My next project "La Petite Chanteuse"

[oldcar]

We are off again, this time something smaller and very different to the Packard. I still have to organise some space and collect all the bits. but it will be a Marque 2 version of a car I did quite a few years ago. Despite the title of this thread it is British and just 8 hp. The photographs show 1. the inspiration and 2 & 3 the car of the same make but an earlier model 1926 this one is 1928/9.

Bj.

[John Byrd]

oldcar, with "Petite" being in the name, I'm assuming it's small. Is it on an Austin 7 chassis ? Neat looking car ! John

[oldcar]

Hello John

No, It is a little Singer (no relation to the sewing machine) 4 cylinder single overhead cam 848cc. The Coventry based company started out building bicycles and produced their first car in 1906. They built their last cars in the 1970s.

Bj.

[unimogjohn]

Bernie, which model? Or is it a one off?

Profiles of various Singer car models

[oldcar]

Hello John

The first one was based on a 1926 8 hp, this car is now in England. This new project is to be based on a 1928/9 Junior basically the same car but with a revised chassis which included front wheel brakes and semi-eliptic springs replacing the 1/4-eliptic springs and rear wheel only brakes of the earlier cars. You will just have to be a little patient on this one. The first (inspiration) photograph is an early Aston Martin. Lionel Martin worked for Singer before going out on his own to make cars under his own name. The Aston part of the name came from the Aston Clinton Hill-climb where he had early competition successes.

Bj.

Edited July 6, 2013 by oldcar (see edit history)

[Ian_Greenlaw]

Hi Bernie,

Much more manageable in size I would say compared to the Packard. Look forward to seeing your progress.

I haven't forgotten about the Hubcap, I have passed by a few times but no one home but we'll catch up eventually.

Cheers

Ian

[JustDave]

Hi Bernie,

Much more manageable in size I would say compared to the Packard. Look forward to seeing your progress.

I haven't forgotten about the Hubcap, I have passed by a few times but no one home but we'll catch up eventually.

Cheers

Ian

hello bernie good luck with the new project,please post some pice when you get it home,we are all excited to see the new project, dave

[oldcar]

It will be at least two or three weeks as I have a week in sunny Queensland then some organising of space etc to do. Having been magnificently messed about by the worlds greatest time waster, I have still have to find a home for the Packard, in the short term at least.

Bj

[oldcar]

Back from holiday, I went to have a look at just what I was getting into with my 1929 Singer Junior project. It appears to be 99% complete but 100% dismantled. The bonus is that there are duplicates of some major components and the main part missing is a brake cross shaft that if totally necessary can be fabricated. Having said that I believe that there were so many of these little cars about (in Australia & the UK) that spares should not be too difficult. For those who suffer from faint heartedness look away now.

Bj.

[keiser31]

COOL! Here we go again!!

[oldcar]

Sorry for the slight delay. Yet again I have been messed about by Gold Medal wining experts but enough of all that as it does not concern this project, that officially starts today!

The first load of chassis components fitted nicely into the Peugeot sedan and has arrived home.

An hour later an I am well into removing the dozen or so rusty nuts a bolts so the rails and assorted cross members will be ready to go to the sand blaster tomorrow morning. Hold onto your seats!

Bj.

Edited July 31, 2013 by oldcar (see edit history)

[dan at larescorp]

Very cool! Can't wait to see how this one turns out.

[oldcar]

Little car, little steps. One advantage in obtaining the Singer in kit form there is a minimum amount of time spent dismantling. Having said that, looking for a small job to fill in the afternoon I decided to make a start on some of the fittings that will eventually be mounted on the chassis frame. The brake rod idler arms seemed an ideal starting point. These were well and truly rusted up and seized solid. After some judicious application of heat and some penetrating oil they eventually came apart. Surprisingly there is virtually no wear on the shaft or the eyes for the clevis pins that secure the ends of the brake rods to the levers. This afternoons task was to Dismantle, clean up all the components on the wire brush wheel, re-assemble then with some wheel-bearing grease on the shaft and give them a coat of primer. Jobs done.... I use wheel bearing grease for assembly as it will be some time before these are actually fitted to the chassis frame and put into use. These mount on the chassis above the front shackle pin of the rear springs.

