New Zealand – land of the long white cloud – and repository of all things unusual when it comes to classic cars. Take this 1936 Singer Bantam. Very few Singers were imported into New Zealand and this one is unique in that it has a drop-down boot to house the spare wheel.
Boots and spare wheel aside can you imagine in this day and age a car manufacturer using a small chook as a bonnet emblem? I don't think so. Prancing horses, Lions, Jaguars and all number of predatory birds, yes.
This car was brought into New Zealand as a cab chassis and the body built by O'Melvina Bros., in a workshop in Hilton, outside Temuka, in the central south of New Zealand's South Island, about 140 kilometres south-west of Christchurch. According to the Wanaka Toy and Transport Museum, where the Singer now calls home, there were only three Singers brought into New Zealand. So this car with it's Kiwi body is a unique piece of work. It is powered by a 972cc four cylinder overhead cam engine running torque through a three speed synchronised gearbox. Power is rated at 25 bhp at 4000 rpm and 8.93 hp. At 30 miles per gallon it was an economical form of transport and top speed of 59 mph is more than reasonable for this era.
The British Singer company has an interesting history. It was established by George Singer as a bicycle manufacturer in 1875. It progressed to making motorised three-wheelers in 1901. The company was then involved in the development of motorwheels where the engine was contained within a wheel and fitted to a vehicle.
They used a 222cc 4-stroke engine, which, along with carburettor, fuel tank and magneto were housed in a cast alloy spoke wheel. Singer utilised the wheel at the back then the front of a three wheeler. From there the company went into more conventional motorcycles. By 1909 the company was producing racers and roadsters as well as high-performance motorcycles and entered races at Isle of Man and Brooklands.
The company's first car was built in 1905 using an engine sourced from another manufacturer and they continued to use `imported' engines until 1911. This was a big year for Singer which finally had it's own 1100cc engine in the Singer Ten. After WW1 the company continued production and was in an evolutionary stage of engine development. The Ten engine grew to 1300cc. To complement the Ten they started production of a small vehicle called the Junior using an 850cc power plant. By now Singer was a major player in the British Manufacturing motor scene – third only behind Morris and Austin. The smaller engine was developed even further and found it's way into a new model, the Singer Nine. In 1935 the Nine became the Singer Bantam, which had a similar appearance to the Morris Eight.
The Bantam had it's debut at the London Motor Show with four models being made available. These were the Bantam Popular in two and four door models and four-door Bantam DeLuxe. The DeLuxe featured a sunroof while the Popular had a fixed panel over the roof opening. The DeLuxe also featured rear luggage rack, leather seats and chrome bumpers. Our featured car has chrome bumpers and with the drainage channels along each side it indicates this is a DeLuxe model.
Early model Bantams were also fitted with spoke wire wheels – like this car – so we can also assume this was an early production model. The 1937 Bantam's featured optional `easyclene' wheels. The bonnet mascot also has a story to tell. It was banned in 1937 by new legislation in Britain. We can only surmise this was to protect pedestrians – or possibly even then the idea of having a chicken emblem on the radiator was as strange as it is now and this was the reason for the ban. It really looks like a bantam that has given birth to a giant car! We've always loved the Poms' sense of humour. Humour aside, we really like the bantam bonnet emblem which adds to the car's exclusivity.
1936 Singer Bantam specifications
Engine: 972cc four in line OHC
Bore: 60mm
Stroke: 86mm
Carburetor: Solex
Gearbox: Three speed, synchromesh on third.
Wheelbase: 91” (2311mm)
Length: 142.5“ (3607mm)
Width: 55.75” (1422mm)
Height: 62.75” (1595mm)
Weight: 15cwt.
Suspension: Semi elliptic springs front and rear
Brakes: Hydraulic |
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