I really like the looks of the 185J. Nice machine.
I "thought" I saw one on local craigslist a few days ago until a closer look at the photo showed it was a 285, maybe a 285J.
Research on the 285 and 285J showed that they were noisy and had the distinction of being, in the authors opinion, one of the worst machines that Singer had ever produced. Supposedly it was all due to the way the feed linkage was put together.
So, I didn't get my 185 and I learned that there are "similar" looking ones out there to watch out for.
In Eastern Tennesse we don't have a lot of machines to choose from. I understand it's that way lots of places.
Your machine is beautiful despite her case problems. I would have brought her home myself and been happy about it.
Good job on "saving" another one.