Singer Bantam

Peter McKercher · Post by **Peter McKercher** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 9:39 pm

For all of you folks that attended Stowe, you will know that Kenlis Pearce is currently the caretaker of a one of a kind Singer Bantam that I discovered several months ago. I offered Ken and Graham the car in the hopes that they would want to restore it. However, it is currently beyond their scope to do so.

The car is therefore again available, free, for anyone who would like to undertake a very large restoration project and get it back on the road.

If there are no takers, the car will be broken for parts and the proceeds will be turned over to the NASOC Treasury for the benefit of the club.

If you are interested, please contact me for pictures and further info.

Peter McKercher · Post by **Peter McKercher** » Wed Sep 19, 2007 1:14 am

The car as referenced above

Paul Bouchard · Post by **Paul Bouchard** » Wed Sep 19, 2007 12:48 pm

The "car" did find a home! While at the Regional Meet dinner, Kenlis kindly donated it to Phillip Avis, our Pre-War registrar. The car is indeed in very rough shape and if something can be done with this car I know that Phillip the best bet for it.

Good luck Phil!

Paul Bouchard

Peter McKercher · Post by **Peter McKercher** » Wed Sep 19, 2007 2:57 pm

No, that's not exactly the case and I have confirmed this with Kenlis. We are looking for someone to restore first, not jump at the chance to break it. If it is to be broken, the proceeds will go to the club.

Peter McKercher · Post by **Peter McKercher** » Wed Sep 19, 2007 3:21 pm

Further to the above, folks should know that my Nine Sports was not a great deal better than the Bantam in terms of condition prior to my restoring it. The results speak for themselves as to what can be done with a bit of hardwork and dedication.

Paul Bouchard · Post by **Paul Bouchard** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 3:28 am

We are looking for someone to restore first, not jump at the chance to break it. If it is to be broken, the proceeds will go to the club.

I have to say that the accusations made above that Phillip would only take the car to break it up and profit from it are unfounded, unfair and not in keeping with the person that they are aimed at. They are made without merit and are in very poor taste and not keeping with an officer of the club. I would suggest that a public apology from the poster of these accusations be made to Phillip.

Peter McKercher · Post by **Peter McKercher** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 12:07 pm

Paul
It would be far more beneficial if Phil represented himself, rather than use an official spokesperson. I also question why you continue to attempt to interject yourself into affairs that are really none of your business and which should be undertaken off line anyway by the parties directly involved.

In terms of an apology, the context of the discussion was that the parts were the same as used on the '36 Le Mans - not a point of interest, but a realization of an opportunity. No apology warranted.

If you truly believe this is a matter that actually involves you and wish to have a valid discussion, contact me off line by phone or email. I will not address this issue further on the Board.

Paul Bouchard · Post by **Paul Bouchard** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 3:44 pm

Thank you for confirming that Phillip was indeed the target of your post.

Putting this issue on this board brought it into the "public" eye and while you prefer that any discussion be done off-line, that priveledge was not accorded to Phillip which, to me, is using this board to attack or hurt.

As for the Bantam and LM being similar, well that is thanks to Singer, and if there are similarities then even better that someone with the experience and access to spares would have a good chance of doing something constructive with ther car.

As to minding my own business, well I will not stand back when someone is treated in such a fashion, be they Phillip or anyone else.

which should be undertaken off line anyway by the parties directly involved

Pity that you could not follow your own recommendation.

GeneA · Post by **GeneA** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 4:43 pm

I feel the need to jump in here and say that I must agree with Paul. It is hard to imagine anyone but Phil being able to make the best use of these Bantam remains. As our club Pre-war expert Phil's invaluable advice and experience should have been tapped in the first place. No one knows more about these cars than he.

Further to this, I've noticed an alarming trend in the club and on the bulletin board toward steering away from cooperation with our club registrars. Anything and everything to do with pre-war cars should be addressed to our club expert and Registrar, Phil Avis. The same goes for Paul as our Roadster Registrar. No one has poured more into the club than these two guys. You only had to be at Stowe this year to see that.

