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Weyman Bodies


Guest BillP

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How are Weyman bodies made; is the wood skeleton the same as for a steel-skinned car or is it somehow different, like maybe more ribs as in a birch-bark canoe? Is there a thin plywood layer bent over the skeleton and under the canvas? Is it canvas or some other fabric, maybe aircraft linen? What weather coating is put over the fabric? I have an old tubular front axle from a pre-war Plymouth and thought an antiquey little trailer would be a good winter project. Your ideas are welcome.

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A Wayman style body on a trailer sure would draw a croud. I worked on several Bentleys and one Type 50 Bugatti that had Wayman styled bodies. The wood framework looked the same as a metal coverd body. There was a layer of burlap tacked over the wood fame, some cotton padding (same as a Model A Ford top) then a layer of top material.

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Besides being covered with leatherette or leather the real significant feature of a "Weyman" body was the wood framing. An no point did the wood members touch one another. They were all joined with cast metal brackes and there was a small insulator (something like a piece of friction tape) between all the wood pieces. This made the bodies exceptionally quiet.

Happy hobbying.

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Thanks for the info. Here's a little more I found. It was a patented system, developed mainly to provide an alternative to heavy steel bodies that required both skilled labor to assemble and expensive dies to stamp out. I believe Weymann was a Limey which may explain why so many English cars including RR, Bentley, Lagonda et al + major European marques could be had with Weymann coachwork. Henry Mulliner was a Weymann licensee. You do see a few US cars with Weymann bodies; a friend has a DV Stutz, etc.

A major drawback of the Weymann body is lousy weather resistance so relatively have few survived, however they were light and less creaky going down the road. Here's a link with a sketch:

http://www.voskotan.net/roversd1/history1904.html

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Boy do I have a fabric body story for you - a friend in Scotland had a fabric bodied Bently, and while on a rally through the highlands with the local antique auto club, decided to park carefully behind the hotel away from everybody else during an over night stop. He parked alongside a fence so nobody would open car doors against the Bently, but upon wakening the next morning and peaking out the hotel window to check on his car, found a whole heard of goats feasting on his fabric bodywork. Seems that the animals were very much attracted to the glue or something else in the fabric itself. Pros and cons to everything I guess. I would hate to have to explain that one to the insurance company!

Terry

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