Singer 10 HP 1913
The SMX - FIBERGLASS & THE SINGER MOTOR COMPANY
By Geoff Wheatley & Rick Feibusch
SMX images from Hendrik Jan Bakker
One of the more successful auto companies in Britain was the Singer
Motor Corporation, based in Birmingham. Singer started by making
motor cycles in 1900 until 1905 when they produced their first
automobile. Between 1905 and 1954, Singer produced cars that were
solid and conservative, yet unique, incorporating advanced features
such as twelve volt electrics, when the rest of the industry was still
playing around with six and nine volt systems, electric starters,
double-shoe brakes, a retractable top/hood that could be operated as
the car was underway, and other delights like a built-in-dash radio
and comfort heater.
Their only claim to fame as a performance car was a Singer Sports Nine
that, by chance, came in 13th at the 1933 Le Mans and came in 7th in
1934. The Publicity Department then started to call the car the
Singer Le Mans.
Priced mid-range, Singer products were marketed to, what in those days
was known as the "Professional Customer." The company never tried to
market to the same general public that Ford, Morris, and Austin
catered to. Flashy design or sporting style was never a prime feature
for Singer, a firm that had developed their reputation on being
conservative and dependable. The North American British car crowd
knows little about the Singer marque, as its postwar impact was
minimal compared with MG, Triumph and Jaguar. and the 4AD roadster was
never a "real" sportscar because it still was powered by a prewar
engine.
Singer had difficulty in the post WWII era when the British
Government's "Export Or Die" program, that linked steel allotments to
export ratios, was in full swing and were unable to establish a viable
export market. This was especially a concern in the US market, where
the more successful British motor manufactures were exporting at
least 75% of their production. Despite various attempts to sell Singer
products in the US, it was never a success and many of the cars that
had been exported to America never sold and were eventually reshipped
to Australia. This had a serious impact on their steel allotments.
Singer Le Mans 1936
Marilyn Monroe with a Singer 1953
The Fiberglass SMX
Singer SMX Prototype 1953
The fiberglass Singer story starts with flamboyant American Singer
distributor, Bill Vaughan. Vaughan, an adept promoter, had purchased
a Ghia-Aigle special bodied coupe and raced a reworked version in
local Sports Car Club of America races along with some standard
Singer4AD Roadsters. Vaughan saw the future in fiberglass and was
considering opening three manufacturing plants (California, New York
and Florida) to produce plastic bodies to be fitted to production
Singer roadster chassis. They were to be molded in "Vibrin Polyester",
an early type of fiberglass. This developing enterprise, along with
GM's Corvette, inspired Singer's serious consideration of building a
fiberglass car body.
The SMX development program in the UK was headed by George Minton and
his team in Singer ‘Special Projects.' They developed the final
design, but a number of American fiberglass pioneers like Bill Tritt,
who had worked with Vaughn on his personal fiberglass body projects
and engineer/designer Perry Fuller who built a ‘glass bodied
Singer-based special and had some input into the earliest of
prototypes, though Fuller's name is not mentioned in any Singer record
or literature as having been directly involved in the SMX program.
The design, loosely based on the Singer SM1500 sedan grille, trim,
and components, was finalized in January of 1953. The car was fitted
with smaller wheels to lower the center of gravity. The SMX bodywork
consisted of three separate fiberglass molds in
addition to the doors and the weighty, front-tipping hood and front
fender unit. It was engineered to pivot forward and give access to the
engine and front suspension (like an E-type Jag). The brunt of the
stress was forced upon two open-ended front chassis members that were
not strong enough to hold up the hood as they were, so a 'U' section
member was welded across the front to reinforce the frame for the
pivoting hinge. Even though the SMX never went into production, this
chassis upgrade was continued on the prewar styled roadster until the
end of manufacture two years later.
Having all 4AD chassis fitted with this extra cross-member meant that
if the SMX had developed into a production car, any Singer sports
chassis could have been taken off the line and fitted with a
fiberglass body. This alone indicates that Singer management had a
serious intention to put the fiberglass car into production.
Although only four or five SMX prototypes are believed to have been built,
as
many as 15 bodies were constructed for design studies during the
development program.