Gene

Post by **mikeyr** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 5:05 pm

Ok, my turn.

Where the he** is Phillip ?

We move away from the registrar because he is NEVER here !!!

I don't know the details of this car and I don't care, I care about where is Phillip ? Why is he even a registrar if he is NEVER going to come on this forum which is the main discussion area for this club.

And by the way this website has had some pouring done into it for the last decade ! Both in huge amounts of time and lots of MY personal cash

djcraig · Post by **djcraig** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 5:16 pm

JEEZE . . .I thought we had left the mud (or is that maird??) behind us in STOWE . . . c'mon guys, it's just a car and some very nice people . . .lets leave our egoes at the door, shake hands and get on with the club and all the great things it does. Speaking from my perspective, I can assure you that life is too short and friendships too precious.

Peter McKercher · Post by **Peter McKercher** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 5:29 pm

Gene
I agree that the Registrars are a valuable resource and are there to be consulted if needed or to add their expertise where they see fit.

I would also suggest to you that there is only one registrar position per model, yet there are many knowledgable people within the club, in many cases with equal knowledge to or different from that of the Registrars. Accordingly, this board exists for all such members to share their knowledge and experience, without necessarily deferring to one individual. After all, it is a club, not the military.

With respect to the Bantam, while I have a more than passing knowledge of Pre war cars, the technology and their history, the Bantams and their various forms are about as rare as they come. To confrim what I had found, I consulted the acknowledged Bantam expert, Dave Garn, in order to determine the year, type and other relevent information pertaining to the car.

With respect to its disposition, that is really up to me. I am however, offering it free of charge to anyone who will restore it. I acknowledge that the number of people who have the experience in undertaking this sort of restoration is limited ( Robert and I are the only two I can think of on the Eastern Seabord that have undertaken and completed a nuts and bolts retoration), however, I'm hopeful that in the interest of preserving such a unique piece of history that someone somewhere will pick up the challenge. If not, then the car will be broken, again, with the proceeds to go to the NASOC Treasury.

Mark Thompson · Post by **Mark Thompson** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 5:57 pm

Please excuse me for trying to get back on the subject and please pardon my ignorance. What is a Bantam? What year was it produced? How many were made? What is the probability of finding parts? Is the engine and drive train in good enough condition to rebuild? Are all the major body panels still there? I couldn't find any information on the website. The production number lists don't show a Bantam.
I am currently working on my second "nuts and bolts restoration" of 4 ADs. I wouldn't be able to start a new project for at least a year, but it sure would be a waste to let a piece of history slip away.

Post by **mikeyr** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 6:26 pm

I have to agree with Craig here...so I realize I am on thin ice and I also think that this thread has gone way off subject. I had planned to ignore this thread but Gene upset me when he said

GeneA wrote:No one has poured more into the club than these two guys.

I can guarantee you that both Paul and Phillip COMBINED in 3 decades (or however long Phillip has played with Singer's) are not even close the amount of time I have poured into this club, even combined they are so far behind me that its not even worth discussing and for Gene to say that upset me.

And after time which I think is our lives most valuable asset, lets talk money, who here has spent thousands to make sure we have a website and never asked the club for a refund. Its not the club that pays for this website, its me, the club can't afford it. Yes, I brought it up but money is not the point, the point is time and trust me I have poured way more time into this club then Paul and Phillip combined.

I am not diminishing the time they have put in, putting out a newsletter of the quality they put out is not easy and it is extremely time consuming, again I repeat I am not diminishing what they contribute to this club and have contributed, just setting one record straight.

Now, I have broken my own rule and tooted the horn lets get back to the Bantam and the original thread subject, if someone wants to continue on this tangent, please create a new thread for it.

Post by **mikeyr** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 6:29 pm

Mark,
I have not seen the car except in the 3 pictures above so someone else will have to reply.

As far as to what is a Singer Bantam, you need to go here for your answers http://www.SingerBantam.cjb.net/

Web Forum for Singer Cars

Singer Bantam

Singer Bantam

Bantam

Really rusty old BANTAM that almost nobody wants

Singer Bantam