Singer 66-16, or is it?
 

I have a Singer mdl 66, serial number AF 727967, dates to December of 1940.

It's painted with black crinkle paint. Has the vertical stitch control with the back tak reverse. And at some point someone, or the factory has put a shiny black belt guard / bobbin winder assembly on it.

Now, one just like it but painted with normal shiny black paint is a 66-16.

So, my question is: Is Mr. Crinkle still a 66-16 or what?


Joe

Yep. The finish has nothing to do with the sub-number... :) There are a few decals that are specific to certain models, as in the Redeye decals only being on a 66, but they can be on a 66-1 or 66-3.. I don't know what other submodels they put them on, but they only put them on the model 66. The Gold Wing decals are exclusive to the 115...

So if Mr. Crinkle is identical in every mechanical way to a 66-16, then I'd say he's a 66-16.

Charlee,

Thanks for the confirmation. I was thinking so, but just wasn't sure.

Joe

Hi Joe,

The black crinkle finish was used in the 1940s on the model 66-18 machine. The belt guard and hand wheel on these machines were the glossy black “Japaned” finish instead of the crinkle. Usually, the foot control and motor housing that came with one also had the black crinkle finish.

CD in Oklahoma

Where and/or how does one go about finding out what the sub-numbers to the various machines are? I'm trying to find specific machines to fit into a restored cabinet that I have which specifies which machines, with sub-numbers, will fit but I can't find a place to find out the sub-numbers for the various machines I'm finding. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

CD in OK,

The machine in your pic is a twin to mine.

Is there anything other than the finish that makes this different from the 66-16?

I haven't set Mr. Crinkle and my 66-16 side by side yet as the 66-16 is in a cabinet and burried under and behind a bunch of things.

Joe

Not that I know of. As far as I know, the “dash 18” simply indicates the finish type.

I customized the machine in the photo for my SIL that likes the color of flat black. I used a rattle-can paint called “camouflage black” to repaint an old belt guard, old spoke wheel, surplus rusty cover plates, and an aftermarket hand crank to make him a “Stealth 66”. I didn’t paint anything on the original machine.

CD in Oklahoma

CD in OK,

I'm more awake now. Just noticed the red bobbin winding tire. I want one, any ideas where to look?

I've wondered what an all black machine would look like. Pull all the chrome off and have it satin black chromed and then paint the rest of the machine a mat black.

How does yours sew with the hand crank?

Joe

That red BW tire was broken, and I haven’t found anything but black replacements.

CD in Oklahoma

Yeah, that's typical I guess. I've run across quite a few different colored ones and most have been rotted or cracked and broken. All were replaced with black ones.

Joe

I bow to CD's superior knowledge! :) It was my understanding that the sub-model numbers indicated some kind of mechanical differences, even if slight, and had never heard of the sub number changing due to appearance!

hello everyone id also like to know if my singer 66 is a 66-18 or 66-16? its the same as Mr Crinkle belonging to j miller my serial is AF724814 i read online many different articles and they say either 66-16 or 66-18 im so confussed im not a whiz on sewing machines or sewing i have no idea of sewing machines but i do know i'm not letting go of my Diamond in the ruff i know its a good machine the stitching is amazing doesnt mater the speed the stitch is constant

i recently have decided to take it apart to clean, polish , and restore it and replace the wiring its extremely bad =s
but soon she will bea beauty =D again

[ATTACH=CONFIG]341711[/ATTACH]

could the difference between a 18 and 16, be paint job / decals. embossing on the face plate ?

The 66 - 16 / 18 is also a line production ID #.

Diamond2, notsureif,

I've been told that the 66-18 is the same mechanically as the 66-16, but is a separate sub model. The only difference being the crinkle paint.
I've also been told that the crinkle paint machines are machines that were refurbished by the factory or one of it's authorized repair facilities. I'm at a loss as to what to believe. But I really don't believe that Singer would create a sub model for a refurbished machine.
What I'm thinking is that Singer did make the crinkle machines and created a sub model for some of them. I'm also thinking that some were refurbed by repair facilities. My opinion is that the 66-18 is a Singer made variation. So were it mine, I'd leave it the way it is.

The wiring is a totally different thing. I've rewired my Mr. Crinkle, and two other 66-16s. Bad wiring is one thing that must be fixed.

Joe

this is relly nice i like the additions and changes great so is this a 66-16 or 66-18? i have an identical one

I can't go for those only being factory refurbished, There were to many other copanys using the godzilla paint , I have four two are late 20's white one of thos e is the embossed type.. the other two are nationals, after doing a google tonight I see there was a 221 in crinkle and a few other models. maybe this style was selling good, when they did get a machine to refurbished, it was put back out in crinkle ??

notsureif,

I know what you mean about the crinkle paint. I've got several machines, 2 Kenmores and a Singer with that paint job. So I'm with you that they must have been offered as new by the factories.

My 66-18 is a -18, so there's no problem for me. The pic posted by Diamond2 is of a 66-18 as far as I can tell.

Joe

My Singer 66-18 is also a crinkle finish
 

I just bought this 66 last night. Wondering if it is a 16 or 18? Looks like by the serial number it was made in 1952. From what I have read here I am still confused, LOL. Mine is missing the foot pedal/power cord but there is a motor and light assembly. Any help would be appreciated.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]567330[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]567331[/ATTACH]

Singer 66 info
 

Hi, I have recently become the owner of a Singer 66. While I was looking for information about them I saw your post from several years ago. I'm guessing you've found out lots of information by now but I still wanted to share this info that I found. It sure would be nice if the Serial number would tell for sure which Singer 66 model the machines are. The 2nd link goes into more detail than the first link (66 is way down on the bottom in 2nd link).
https://www.singersewinginfo.co.uk/66
https://ismacs.net/singer_sewing_mac...sses-1-99.html

I'm sorry. Joe Miller hasn't posted here in years. Most of the other people who posted in this thread that I recognize don't post here either.

What little I "know" about the subject is that new sewing machines were not available during WW11. People wanted new electric machines. Second tier machine people would electrify treadle machines. However, they had to cover the Singer logo on the machine. They used godzilla paint to cover the Singer logo. So, if you have one of these machines with a barely visible Singer logo, that's what it is.

If you have a factory made godzilla machine with clearly visible logos, I'm no help.

Maybe someone else will have the knowledge that you seek. You might try VSS, which is another online vintage machine group.
bkay

Just in case someone reads through this whole thread. Singer did do a "Wrinkle" finish. I think the ISMACS model lists might be excluding some. I'm pretty sure the 66-8 also came in Wrinkle along with the 66-18. There were some others such as 127-12, 127-14, 128-8, ,128-12, 128-13, 128-14, 128-23. The 221 was also available with Wrinkle finish (sometimes called incorrectly Crinkle). There are some others that have a brown finish, I think it is the 306 and maybe some of the associated models.

I got a Godzilla Singer 66 a few years ago for $25 including cabinet and attachments. It was clean and and good shape and moved very well. I actually had a sewing machine tech look at it and clean and oil it. I was hoping to convert it back to a treadle but haven't gotten to that and at my age, I probably never will.