Bj.

Edited August 3, 2013 by oldcar (see edit history)

[oldcar]

Having an hour to spare this afternoon I pulled out the radiator shell and did a minor repair at the bottom where the drain plug is located.

The shell is otherwise in good condition but will need to be re-plated.

Bj.

[oldcar]

Singers like a number of other quality car builders in the 1920s bolted their chassis frames together, Having bought this new project in a totally dismantled state attached is my shopping list for the first lot of nuts and bolts. People who have followed my earlier restorations will know that I cannot abide rusted, rounded, bent or stripped nuts and bolts. Second hand spring washers are in my opinion, worse than useless. You could say that it is something that I am nutty about. For those unused to English cars BSF stands for British Standard Fine the most commonly used thread profile on quality English cars up until the 1940/50s. Unlike the bolt sizes that most of you are familiar with i.e. A/F, SAE, UN, where the spanner size is measured across the width of the bolt head or nut, BSF sizes refer to the actual diameter of the bolt shank. For example you use a 5/16 drill to make the hole that a 5/16 bolt goes into. The spanner that fits this size bolt is labeled 5/16.

24 of 5/16 BSF Bolts X 3/4" Hi Tensile Zinc

12 of 5/16 BSF Bolts X 1 " " " "

8 of 5/16 BSF Bolts X 2 1/2" " " "

8 of 5/16 BSF Bolts X 3" " " "

4 of 5/16 BSF Bolts X 3 1/2" " " "

4 of 3/8 BSF Bolts X 2/1/2" " " "

56 of 5/16 BSF Nuts " " "

4 of 3/8 BSF Nuts " " "

100 5/16 Spring washers

Bj.

Edited August 3, 2013 by oldcar (see edit history)

[gundog99]

Pity about you dislike of rusty bolts, as I have a lot of new/old stock BSF bolts and some nuts, I cleared from a garage workshop 20 years ago.

[oldcar]

Hello Gundog

Thanks for the offer but I would think that by the time I paid the freight (postage) and spent time wire brushing each one I would still be better off with new ones. They are reasonably readily available here is Australia from people like Classic Fasteners in South Aust. I have containers full of second hand nuts an bolts that I too would be happy to give away. Nearly all the cars I restore are well past the oily-rag condition and require, as with this Singer, ground up, last nut and bolt restoration.

Please do not think me rude but thank you but no thank you. My time is precious, I do not know how much more I have left.

The attached photograph of the underside of my 1923 Packard shows the standard that I like to work to.

Bj.

[DavidAU]

Boltmasters who have a branch in Tullamarine carry BSF nuts and bolts.

Probably cheaper than others as they give very good discounts particularly if you can get a trade card from them or use a business name.

[Landman]

Bernie, are you sure it isn't La petite Chanteuse ? No "r".

[Col Wright]

Hi Pat

I am sure that you are right, but is it relevant? Please show me just one thread on this forum without a single typo or spelling error. That is of course excluding your own.

I am sure that this is terribly important to you, my interest is in bringing back to life cars that the rest of the world have given up on. I am sorry that you find my threads so boring that you have to go looking for spelling mistakes.

I just give up! Apart from anything else you should be happy that I have now decided that I really do not need to renew my AACA Membership for next year. I can spend the time that it takes to do these posts, take the photographs then download them, on much more constructive work.

When all is said and done I should have realised that Singers are so common in the USA everybody already knows everything there is to know about them.

Bj.

Hey Bernie as one old bloke to another may I say this is a sign you are having a bad day. The question to me was quite innocent the person who posted probably just wanted to know what is the right spelling. Two deep breaths and soldier on don't throw away a huge group of restoration friends over something like this. I always remember that a spoken question is easily understood due to the tone of voice of the questioner whereas an email can often be read in harsh terms when it was intended to be quite the opposite. Onward and upward old fellow

Col Wright, Old Fellow in sunny Brisbane.

[Stude17]

Thank you Landman I now understand what the title to this thread means. I tried Googling "Chantreuse" but it made no sense, however, "Chanteuse" (A female singer) makes sense. Very clever oldcar.

[Landman]

Ohhhh Bernie... I apologize. I meant no harm. An innocent question. I'm not sure about it being relevant. Just curious that's all, not being judgmental. If I found your threads boring I wouldn't read them daily as I do. Relax, man.

