Solved: Wendax 390 - Harbinson Special

Otto Puzzell · December 13, 2011, 04:32:34 AM

A brand usually known for sporting cars?

Wendax · December 13, 2011, 04:47:41 AM

The base car brand built sports cars as well as mainstream saloons.

Otto Puzzell · December 13, 2011, 04:55:48 AM

Singer?

Wendax · December 13, 2011, 04:56:29 AM

Yes, that was the easier part

Otto Puzzell · December 13, 2011, 05:15:39 AM

Says you!

woodinsight · December 13, 2011, 05:29:38 AM

Any MG bits?

Wendax · December 13, 2011, 05:33:14 AM

Not that I know of

SACO · December 13, 2011, 09:48:16 AM

woodinsight · December 13, 2011, 10:59:38 AM

Sintin?

SACO · December 13, 2011, 11:36:43 AM

Nothing!

Wendax · December 13, 2011, 01:09:56 PM

Quote from: woodinsight on December 13, 2011, 10:59:38 AM
Sintin?

No

Allemano · December 13, 2011, 01:15:13 PM

Was it published in a German oldtimer mag?

Wendax · December 13, 2011, 01:16:54 PM

I don't think so

woodinsight · December 13, 2011, 02:32:56 PM

Hoare?

Wendax · December 13, 2011, 02:39:30 PM

No

woodinsight · December 13, 2011, 02:41:58 PM

Singer-based but is it from Australia/New Zealand?

Wendax · December 13, 2011, 03:05:28 PM

British

Wendax · March 12, 2012, 04:04:10 AM

Racing into the Black Hole

D-type · March 17, 2012, 04:30:10 PM

Austin 7 based

Wendax · March 17, 2012, 04:35:05 PM

No, we already had it identified as Singer-based.

Allemano · March 18, 2012, 03:05:58 AM

Maybe more pictures available?

Wendax · March 18, 2012, 03:14:20 AM

Voilà

woodinsight · August 17, 2012, 07:08:46 AM

Found this one while researching one of faksta's puzzles this morning - not surprising really as I think many puzzles are solved that way.

The car is the Harbinson Special built by Robert Harbinson in 1951.
He created a one-off sports aluminium body and mounted it on a Singer Nine Bantam chassis.
The car was built for his own personal use.

As a short postscript, Harbinson left the UK in 1954 bound for Minneapolis in the USA. On his stopover in New York he was tracked down by Gordon "Tippy" Lipe to construct a sports body and install a Porsche engine in Lipe's Cooper.
This car - Cooper Mk VII chassis no.5 - is well known today racing in Historics driven by Cameron Healy (it was also a recent puzzle on this site).

The whereabouts of the Harbinson Special are unknown since an article appeared in Motor Sport magazine of January 1954.

Allemano · August 17, 2012, 07:11:48 AM

Wendax · August 17, 2012, 07:19:02 AM

Well done, Malcolm.

I think I stumbled across the Harbinson Special when looking for the "Pooper" (Porsche-Cooper) last year.

Two well-deserved points for you, and one more car escaped the hole.

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Solved: Wendax 390 - Harbinson Special