What did I do this weekend ?

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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What did I do this weekend ?

Post by mikeyr »

Since this place is kind of slow, thought I would show you what I did this weekend and maybe get some of you guys posting what you are doing to your Singer's.

So here we go with a new battery tray. My battery tray on my Le Mans was gone, basically enough was left for a pattern so I made a new one.

You do need to log in to see the pictures !
Attachments
This is both the new and the old, you can see the old one was quite a mess
This is both the new and the old, you can see the old one was quite a mess
Here is the whole works, the chunk of wood to form the hole and the thing I made and of course the new tray.
Here is the whole works, the chunk of wood to form the hole and the thing I made and of course the new tray.
Here is the thing in the press making the dimples.
Here is the thing in the press making the dimples.
First thing I did make a "thing" for making the dimples in the tray so the bolt heads are recessed as per the original.
First thing I did make a "thing" for making the dimples in the tray so the bolt heads are recessed as per the original.
Last edited by mikeyr on Wed Jan 11, 2006 8:30 am, edited 1 time in total.
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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mikeyr
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Post by mikeyr »

continuation, hit the pictures per post limit :)
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Since I do not have a spot welder and the original was spot welded, I replicated the look by drilling a 1/4" hole in the sheet metal tray and then hitting it with the TIG.  It looks kind of spot welded.
Since I do not have a spot welder and the original was spot welded, I replicated the look by drilling a 1/4" hole in the sheet metal tray and then hitting it with the TIG. It looks kind of spot welded.
In the frame, one more item done.
In the frame, one more item done.
I don't paint anymore, I powder coat so here it is in the oven curing.
I don't paint anymore, I powder coat so here it is in the oven curing.
Here is it welded.  After grinding and painting no one will know its not a spot weld.
Here is it welded. After grinding and painting no one will know its not a spot weld.
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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jeans_old_man
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Re: What did I do this weekend ?

Post by jeans_old_man »

Thanks for the picture of the battery tray. I have never seen one before so now I know what I have to do next weekend! What did I do this weekend? I made an adapter to drive the dynamo from a drive shaft with the three pegs.
I bought the shaft and distributor drive gear from Dave Hardwick years ago. The teeth were like new but the nylon adapter that I made for the dynamo had come loose and there was some damage to the keyway. I managed to find the original four-legged drive dog and decided to make an adapter from Tuffnol. All done with a pillar drill and a file ( I must buy myself a lathe one day)
The secret of how to assemble it? Remove the band that gives access to the commutator so that you can push it round with your thumb. If you take out the distributor you can just see the the coupling.
I have attached a picture of progress so far.
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20180421_163903.jpg
20180421_114144.jpg
20180421_092942.jpg
ColinB
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Re: What did I do this weekend ?

Post by ColinB »

Nice work. I did some Singer stuff (see my other posts) and also sowed a variety of seeds in the veg patch. The weather here has been fantastic so I have also consumed the odd can of cold beer.....
DSC_0004.JPG
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Peter McKercher
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Re: What did I do this weekend ?

Post by Peter McKercher »

I was photographing a house I just built and a giant Girl Guide came over looking for cookies.
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Peter McKercher
Vice President - NASOC
Pre war Singer Specialist and Collector
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casadecabra
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Re: What did I do this weekend ?

Post by casadecabra »

My battery tray was also very corroded (as I imagine they all are - strange Dave Hardwick never got round to making a replica) but there was enough left to measure accurately so, back in the days when I had access to Autocad, I made a drawing. This is reproduced here for the record and hopefully to help anyone thinking of making one.

I subsequently made one in a similar way to Mikeyr but, not having luxury of a press, I used a large metal vice (or vise!) to compress the dies. It worked fine.

Dave B
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Battery platform.jpg
Battery platform.jpg (42.29 KiB) Viewed 11404 times
cdk84
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Re: What did I do this weekend ?

Post by cdk84 »

You lot are all so productive!

Nancy and I moved last weekend.

That's it: We moved.

And we were moving for

three weeks before that.

We're still moving.

and may be for a while.

But we have guests coming

so the boxes have to GO!

(Yikes)
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jeans_old_man
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Re: What did I do this weekend ?

Post by jeans_old_man »

I got bored with the football and decided to tackle the footwell on my '35 longtail. After I removed some of the fiberglass from previous repairs, this is what was left:
original footwell
original footwell
It looks like the original is spot-welded, but as I had some lead-coated steel left over from the fuel tank I dcided to soft-solder one up from this.
new footwell
new footwell
and again
and again
It came out better than I could have imagined - and it looks like it's going to fit! Can't wait to get the rest of the floor in place.
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Re: What did I do this weekend ?

Post by ColinB »

Nice job!
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jeans_old_man
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Re: What did I do this weekend ?

Post by jeans_old_man »

Thanks Colin. I was inspired by your project and some of the comments from others on this forum. The photos and drawings of original parts has been really helpful. I plan to publish the patterns for the footwell as soon as I have some time.
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cdk84
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Re: What did I do this weekend ?

Post by cdk84 »

Those footwells look the bomb.

Nicely done!

There are so many similar things I could be doing, but am still setting up the shop in the garage.

It take quite a while to be ready to be ready.
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jeans_old_man
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Re: What did I do this weekend ?

Post by jeans_old_man »

After two weekends with the jig saw, I finally got it all together:
New floor
New floor
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and again
and again
ColinB
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Re: What did I do this weekend ?

Post by ColinB »

That has all come together rather well!
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jeans_old_man
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Re: What did I do this weekend ?

Post by jeans_old_man »

I finally took down the bonnet halves that have been hanging on the garage wall for the last 30 years and fitted them to the new hinge that is back from the platers. The new wings have been in my mother-in-laws spare bedroom and various other houses for a similar length of time. The running boards were too long and needed some rework. I bit the bullit and cut the back off and soft - soldered it back on in the correct position. The running boards needed spraying but the other panels were just washed and polished.

I am now looking for details of the running board rubber strips and chrome ends that I can just about remember from when I first got the car (in 1967!). Anyone got photos?

Brian
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running boards.png
20181123_151833.jpg
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Re: What did I do this weekend ?

Post by jeans_old_man »

I'm pleased with the results so far!
I'm pleased with the results so far!
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