My next project "La Petite Chanteuse"

3 minute(s) of a 82 minute read

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.

8-2-2013

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.

8-3-2013

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.