Web Forum for Singer Cars

Hi all,
i've recently acquired this nine sports 4 seater in Chester UK. It's now near Aix les Bains , France, where i live.
Here is a picture taken during the exciting delivery day:


I'm currently working on the brakes and the electrics and have a question concerning the function of the 2 arrowed switches. The cables are gone and i don't know
what they do command. Maybe the right one is for the central foglamp ??


Thanks for your help !!

possibly its the starter switch and dashlight switch.

This from the 1 1/2 ltr and Nine HP Sports instruction book and repair manual.




Roly

Hi Newbie!

First off, a warm welcome to the wonderful world of pre-war Singer Motoring!

The small rotary switch you indicate on the left is indeed the panel lamp switch which turns on the two 'Diver's Helmet' dash lamps that were originally fitted.

The flick switch you indicate on the right is the optional fog lamp switch. This was fitted with the optional FT-37 fog lamp, which was mounted on the center casting of the front badge bar/ starting handle support. The standard fitment there would be a single Altette horn.

Are you planning to leave the car 'as is' or return it to original? There are a number of items on the dash that are not standard.

Happy Singer Motoring!

Thank you for your help and for the welcome. Yes, i'd like to return my car to original config. I also think the aampmeter on the right side has to be deleted. Maybe i 'll cover the hole with a "Le Mans" plate that MR Hardwick can provide. Below is a front picture of my car showing the fog light.

And I was just there 3 weeks ago !!! I could have seen this car in person, oh well next time in France.

Sure !
Next time you come please drop me a message, i'd be happy to show my car ... and ask questions to experienced singer owners.

Hi Froux,

I, too, would like to extend a welcome to you.

When I was looking for a prewar Singer, I looked into this car, and am happy to learn someone has brought her home.

Hope your ownership is long, happy and satisfying.

Please share your progress as you move through your restoration.

Very Best of Luck,

David Kellogg
CRL157 1936 Singer Nine Sports

Thanks David for your welcome. Maybe you were the other ebay bidder ?
I'm very excited with my recent acquisition. Currently i'm replacing the wheel cylinders and master cylinder + renewing the brake shoes.

I'll for sure be much busy this winter ... And have to save money for an engine rebuild.

Hello again, Froux,

How is the progress on your wonderful Singer?

Your photographs make the thread about your car very interesting.

As you know, I also have a 1936 car, and I wonder what your chassis number is. Can you send on a photo of the plate on the passenger side of the firewall?

My car is Chassis No. 5531.

Do you plan to restore the steering wheel you have? If so, have you found someone to do the work? What is the condition of the rim of your steering wheel under the leather cover? The plastic on my steering wheel had degraded quite a bit and the spokes are somewhat rusted. I'm interested to learn what you plan to do, and who can do this work to a very high standard.

Thank you for sharing your information and your learning.

With Best Wishes,

David Kellogg

Hi David, thanks for your encouragements, the work on my car is slowly moving. Engine is gone in april to Mr Gibson 's shop in IK for overhaul.Still anxiously waiting for his quotation... He told me the block is cracked.
I'm now preparing the chassis for sand blasting.


My serial n° is 5650.





Concerning the steering wheel , my lovely wife offered me a new one for Xmas. A brooklands style like often seen on contemporary british cars. And very much like the old one but in better condition.

Look like one of the reproduction Ashby steering wheels made by Wheelwrights in the UK.

Gene Abbondelo got one for his '35 and said he is very pleased with his. I have met the Wheelwright folks at Beaulieu and can vouch for the quality.

Look like the restoration is going well.

My car is close kin to both your car and David's: '36 LM Special Speed car no "5324",delivered to Revecombe Motors in Vancouver BC, May 1936.

By the way...DO NOT throw away your original "wobbly spoke" steering wheel. This is the correct one for your car. The repro is of the type used on the 33 / 34 / 35 cars, which had spoke separators.

Hello Froux,

Thanks so much for posting your chassis number. We're trying to figure out what Singer was doing with chassis numbering in the late 30s as they changed from six (was it six?) digit numbers to a four digit number, like those on Phillip's and my car. You've added one more piece in the puzzle.

If memory serves, didn't the seller of your Nine Sports claim it was an 1937 car?

Looks like your car continues to progress. Excellent!

a la prochain,

David

David,

Singer went to a 4-digit number for 1936 with the adoption of the Bantam chassis. Prior to that, it was a 5-digit number. For example, my '33 Sports is car 48454. As I recall, the last cars in 1937 went back to a 5-digit number.

Froux's car is listed as a 1937 because it was delivered and registered in 1937 in the same way my 1929 model year Singer Senior is listed as a 1928 because it was delivered and registered in 1928: The licensing authorities go by calendar year of registration, not model year.

Remember that after the TT crash, the demand for Singer Sports cars dropped off and a number of cars either languished in dealer lots or backed up at the factory. Singer also restructured as "Singer Motors" and emphasis was placed on the 'bread & butter' cars like the Bantam, Super Nine and Ten rather than the low-volume sport car production. Froux's car could well be a 'tail-ender' as it shows all the signs of the '36 model, especially the 'pod-mounted' front headlamps. The chassis number is another giveaway.

Hi Phillip,

Yes, I remember your saying that.

I'm still trying to determine whether the Bantam chassis numbers were intermixed with the 1936 Nine Le Mans and Nine Sports chassis numbers. At present I don't know another way to explain the occasional gaps between the chassis numbers on the '36 and '37 Singer Nines. There weren't enough Nines made in '36 and '37 to correspond to all the chassis numbers.

There's no other explanation I can think of, but that doesn't make it so...

Interested to learn from others what their experience suggests.

Very Best, and Thank You, Phillip,

David