[MCHinson]

I have corrected the spelling error at Bernie's request.

[KenHupp20]

I too look forward to reading your post every day just as I did with your last project.

Tomorrow is a new day. I do hope to look in and see how you are doing.And thank you for taking the time for all of your posting.

Ken

[unimogjohn]

Bernie, can you give us an assessment of the engine, transmission and rear end? Are you planning any period upgrades to make it a better touring car?

[oldcar]

Hello All

To answer John's question. Yes The engine will grow new inlet and exhaust manifolds. The inlet will have two 1 1/8 inch SU Carbs the exhaust will have a tuned length tubular manifold with a outside pipe incorporating a Brooklands type "muffler". The cam will be reground to give slightly more lift and overlap. Gearbox and rear axle will remain more or less standard. The rest you will have to wait and see.

I took the chassis side rails and cross members to the sand blaster's yesterday. I cleaned up the steering tie rod and track rod on the wire brush and gave them a coat of primer.

Bj.

[oldcar]

I feel that I should make some personal explanation. My nerves are just returning to normal after being led a merry dance by a person that I can only describe as a scammer. I am lucky to still have the Packard. A person claiming to be a well known Czech Ice Hockey Champion of International renown had over a period of two months negotiated to buy the Packard, which he was to pay a $20,000 deposit and the balance on presentation of the Bill of Lading, a document the shipping company issues AFTER the ship has sailed. Fortunately I was rather reluctant to see the ship sail away with my car on it still unpaid for in full. I decided to at least wait until the deposit money was actually in my bank account. THIS NEVER ARRIVED. The very official "Bank document" he had e-mailed to me was a fake. In the process of negotiating he introduced a third party (his father-in-law) who was claimed to be the proprietor of a large "on-line" toys and novelty goods store also in the Czech Republic. Both these people actually exist but I very much doubt that they are the people I was dealing with. The supposed "Ice Hockey Champion" sends e-mails in Broken English sometimes two a day demanding more photographs and proof of ownership and the vendors credibility. Proof that he can trust you!

Just be warned!

Bj.

Edited August 6, 2013 by oldcar (see edit history)

[oldcar]

All four original steering rod ends have now been totally dismantled, cleaned, carefully inspected, re-assembled and given a coat of chassis black. None of the ball-ends or sockets show any significant wear. There is no damage to threads or castle nuts so for once I will re-use the original 3/8 BSF castle nuts. One clamp bolt had some slight damage to the hex head and it has been replaced from "stock". Even the original lock tabs for the main adjustment were OK and re-used.

Bj.

Edited August 7, 2013 by oldcar (see edit history)

[Ivan Saxton]

It is always sad to see a senior citizen start to loose the skill of differentiation of genders and non-gender objects: Similarly, language of national origin. Never mind Bernie: That Packard must have been very traumatic for you. Reminds me of when I started an Agricultural Science degree at University in the early 1960s, one of the girls expressed the firm belief that the bus that carried us on an excursion must definitely be a female bus!!!! Nobody ragged her; but she was obviously mortified when progess along the cognitive path led her to contemplate the spectacle of buses mating !!!! You should perhaps warn your little Singer to beware of colliding with a Bull-nose Morris. I still have a good stock of small bore long length BHB sleeves. Colin Kempster in Larch St Blackburn sleeved his little 6/16 Austion saloon with these, and previously sleeved several Hudson Super Sixes which otherwise are a problem after reboring. These are very good wearing, and Colin analysed an offcut that had interesting alloy content. I think it had Molybdenum, from memory.

[oldcar]

You would be excused from thinking that this car could not come apart any further but to clean up the mounts for the hand brake cross-shaft, the lever had to come off the end of the shaft. Only then could the mounting plates which also contain the pivot points can slide off. The lever is fixed with two taper pins. No problem. Four hours later and some gentle heat it is all apart. After all the man that put those pins in, in 1928 did not want them to fall out. Times like this a 20 ton press could be helpful.

Bj.

[Roger Zimmermann]

Bernie, I'm glad you found a new project. I noticed too that you let modify the title as there was initially an "r" which was strange to me.

