Web Forum for Singer Cars

Sorry for being silent these last months, here is a little update on my car.
Body is back from painting :



New color by the way ... And reassembly is on its way :



Engine is still with J Gibson in UK and i hope it ll come back soon so i can move forward.

Dramatic change, and looking very good.

My project had the honor of being displayed at our local classic car show "Chambéry Auto Rétro" .




Looks better seen from behind as the engine is still missing. Mr Gibson, if you read this ....

Work is sloooowly moving forward...

Any sign of your engine?

Well, Froux, your redoubtable Singer is looking very nice indeed. I Love the color choice you've made for the car.

Happy New Year, and may your progress accelerate (!) in 2017.

Cheers,

David

Thanks all. I'm still stuck with the engine... John should finish it pretty "soon".
By the way , i'd like to check the gearbox. Any thoughts about what i should look at, common weakpoints ?

Gears and pinions look quite fair don't they ?

Looks pretty good. This piece I wrote some time ago may be of some assistance http://singergearbox.blogspot.ca/

Looks in good shape! Don't see any broken teeth or badly mashed edges.

Check the bearings for play and the input shaft/mainshaft phospher-bronze bushing for wear.

First/reverse gears wear the most and jumping out of gear is often a symptom of a worn box.

Make sure you don't lose the little tiny balls and the pin in the selector forks if you take the remote control assembly apart!

The input shaft is drilled to supply oil to the clutch splines. Check if there is a tiny felt 'wick' inside the shaft which is supposed to control the flow of oil, but it is usually solid or missing. If you look at the slines you will find a tiny oil hole drilled there.

The bottom of the gearbox casing can get full of crud, so a clean-out is recommended.

If the car is a 1936 model (underslung Bantam chassis) the clutch pedal assembly should be on the chassis frame along with the brake pedal. If it is a 1937 model, the clutch pedal was moved back to a pivot on the gearbox casing. Of course, after so many years, things could have been adapted or substituted. 1933 to 1935 all had the clutch pedal pivot on the gearbox. The big exception in gearboxes is 1933, which is not the same as the other years, although it look very similar unless you can compare the two.

Speaking of clutch pedals - check the pivot for wear and grooving...as well as the bush in the pedal itself. I've seen some pretty worn and sloppy ones! If you have the type with the pedal on the chassis, check that pivot as it wears badly.

Replace the brass & leather output shaft seal with a modern lip seal if it hasn't already been done.

Check your bellhousing for cracks! They take a lot of strain and often the metal strengthening plate that should be bolted to the bellhousng and rear engine crossmember (opposite side from the starter) is missing. Very few cars I have worked on still have them!

Use a very thin gasket between the bellhousing and gearbox. I use brown paper painted with linseed oil. A trick taught ot me by a 'Singer old-timer'.

All off the top of my head for now...hope that helps!

Thanks a lot for these very usefull tips !!

I hope 2017 will see this car move by it's own power ...

Looks great! Nice to see the family joining in.

Salut, Froux,

How is your project progressing?

Will you have your car on the road this year in time for driving season?

à la prochaine,

David
CRL157

The engine will be on the test bench later this month !!
And i should have it back in France therafter... With , i bet , a lot of consecutive trouble shooting and adjustment during the final reassembly.. I'm currently sending the radiator to a local shop for a recore. Thanks for asking !

Sounds like great progress.

Thanks for keeping us up to date.

Send word about the learning steps you encounter in getting the engine to start. Everyone will learn from that process.

Best of Luck,

David