Rallying round for the Singer Gazelle
O pening my CCW (25 January) and turning to page four caused me to gasp in shock.
It was caused by the article Wanted: classic car enthusiasts. However it wasn’t so much the article as the photo that accompanied it. There driving along being photographed was the Singer Gazelle that I owned between 1996 and 1997. The curious fact is that I’d only mentioned the Singer to my wife last week when I was reminiscing about the various classic cars that we’ve owned over the years, and wondering if the old Singer was still on the road!
We bought GFH 378D from a car dealer in Worcester who offered it as a ‘mint condition car needing no work!’ Boy did we get suckered on that one, having paid well over the odds too. Nevertheless, after spending a small fortune on the car – new discs and pads, new suspension, the list was endless – we did eventually get it running as it should, and even did the 1996 Norwich Union Rally in it. The accompanying photo shows us during the rally waiting to register. We were number 1547 and still have the photograph of us accepting the finishing medal at Silverstone. The Singer was a very pretty car, however I do remember that the paint finish was wafer-thin and any enthusiastic polishing of the bodywork could easily take you down to the grey base coat beneath. Nevertheless, it was a great car and we enjoyed it during the short time we owned it. It’s really great to see that it’s still running and looking in such fine fettle. Isn’t life full of strange coincidences!
Thanks for bringing us those memories. Karl Sheridan, Holme-on-SpaldingMoor, Yorkshire