Pre war Singers in Australia

[Stephen]

Hi .. I have just aquired two new Singers and would like some help identifying them .. One is a sedan made into a ute back in the 1930's?? and the other is a chassis with motor, gearbox and diff .. The only numbers I can see are on the front axle , the rolling chassis has the number 3089 and the " ute" 10833 .. I would like to identify both vehicles if possible.. I have tried to up load a couple of photos, and if they turn out I can put some more on showing both vehicles in detail if anyone is interested .. Regards Stephen

[BRG]

Stephen,

Nice garage! Hope it is yours and where the Singers are resting at the moment!

BRG

[Stephen]

Hi Dave .. yes it is my garage, a lot of years ago I collected "garagenalia", old service station (gas station) memorabilia, and decorated the shed with it .. still looking to identify the models that I have in there .. when I get the time I will post some more photos of the motor, and other parts of the Singers, and hopefully I can learn more about them .. The old ute has an interesting history, and when I put the photos on I will explain how I came to get it in the condition it is in ... Regards Stephen

[Stephen]

Here's some photos hope they turn out .. I went to the Bendigo Swap Meet in in Victoria, Australia last November, and while asking the local sellers if they had any Singer 4AD parts, one of them said he knew a someone in Elmore, 40 klms outside Bendigo that had a Singer .. so after some investigation, we found out who it was and arranged to meet him the next morning ,.. we were there but he did not show up, .. had a memory lapse ??? .. anyway his wife showed us the Singers, and we left our card and went home, about 800 klms.. Next night I received a phone call, and to cut a long story short, we ended up with the Singers and brought them back on a trailer in two trips ..
How the previous owner acquired the Singers .. About 20 years or so ago, he received a phone call from one of his mates asking him if he wanted some Singer Car parts, as he heard that an elderly Lady was about to sell her house, and she thought there were some old Singer car parts in her shed, The Lady lived in a town about 100 klms away, .. he said Yes, so they both travelled to the shed, but could not find any Singer pieces ,. after pulling most of the gear out of the shed, in a back corner they found some rusty corrugated iron covering something up ... after removing a piece of iron they saw the "ute', it had been sitting in the shed for about 40 years, and when her husband passed away she had forgotten all about it ..needless to say, he bought the ute, took it home and put it in his shed meaning to restore it one day, about twenty years later we show up on the scene and end up with it .. The other motor and chassis, came from a chap he knew that wanted his car resprayed, so instead of paying him money for the spray job, he gave him the Singer chassis and motor ,.. they have been in his shed for about 10 years or so... Now all I need to do is found out what model they are ... Stephen

[Stephen]

some more photos ..

[Phillip]

Hey Stephen,

Agree with Dave...Nice 'Shed'...almost as full of Singers and junk as mine, eh?!

At a glance, I'd guess both vehicles look like the 10/26 model - the precursor to the Senior like mine. I'd rough date them at @ '26 / '27. SOC Vintage man Colin Borley would be able to confirm the details and the numbers will help.

Nice score! The chassis would make a great 'boy racer' with a polished alloy boat tail body!

[Stephen]

Hi Philip .. thanks for the compliment about the shed and with help identifying the Singers ,.. and I am still behind you, as I do not have a shed full of Singers and Singers sitting outside with tarps over them ..... yet !!
With regard to the chassis, the previous owner had plans to make a boat tail body to fit on it ,.. I am not sure what I will do with it, a nice shiny sports body does sound nice, but after the 4AD restoration, I am not sure I want to travel down that path .. and I am afraid I may " fall off the perch" before finishing the job, not getting any younger or fitter you know !! It would be nice to find a complete 10/26 body sitting in a shed waiting for a chassis ... Yeah right .....
The ute needs a new bearing in the tail shaft assembly, a new front spring, fan belt and the wiring tidied up to get her going, so that what I will do after the 4 AD,.. and take things from there,.. who knows, I may even turn up a LeMans next trip over the border ??????
Regards Stephen

[Phillip]

Hey Stephen,

LOL! true about my lot. I guess you would have needed a wide angle lense to get it all in when you visited last summer. Thank you for the lovely write-up in your Singer club magazine, BTW!

I love your collection of automobilia!

Colin and I have conferred and agree that the chassis is @1927 - either very late 10/26 or very early Senior. The 'Ute' is a 10/26 @1926. Both have a weird mix of parts from various years. It is fair to say that Singer would probably have shipped out the end-of-model left-overs to the 'Colonies', but the famous Australian 'make-do and mend' philosophy may also have played a role in the mixed up mechanicals over the last 80+ years.

e-mail me at phillip.avis@sympatico.ca and I'll send you some other 'proper' Singer material ( i.e; vintage! )

Tracking down the Le Mans has to be the next order of business, doesn't it??!!

Welcome to the world of Senior Citizens! ( 10/26 included )

Cheers,
Phillip