New Pre-War Singer engine castings...

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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Re: New Pre-War Singer engine castings...

Post by mikeyr »

their work is great, certainly not cheap but great.
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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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Re: New Pre-War Singer engine castings...

Post by froux »

To update the info, John Gibson's phone is now (44)7970057364. And he is not very much into emails. ; )
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Re: New Pre-War Singer engine castings...

Post by Phillip »

Thanks for the update!

We in Canada hope to be able to report first-hand on driving a Gibson-powered LM sometime next year, if things go to plan!
Your Friendly Canadian Pre-War Singer Specialist, Collector & Historian,
Editor & Pre-War Registrar & Canadian Contact -NASOC
Singer Enthusiast for over 40 Years.
'28 Senior, '33 & '34 Sports, '36 Le Mans SS & Bantam
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Re: New Pre-War Singer engine castings...

Post by cdk84 »

To MikeyR and Others,

You wrote "the [Gibson's] work is great, certainly not cheap but great".

In my respectful estimation truly great work sets its own price point.

I wish John Gibson were on this side of The Puddle: my engine would be on the way there straight away.

Regards All,

David
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Re: New Pre-War Singer engine castings...

Post by mikeyr »

I was not complaining about his price, I was merely warning others :)

I also agree if he were here he would already have my 1.5 motor in his shop. I have spoken with him a few times about doing the rebuild on my 1.5 and while extremely expensive I would have done if I could have found a secure way to ship it to him and get it back.
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New Pre-War Singer engine castings...

Post by cdk84 »

Hi Mike,

I understand.

Do you have a freight expediter whom you trust out your way? I ask because I have someone in the UK whom I can trust, but not on this side. Would that be a way you could transport your engine with confidence?

Best of Luck with your 1.5 engine. Are there particular things that can only be done over there? From experience, every maker's engines seem to have their own 'tricks of the trade'. Getting the right person to do the work correctly the first time really is priceless.

Cheers,

David
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Re: New Pre-War Singer engine castings...

Post by mikeyr »

I dont have a shipper that I trust, never shipped anything to UK or anywhere else.

The Singer motor is just a motor, but being old and mine having been repaired by brazing in the past I am concerned that it be done right the first time.
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Re: New Pre-War Singer engine castings...

Post by cdk84 »

Hello All,

It's probably a good idea to update the contact information for what was formerly the Gibson brothers' (GBracing) organization.

Had a very pleasant and positive conversation with John Gibson this week (June 19, 2015). He alluded, without detail, to changes in the 'family business' through the last 18 months, without mentioning specifics.

John said things were beginning to settle down and that he hopes soon that things will return to normal, meaning he may even return to racing in the imaginable future.

We discussed engine bits as CRL157 has need of some replacements, and John was very helpful indeed.

John's contact information has changed. Whether of not he remains affiliated with Archer's Garage, I cannot say. His new mobile telephone number, however is (0)797-005-7364. I did receive an email from Archer's Garage saying that John was available at this number, where I reached him. He confirmed that there are cast iron 972 blocks and aluminum heads, finned sumps, counterweighted cranks and cams available for our cars. As I progress in my dialog with John I will update this post to say how things work out.

Very Best to All,

David Kellogg
keeper for CRL157
1936 Singer Nine Sports
781 424-9254
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Re: New Pre-War Singer engine castings...

Post by cdk84 »

Writing to say that I left messages for John Gibson at Archer's Garage. They kindly responded that John could be reached at another number, where I subsequently found him, after several tries.

If anyone needs the number, just ask. I want to confirm which of the two I have is the correct one before posting it here.

Cheers,
David
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Re: New Pre-War Singer engine castings...

Post by cdk84 »

Thought to revive this thread for a moment.

Phillip suggested the Gibsons develop a crossflow head for our Nines.

When I was learning about Crosley engines, there was an enterprising fellow who liked challenges and played with CAD/CAM in his spare time.

He consulted a few of us about the engine's original design and specification and, in a few months, he designed a soup-to-nuts program to create a twin cam Crosley block. Holy Spit!

SO, while a crossflow head would be nice, Why Not a Twin Cam? HRG did it, right?

Cheers
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Re: New Pre-War Singer engine castings...

Post by mikeyr »

I would be happy if they did a 6cylinder 1.5Litre block, but I could not afford their 9 block so I doubt I could afford their 1.5 :)
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Re: New Pre-War Singer engine castings...

Post by cdk84 »

Spoke again recently with John Gibson about his replacement aluminum engine and cylinder head castings.

My car is a 1936 Nine Sports, CRL157 ( Charlotte ) and the correct cylinder head corresponds with the chassis upgrade to Bantam specs that occurred in the Nine Sports and LeMans Singers for the 1936 model year: the head differs from previous Nines. In specific --though not the only change-- the water manifold on the later car's engine is no longer a separately cast aluminum piece but rather integral to the head and cast of iron in a different shape. Finding a replacement for the seriously cracked head on my car, which was the earlier style head, not to the original specification described above, would likely prove a challenge, particularly in North America.

I thought it would be desperately difficult to find ANY replacement head, let alone a head correct for the car. That's where the club had a chance to show its strengths, and it did.

One of the members found a spare, correct head in their parts hoard and was willing to let it go as it was surplus to their needs, being the wrong vintage for the cars in their garage.

Soon after this great and generous offer, I also discovered that John Gibson casts both the earlier head with the separate external water manifold but also a head correct to the later specification prewar Nines based upon the Bantam chassis and drive train. The later style head is available, complete with larger specification that stock valves for about 1,200 pounds sterling plus postage. An intake manifold is separate and at extra cost.

I hope this is of help. Thanks to everyone involved in helping me closer to getting CRL157 ( Charlotte ) back on the road.

Cheers,
David
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Re: New Pre-War Singer engine castings...

Post by ColinB »

Sorry to resurrect an old post but are these Wayne and John Gibson, sons of Geoff Gibson? If so is there any up to date contact information?
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Re: New Pre-War Singer engine castings...

Post by Danish »

A previous post suggests an email address and number Colin...maybe still active. gbracing@live.co.uk or gbr1racing@hotmail.com (44)7970057364
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Re: New Pre-War Singer engine castings...

Post by Phillip »

I hope that someone can track them down. When I last asked Martyn Wray where to find Gibsons, he wasn't too sure. I was asking for a friend who paid a deposit for an engine some years ago!
Your Friendly Canadian Pre-War Singer Specialist, Collector & Historian,
Editor & Pre-War Registrar & Canadian Contact -NASOC
Singer Enthusiast for over 40 Years.
'28 Senior, '33 & '34 Sports, '36 Le Mans SS & Bantam
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