The Body Must be a Credit to the Chassis
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pERSONAL preference applied to bodywork covers a multitude of requirements, and it is pertinent that well over 50 per cent, of the chassis leaving makers' production lines are destined to be fitted with bodies built by specialist Concerns.
Relatively small variations in a standard type of platform body may, for example, be' all-important to a particular operator, whilst another nser may require highly specialized bodywork for which standard chassis are unsuitable. In the case of a goods vehicle, suitability can be a function, not only of long•life, carrying capacity, easy loading, appearance and so on but also of safety in particular operating conditions. Ideally, every agent and distributor of a vehicle manufacturer should be a bodywork expert, with a detailed knowledge of all the products of leading bodybuilders and the problems involved in fitting. the bodies available to the concern's range of chassis.
Symptomatic of the importance accorded to bodywork. know-how by the Truck Sales Department of the Ford Motor Co., Ltd., is the fact that a special section has been established at the department's offices, at Cheapside House, Cheapside, London, to deal with inquiries from operators and agents in this country, and to prepare detailed information for them. Full recognition is given to the value of an agent's "local knowledge" and the supply of information is reciprocal. Whilst he is given full authority to recommend approved bodybuilders, this is subject to the company's general policy that the body should be a credit to the chassis on which it is mounted. The practice has recently been introduced of issuing a set of bodybuilders' drawings with every new model, and a handbook is issued to all agents which gives representative examples of special
bodies on Thames chassis. .
This also contains routine instructions regarding bodymounting procedure, with particular regard to the avoidance of attachment methods which might reduce the strength of the vehicle frame, such aS welding members to the chassis, 0.4 drilling through the top or bottom flanges and (in the case of the heavier Thames chassis) mounting a support bracket on a cross-member. If, however, the bodybuilder wishes to employ methods which do not accord with these instructions, he can obtain expert advice regarding measures that can be taken to circumvent his difficulties. In the event of flange drilling being necessary, for example, he is supplied with drawings showing an approved method of reinforcing the members locally, or if cross-member mounting cannot be avoided, the modifications that are required to reinforce the frame.
The handbook is divided into 12 sections, and covers virtually every type of bodywork that can be fitted to Thames chassis, a list of bodybuilders in each category being provided. Illustrations of representative bodies are accompanied by full specifications, which include details of the structure, materials used, mounting frames, fittings and so on. as well as interior dimensions and overall measurements. Although the handbook does not include
reference to all the leading bodybuilders in the country, its contents are "indicative of availability" in the wider sense, and, of perhaps greater importance, it affords a comprehensive guide to current bodybuilding practice. This has proved invaluable to agents and distributors, who are, however, free to recommend bodybuilders Dot mentioned in the book.
Whilst Thames standard drop-sided and tipper vehicles are offered in bodied form by the Ford company, agents cater for the needs of an operator requiring a non-standard type and deal with the bodybuilder on his behalf. This may necessitate close liaison with the body designer to discuss fitting and loading problems and a chassis may be loaned to the bodybuilder to enable practical aspects of mating to the frame members to be investigated in detail.
Officially associated with the Ford company in an "engineering relationship," County Commercial Cars, Ltd., offer a variety of bodies on converted 6 x 2 and 6 x 4 chassis with extended wheelbases, whilst the range of bodies that can be applied to these Thames chassis is augmented by the 6 x 4 and 4 x 4 conversions undertaken by All Wheel Drives, Ltd., which are based on heavy-duty frames with Baico extensions. In both cases the agent negotiates .direct with the suppliers of the completed chassis and the bodybuilders.
Regarding the materials employed by bodybuilders, the yardstick of acceptability is the durability and functional characteristics of the body rather than the form of construction, and in many cases the reputation of the bodybuilder represents a sufficient guarantee of suitability. Members of the Truck Division appreciate, however, that "individual needs" (and psychological idiosyncrasies) demand a realistic awareness of the operator's problems if he is to be satisfied with the vehicle as a body-chassis entity. A knowledge of the properties of materials and of the progress being made with new materials is often necessary to help agents to deal with the more complex inquiries and with individual preferences that defy practical application. Courses are regularly held for agents on constructional features of special bodies and any unusual mounting methods that have to be employed. The relative merits of different types of material in respect of cost, weight saving, fatigue strength, ease of repair and so on are repeatedly reassessed as a routine exercise.
