One of my Singer projects for the 2002 winter was to re-furbish the engine bay. The engine itself runs well but the paintwork is tatty, with paint flasking off, some rust coming through, and plenty of oil and grime. The body panels to the sides of the engine and the two bonnet covers themselves appear to have been covered with underseal at some stage. This I was able to remove with petrol as a solvent. I repainted the panels to the side with Hammerite black, the two bonnet covers I painted with an Engine Black, just in case they should get hot (probably unnecessary). The engine itself was more difficult. I decided, as the engine was running well, to paint it with a minimum of dis-mantling, and so there are undoubtedly parts that I have missed. Singer engines were originally painted in a rather dull red colour, best described as red oxide red. I couldn't find this colour, and adding some colourants to a bright red didn't improve the situation. I have since learnt that this original colour, or something very close from an American make may be available from Bill Hirsch Auto. Anyway I painted it with a Bright Red Halford's paint which looks great. May be, one day when I have the whole engine apart I will return it to its original colour (although I can't say that I like it) if I can get the paint. The photos below show some of the work being done.

Here is my original engine before any re-furbishment

Sideview of original engine with both upper and lower side panels removed. Surprisingly these unbolted ok although some were difficult to reach. I ended up only have to cut one seized bolt.

View of the front hub, suspension and shock absorber. Nice opportunity to attend to some of the less get-at-able grease nipples

Another view of the original engine showing carburettor, starter motor, manifolds and oil filter.

This view shows the steering box. While it was easily accessible I topped it up with oil - this would be a real pain to do without body work being removed.

Engine is now re-painted and the re-assembly begun. The lower piece of side panel is now in place, having been re-painted black Before putting the side panels back, I took the opportunity to change the oil filter - normally quite a difficult task because of poor access. My car has a later Hunter engine and so uses a K14 filter. Getting an oil tight seal afterwards took a couple of attempts..

Engine view, all painted, with rocker cover still removed. I replaced the gasket of course.

Engine bay back together and complete. All panels painted black on the inside.

Another view; the grey box is the valves for the radio.

And one final view.