This is Paul Butler’s superb 1961 Vogue Mark l. Paul tells us:
“I always wanted a Singer Vogue, and as soon as I saw ONH 288 I fell in love with her. She was first registered in Northampton (Borough) on 24th August 1961, which was only about one month into production, so I guess she may be one of the earliest known survivors, having now been ‘In Vogue’ for over 50 years. I hadn’t realised just how rare she was until our editor asked if I could possibly help Eamonn Galligan by taking my Vogue to the SOC SND at Boughton Hall in June, for a photo-shoot to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Vogue, mine being the only roadworthy car of this year in the UK known to the Singer clubs. What a great day that was – the whole family went and we had a fantastic time. Now we’re looking forward to seeing the results, which I gather will be a 5-page spread in the Nov 2011 Classics.
I have owned ONH for about three years – she was advertised locally, which proved to be a good thing, as the engine was running awfully, and getting her home was a real challenge. Over the next few days, my dad helped me give her a thorough check-over, and we found a lot more nasties that needed sorting, so we decided that before we used her we would do all the necessary repairs.
That took care of the next twelve months! The repairs included making and replacing the rear jacking points, which were totally shot, as were the outriggers, which we also had to make. There were also small holes in the driver’s side footwell and in one of the ‘chassis’ side rails. The petrol tank had numerous pin-holes, so we cleaned it and soldered the holes, then used one of those tank sealers, which worked a treat. Having a pipe flaring tool, we replaced all the steel brake and fuel pipes with copper/cunifer. Dad took out the engine and gave it an overhaul, and while it was out we cleaned and painted the engine bay. But the worst job was scraping off all the old underseal and recoating with Dinitrol – what a horrible job, but it looks great and should protect her for years. There are still a few things to do, but she’s now at a stage where I can use and enjoy her. In the picture my dad and I are on a day out fishing at Elan Valley Lakes in Mid-Wales
I don’t know any of her history prior to my ownership, so if anyone recognises the car or remembers seeing her about over the last 50 years, I would love to hear from them. ”
