had checked the wheelbase and figured since it was the same I could put in the Spridget rear axle in the 9LM and somehow modify the Singer backing plates to use the Singer brakes since I already purchased finned brake drums, I wanted to use Singer parts. Also because of the Singer wire wheels you would see the Spridget brakes through the wheels so I wanted to stay Singer'ish looking with Singer brakes. I measured the backplates and thought I could do it with minor mods, but then I measured the actual Spridget rear axle housing and its too long, the wheels would stick out the fender wells (unless you got very different wheels with different offsets).

So I looked at the Spridget pumpkin/carrier and it has the same number of bolts in a similar pattern as the Singer and sure enough the pumpkin bolt pattern is a perfect fit to the Singer rear housing. The pumpkin is slightly larger so you have to shave a bit off of the Singer axle housing OR while the Spridget pumpkin is being rebuilt chuck it up in a lathe and remove some metal (what I am going to do) and then fit it into the Singer housing. Next is the rear axle shafts, if I understand the book correctly you take the Singer shaft, cut off the splines and cut off the taper off the Spridget shaft and weld it all up together. The book also talks about a different axle half shaft that is longer and fits, where you can just cut new splines. My plan is to not cut/weld, but instead have new half shafts made up with proper modern metallurgy and never break again.

The only reason for doing this is really better gearing on modern roads with modern speeds. Unless of course your rear axle gearing is broken.

It all sounds quite easy and it will give you easily replaced parts if things break, as I am building my LM to be a daily driver to work and back, I need that reliability. In S. Calif. we have the weather to drive one of these most of the year, but I can't get to work without some freeway driving, just a few miles but I am already scared.

The book is available from David Andreassen PO Box 5061, Ringwood, Vic 3134, Australia. You can PM me for his e-mail and he is a member on the forum here, so he might respond here also.
Mike Rambour. Site Administrator
1953 Singer 4ADT (sold), 1934 Singer 9 Le Mans, 1934 Singer 1 1/2 4-Seater Sports (sold), 2009 BMW K1300GT
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