This is John Passman’s 1936 11 hp Saloon. John tells us:
“When new, the car was owned by the headmaster in the village of Hurworth. After many years he sold the car to a former pupil in Wingate, Durham. It was then sold to a friend of mine and I purchased it from him in 1966 – I cannot remember exactly how much I paid back then – I think it could have been about £25.00 – a princely sum for a 23 year-old.
I used the car was used as a run around – stockings had to be tied between the suicide doors so that nobody fell out. I even managed to get a speeding ticket! In 1975 the car went into my mother’s garage and remained there in a sad and sorry state until my 50th birthday when I decided to do a full renovation. I had the foresight to put the lights and seats in the loft, so they remained in a good condition. It was a long process – parts were then, and still are, difficult to locate.
I managed to buy the last run of brown Rexine from an autojumble in Hartlepool, and used it to recover the back seats. I renewed the wooden parts – frame and doors – but mistakenly used hickory instead of ash. I bought a thick run of brown wool carpet – as close a match as I could get to the original – and cut, hand stitched and edged it all. The engine developed a hairline crack (a real disaster) and had to be stitched. I took the bodywork back to the metal and repainted it. I relined the doors, but still have a bit of finishing off to do. The headlining was done by a local firm, Trimco.
I am not keen on going out in it in the rain, as the sun roof has a tendency to leak a bit, but I did win third prize at Hurworth show – one of the judges there said he liked to see an old car brought back to life by its owner rather than a showroom piece.
The brake cylinders seized up every year, so I had them re-sleeved and they are now perfect. I also had the steering box refurbished by a firm in London. I need to locate some king pins and bushes. I managed to get in touch with the second owner of the car as he still lived at the same address shown on the log book. He came to see the car on his vintage motor bike, and brought some hydraulic oil which had originally belonged to the Singer. He was amazed that the car was still around.
I have just sent the camshaft away to Dave Newman to have a new one made, and for the cam-followers to be heat treated.”
John thinks this project will go on and on!