If the implementation, of an operator's ideas would involve sacrificing durability to weight saving, he is given chapter and verse to prove the point. Should a risk be involved in using a certain type of bodywork (such as a lightweight tipper body on a long-wheelbase chassis) the agent is instructed to refuse sanction of the application.
Load requirements and facilities for loading often represent the deciding factor in the selection of a body, and it is frequently necessary to explore this aspect of bodywork suitability to satisfy a prospective customer. In one instance for example, the operator stipulated that the body should be capable of accommodating 24 trolleys of a given size in a particular pattern to cater for a specialized method of loading. This necessitated a matching exercise" regarding the most suitable chassis, as well as a study of body features, and it was eventually decided to recommend that the body should be mounted on a Thames-hauled semitrailer. Varions combinations of body length and tractiveunit wheelbase were analysed to establish the optimum load-carrying potential complying with the body specification.
The practice of employing two-tier van bodies with special racks and loading gear for the carriage of uncrated finished goods is a growing trend that often calls for close liaison with agent, operator and bodybuilder. Because of the high centre of gravity of the laden body and the load imposed on the side framing by the upper deck, the suspension characteristics of the vehicle and the method of mounting the underframe are all-important considerations that must be closely considered before an application is approved. This also applies to vans used for the carriage of hanging loads, such as carcasses, and to double-deck cattle trucks.
In the export field, full advantage is taken of the potential of local industry to supply acceptable types of body, and in many cases a bodybuilder's thorough knowledge of operating conditions in his area is of direct benefit to the user. Given that a particular overseas market is selfsufficient regarding bodybuilding techniques, the main responsibility of the company's Car and Truck Export Division at Dagenham is to ensure that chassis shipped to a territory are suitable for bodies in popular demand there, with due regard to local regulations governing transport.
Local bodybuilding facilities are, however, often inadequate to meet operators' needs (or are virtually non-existent) and the division then assumes the role of export agent for their overseas companies and dealer organizations by approving designs, purchasing bodies, arranging for mounting on appropriate chassi, inspecting for quality and finally arranging shipment. Many thousands of vehicles with special bodies are handled by the Ford assembly plant at Langley every year, and many of these are based on converted or modified chassis. Some are shipped in knockeddown or semi-knocked-down form, whilst others are completely assembled before leaving the country.
Reflecting Local Life?
A number of vehicles have been supplied with bodies built to a specification of original concept that reflects the tempo of life in the area. For example, three riot-suppression vans were exported to Burma_ Based on Thames Trader semiforward-control 5-ton chassis they had double-skinned bodies insulated with glass-fibre and were equipped with observation turrets. A Thames-mounted mortuary van supplied to the Uganda police comprised a rear stretcher compartment of aluminium alloy and a front compartment fitted with bench seats to carry relatives and witnesses to coroners' courts and funerals. Mounted on a Thames Trader 30 118-in. wheelbase chassis, a prison van for the same country was equipped with an emergency escape hatch which could be opened from the outside only, and with special fittings to protect the guard from attack by prisoners.
A substantial proportion of the bodied vehicles exported are standard tippers and more specialized municipal types, such as cesspool emptiers and refuse collectors. The town council of Lima, Peru, recently purchased 48 Thamesmounted vehicles, including tankers, tippers and compacting-type refuse collectors, and a large number of 3-cu.-yd. side-loading refuse collectors have been supplied to Turkey fitted to Thames 15-cwt. chassis-cabs. Over 50 of these vehicles are operating in Istambul, where the streets are too narrow to permit the use of larger types.
Restricted vehicle maneeuvrability in narrow streets is also the first consideration in the supply of C.K.D. tippers to Malaya, and the most popular type is a special 4-5-cu.-yd. vehicle equipped with single-ram, three-way tipping gear. The bodies of the vehicles are of 10-gauge sheet steel.