Myths & Legends...
Like Haley’s Comet, this 1933 Singer ‘racing car', registration VD2659,’ has appeared for sale and then disappeared time and again.
The most recent appearance was on August 4th, when it turned up at an auction in Millbrook, New York, where we had ‘our man’ Chris Hicks on the scene. Chris visited the house-come-antique shop where the contents were being auctioned off and sent back detailed photos of the Singer parked along with an MG TD and a Rover 2000.
Chris is well positioned to report on this car as it was he, along with NASOC member Len Pearcey, that first discovered this strange concoction over twenty years ago on their way to the vintage races at Lime Rock. Len once owned a ’35 Singer Le Mans and he knew that what he was looking at was no pukka Singer Le Mans. The owners were adamant that it raced at the famous Sarthe circuit and was completely original. Large sums were required to purchase it as a result..
In the early nineties, our NASOC Pre-War Registrar Phillip Avis was in communication with the owners and was able to confirm the car’s identity at their request. The registration number VD2659 is a Taunton, Somerset number used between 1932 and 1934. The car is actually the remains of a 1933 Singer Nine Sports 4 seater, car number 48285, which has been very heavily modified.
Whilst still n the UK, probably on its last legs as an old banger in the early 60’s, it had the back end cut off and a crude attempt made to turn it into a Le Mans two seater styled ‘special’.The car had been imported into the USA along with a Bentley and the Singer subsequently sold off.
The steering wheel is from a post-war Roadster and the gauges largely a mixture of SS Jaguar and Bentley bits. The seats, rear wings and hood frame are all home-made. The radiator shell, front wings, bonnet, scuttle, doors and windshield, along with the basic frame, axles and wheels, are all that remain of the original car. Even the radiator badge is from an earlier model Head lights and sidelights are also wrong and the front valance is missing. The spare wheel assembly and petrol tank are actually Singer Le Mans, but don’t fit this model chassis at all as can be seen.
The engine fitted is a BMC A-series unit running on twin SU carbs. Phillip was told that the engine had been changed for an MG unit after the Le Mans race, but that the head was the original racing Singer one. This, of course, is mechanically impossible and seems to have been based on the fact that the aftermarket alloy valve cover has a Rootes Singer badge screwed onto it!
As can be imagined, the report Phillip gave was not well received and not a confirmation of the story, but the information was passed onto the rest of NASOC for future reference. A good thing too, as a number of Officers and members have been involved or approached and by then all knew what the car was.
So here we are back in August of 2007 and the very same owners are selling again, this time at auction along with most of the contents of the house. Chris was advised by the Auctioneer that a pre-auction bid that met the very high reserve had already been received on the viewing day. Chris will report back with the rest of the story very soon.
Stay tuned!
Happy Daze...
ABOVE: I drove the Singer to and from the event, in spite of it being the 'wrong' time of year to be driving a sports car, especially one with no top at all! To give my girl friend of the time credit, she sat in the passenger's seat both ways rather than in the warmth of my Father's Ford LTD wagon following behind.
LEFT: Fast-forward to 2008 and Robert's 1948 "FrankenSinger' Roadster gleams under the halogen lights like a perfect diamond in contrast to my Sports 'way back in time, but some things don't change: Both cars drew a huge amount of attention and for many it was their first look at a Singer car.