[oldcar]

Hello Roger

Unfortunately the "R" was a typo but I still have to learn how to correct/modify "Titles".

Thankfully Matthew Hinson very kindly came to the rescue.

This new project will be my sixth Singer restoration so by now I should just about know the tune...

Bj.

[Roger Zimmermann]

Hello Roger

Unfortunately the "R" was a typo but I still have to learn how to correct/modify "Titles".

Then you know more than me! I had also a misspelling when I began the Mark II adventure. An administrator modified the title. Good luck with your sixth Singer!

[oldcar]

Hi all

Sorry about the slight delay in proceedings. Straight after lunch today I went and collected the dozen or so loose bits that go to make a Singer Junior chassis frame from the sand blaster. I am still not sure whether it is Leggo or Meccano but it all goes together with an assortment of nuts and bolts rather than just pressing together so so I guess Meccano is closer. The big thing is that the basic frame is almost all back together.

Bj.

Edited August 13, 2013 by oldcar (see edit history)

[oldcar]

I suspect that very few of the people looking at this have even the slightest ideal of what a Singer Junior is.

The chassis frame(as above)is exactly 10'3" long, I can pick up the bare frame by one side rail and carry it single handed.

The engine is 848cc (52 cubic inches) 4 cylinder, overhead cam. The Junior was current between 1927 and 1932. After Austin and Morris, Singer were the 3rd best selling car in the UK.

B.j

Edited August 18, 2013 by oldcar (see edit history)

[oldcar]

Today being Sunday, the day of rest, I have just done a few little jobs. First I hosed the worst of the grott off the front axle assembly with a high pressure washer. I have done some more cleaning up on the hand brake lever. I still have to decide whether to nickel plate this or paint it with "Chinese Chrome" (silver paint) as it will be on the outside of the body on the drivers side. Just like 3 & 4 1/2 Litre Bentleys. I have mounted the hand brake cross shaft. See Chassis drawing above or the photograph on #1. Finally I dismantled, wire brushed and painted the front springs.

Time to wash-up and change out of my "garage clothes".

Bj

Edited August 18, 2013 by oldcar (see edit history)

[oldcar]

Tuesday morning (in Australia) and after a chilly (3 degree C) start it was time to make another trip to my friend Peter Lester's to collect some more Singer components. This time the Peugeot's luggage trunk was filled with no less that five wheels, a rear axle assembly and another front axle. This one to be the source of a much needed brake backing plate. That and a little container holding 16 brass wheel nuts, eight Right hand thread, eight Left hand thread and four of the little nickel plated screw on caps that retain the grease in the front wheel bearings and cover the rear hub retaining nuts. Looks as though another visit to my friends at Blast-off will be required some time soon.Before that I have to work out how to remove the four wheel studs that some clever person has welded into the wheel centre. That is without damaging the wheel. Hopefully I will be getting some badly needed space soon but I have been caught out counting chickens before, so we will just have to learn to be patient.

The real find today was the "saddle" i.e. the bottom half of the housing that clamps the steering box to the tubular cross member. Thank you Peter.

Bj.

Edited August 20, 2013 by oldcar (see edit history)

[oldcar]

After the remaining hour or so before going in to clean up for our evening meal spent with my angle grinder and drill with various sized bits the four welded-in studs are gone. The fifth wheel is usable, albeit as a spare. Next item on the agenda is the front axle assembly.

Bj.

Edited August 20, 2013 by oldcar (see edit history)

[keiser31]

Those right and left wheel nuts are the same style as my 1931 Dodge nuts.

Edited August 20, 2013 by keiser31 (see edit history)

[oldcar]

Hi Keiser31

Good to hear from you again. They must have been almost universal although I do have two or three variations in my collection of spares. I have some left over from my last restoration of a 1923 Citroen 5CV, only difference is that the French ones are marked G & D, Gauche=left and Droit=right. The UK based Riley Register Spares Ltd have new ones available UK £9.70 each for plated and £7.75 for plain brass, plus vat and p&p makes them a tad expensive if you are replacing a full set. The Singer has only four per wheel, early 1920s Rileys with bolt on wheels had five, later 1930s cars six.

Bj

Edited August 21, 2013 by oldcar (see edit history)