Brrrr

[mikeyr]

What is everybody doing right now ? usually this place gets busier in the winter as it gets colder and people play in the house more but this year it seems to have died down instead of picked up.

I am wondering if its the weather since I know here in S. Cal. it is absolutely FREEZING, they are talking about a high today 56 degrees and a low of 37 for tonight, yikes I was dressed like a Eskimo this morning when I left for work and it was already below freezing at 47 degrees and tonight they say it will get colder All I want to do when I get home is sit by the fireplace and try to warm up and go to bed with lots of blankets but cold never stopped anyone from coming here and posting anyway in the past.

So what are you doing ? if you are working on the Singer let us know, take pictures.

Ok, some people in Canada might think 56 degrees is Speedo's at the beach weather but no, I don't want to see you in your Speedo's

[Paul Bouchard]

Mike,

Cold is relative... and at least up here we are prepared (clothing, houses, etc). Sadly though, working on Singers in this climate requires a garage, a heated on e at that! I hope to get back to work on the 4A that is sitting in my garage. Problem is getting all the other junk out of the way! To do that I would need to move a car (or two) around and at -12 celcius, I will have to wait.

In the mean time, bundle up and find a warm friend to sit next to!

Paul

[v6 4ad]

Hi Mike,
56 deg is almost short weather in Tennessee. I was camping three weeks ago with the scouts and woke up to 13 deg. That was pretty cold. Anyway I have been looking at my Singer recently. I have been trying to overcome the steering problems with the V6 in the front. I have the wire wheel problem fixed & have them put on. Well at least on the front and have figured out the rear. Just need to have brackets made to attach the Austin Healey 3000 rear end. I have also been at my local parts store trying to find radiator hoses that will fit. I hope to get the engine running early next year. Later, ANDY

[indian301]

Mike,

It was so cold here in NW Arizona that we got 5 inches of snow on Wednesday and they released us early from school. They even cancelled school today because of the roads. My Singer is done except for making the side curtains. My new project is a 1962 Sunbeam Alpine. Dave Green has been supplying me with some parts.

Dave V-6 4AD

[Peter McKercher]

Andy
Probably the first wire wheeled 4AD in North America. John Martin bought a set of Borranis from Ernie McAfee's hollywood speed shop in '53. He also added bonnet louvres and a mesh radiator stone guard for a very smart looking car.

The MG driver is Pete Van Law, automotive historian. The car in the background is the Cannon Mark IV Gull Wing Special.

Peter

[mikeyr]

Yikes...that could be my old 4AD. The louvers are the same pattern as my old 4AD and when I purchased it, it had a mesh stone guard grill. The spare was a wire wheel that bolted on with a looked unsafe bolt-on plate in the center so the wire wheel could be bolted on. I kept the hood as we all know but promptly got a proper grill and a new wheel for the spare...I wonder...

And it was even COLDER today !!! I had ice on my windshield when I got up, I walked my dogs this morning before work and I could some white areas on the garage roof, got in the car and could not see out the window. This cold is ridiculous !!! The garage is still not heated but maybe this weekend I will trench for the gas line, the heater is already in just not hooked up, have to dig 50+ feet of trench for the gas line.

[v6 4ad]

Peter,
Thanks for the info on the wire wheels. That is cool. I spoke with Russ Natali & Len Pearcy when looking into mine. On the front I used MGA hubs & brakes. That required getting some sleeves made so they would fit onto the Singer spindels. On the rear I used a Austin Healey 3000 rear end with wire wheel hubs on it. This all started cause I wanted a stronger rearend that would handle the increased horsepower from the 3.8 liter Buick V6. The Singer motor was what 58hp with a twin carb engine vs some 150hp with the V6.
Thanks again. ANDY

[Peter McKercher]

Mike
I did ask you once before and you concluded that your car was always red. Jack's car was gun metal and gray. However, Jack did tell me he only ever saw two cars with louvered hoods. You also said that the engine had a number of racing mods (different cam). I could ask Jack if he changed that (his memory is a little shaky though). In any event, it could well be the same car.

Now if you could put your hands on the car Bill Kerrigan prepped for Bridgehampton for the May '53 race, that would be interesting. It had a Chet Herbert rebuild with roller rockers and cam, a flow through head and 4 Amal motorcycle carbs. It jumped off the mark at the race for the Sagaponack cup, leaping ahead of 5 porsches, a Jowett and a bunch of MG TDs. Unfortunately it was DNF.

[Peter McKercher]

Mike
Let me know what the mods were on your car and I'll ask Jack about them

[mikeyr]

My car was a "greyish" color when I got it but as I sanded down to paint, it was Red underneath. I did have a modified camshaft that changed the firing order of the motor and made it a very lumpy rough idle, Dave Green and I changed to stock cams decades ago when he was here one weekend.

I am trying to find the pictures of the way it was when I purchased it (but I also have stuff to send to Pim that I keep forgetting to do).

[Peter McKercher]

Unfortunately the break in the louvre pattern confirms that it was not Jack's car. But who's could it be. I have seen no other car of the period with similar louvres. Without doubt, though, it had to be raced, given the cam arrangement and rear end ratios.