Singer Motors went into bankruptcy in 1954 after showing their
fiberglass car at the 1953 Earls Court Motor show, it was not a show
stopper and got limited media coverage. Despite various attempts to
sell Singer products in the US, it was never a success and many of the
cars exported to America never did sell so they were reshipped to
Australia where they can still be seen at Car Events today.
The Rootes Group picked up the pieces and produced Hillman-based,
badge-engineered Singers for the next fifteen years before they were
sold by the British Government to Lee Iacocca when he was at Chrysler,
for almost nothing on the understanding that his company would keep
Rootes going for the next ten years. Within two years of this sale
Rootes had been broken up and sold off to the highest bidders!
Driving Impressions - The Singer SMX
By Geoff Wheatley
I acquired a 1952 Singer 4 AD roadster in the 1980's that was sitting
in a garage looking for a new owner. It needed work including some
mechanical parts and as you can imagine such items were not available
via Moss Motors! Knowing that the best way to find spares was to join
a Singer Club, I discovered that there were two such organizations
both located in the UK of course, my eventual choice was the
"Association of Singer Car Owners" ´where I placed an advertisement
for the required parts. A few weeks later a member in the UK contacted
me and that's how I met Bill Haverly., a friendship that lasted
several years.
We met every time I returned to the UK which was, and still is, about
once or twice each year. Bill was to my mind one of the best informed
Singer owners in the world and he certainly gave me some valuable
advice on restoration including a 1929 Singer that I acquired and
restored.
The last time I met Bill he said that he had a surprise to show me and
in a large private garage where he kept his toys there was a Singer
SMX. He had just acquired the car, although he told me that he had had
his eye on the vehicle for some time. It was not, by any standards a
sleek design and the fiberglass body was crude compared with the type
of type we see today.
There was no trunk/boot as I recall only space for the top/hood which
was not on the car at that time. The dash was also rather unattractive
but remember I am recalling a car that I saw twenty five years or more
ago so I may be a little hazy on the finer details. I do recall that
to lift the hood/bonnet was almost a two man job due to the weight and
the design and the Singer 4 AD twin carb engine was lost in the
available space. Again on memory, the color scheme was cream and red
with an ivory steering wheel.
The car started on the first try and with the top/hood down, it
sounded like a real sportster. I cannot recall the gear box it may
have been the standard three forward or four but I did get the chance
to take the car for a short drive around the block. It handled quite
well but it was heavy which effected the steering effort at slower
speeds. It seemed lower to the ground than the my standard 4 AD as I
recall, but again I have to remind myself that this was quite a few
years ago and I have sat in and driven many cars since then.
Singer 4AD roadster 1952
Over the years I lost touch with Bill Haverly and have no idea if he
is still playing around with his Singer toys. On reflection, looking
back on the brief and short history of Fiberglass cars in the UK, I
doubt if the SMX would have been very successful. Several
manufacturers tried to promote fiberglass vehicles with limited
success. I recall the launch of the Daimler Dart in 1962 with a
fiberglass body and a Hemi V8 power unit. It never took off despite
the Daimler pedigree.
Another factor that reduced the appeal of fiberglass in the UK was car
insurance. You could expect your premium to be at least 20% higher if
you drove a ‘glass vehicle and for something like the Daimler
considerably more.
A number of companies produced fiberglass kits that could, with some
dedicated skill, be transferred to a Morris or Ford chassis, but
again, these had a very limited market primarily because it was
easier and cheaper to buy a second hand MG or Triumph. The Brits also
apparently like the feel of steel around them, as indicated by an
equally limited attraction of alloy bodies. During the period of
steel rationing several companies tried to promote alloy bodied cars
including the post war Singer. Body repairs were expensive compared
with steel and the suggestion that performance and fuel economy would
improve was never accepted .
Although the general public never associated fiberglass with the motor
industry it was almost immediately welcomed by the yacht and power
boaters. Easy to clean, would not rot, required little attention, and
easy to repair as if and when it got damaged. As early as the 1950's
fiberglass boats were featured at all of the British Boat Shows and
within a few years it was difficult to find any company offering
wooden water craft.
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