Weymann Fabric Bodies
Encyclopedia
Weymann Fabric Bodies is a patented design system for fuselages for aircraft and superlight coachwork
for motor vehicles. The system used a patent-jointed wood frame covered in fabric. It was popular on cars from the 1920s until the early 1930s as it reduced the usual squeaks and rattles of coachbuilt
bodies by its use of flexible joints between body timbers.
The system when used on cars provided quieter travel, and improved performance because of the body's light weight; but gave little protection in the event of a serious accident, and without care (the materials being prone to rot), a potentially short life. Fabric provided a matt surface and the framework sharp corners, later supporting metal corner-inserts were employed.
Introduced to the market in 1921, Weymann's bodies fell out of popularity within a decade.
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with a thin layer of cotton batting used to span large open areas and over this a top layer of fabric, usually a pigmented synthetic leather is placed. Any exposed joints in the fabric are covered with aluminium mouldings. The seats are fixed directly to the chassis.
J Gurney Nutting
of Chelsea, London, assured purchasers of his Weymann bodies, including The Prince of Wales:
(1889–1976). An early portrait may be seen in the archives of FLIGHT magazine.
Weymann's Paris coachbuilding business was located at Carrossier Weymann, 20 rue Troyon, Paris and their elegant and luxurious Bugatti, Rolls Royce, Hispano-Suiza, etc. bodied limousines and cars bore the label Les Carrosseries C. T. Weymann, 18-20 rue Troyon, Paris.
was based in Paris. Weymann claimed 123 licensees of his patents and that he received payment for around 70,000 bodies.
Licensed manufacturers included:
Coachwork
Coachwork is the body of a horse-drawn coach or carriage, a motor vehicle , a railroad car or railway carriage. Usually reserved for bodies built on a separate chassis, rather than being of unitary or monocoque construction...
for motor vehicles. The system used a patent-jointed wood frame covered in fabric. It was popular on cars from the 1920s until the early 1930s as it reduced the usual squeaks and rattles of coachbuilt
Coachbuilder
A coachbuilder is a manufacturer of bodies for carriages or automobiles.The trade dates back several centuries. Rippon was active in the time of Queen Elizabeth I, Barker founded in 1710 by an officer in Queen Anne's Guards, Brewster a relative newcomer , formed in 1810. Others in Britain included...
bodies by its use of flexible joints between body timbers.
The system when used on cars provided quieter travel, and improved performance because of the body's light weight; but gave little protection in the event of a serious accident, and without care (the materials being prone to rot), a potentially short life. Fabric provided a matt surface and the framework sharp corners, later supporting metal corner-inserts were employed.
Introduced to the market in 1921, Weymann's bodies fell out of popularity within a decade.
Weymann body system
The Weyman system comprises an ultra-light wood framework with special metal joints so that timber does not touch timber. Small metal panels are inserted between the fabric and the framework to make rounded external corners. Straining wires are fitted to hold the doors in shape when they are stressed by acceleration or bumps. The frame is then covered with MuslinMuslin
Muslin |sewing patterns]], such as for clothing, curtains, or upholstery. Because air moves easily through muslin, muslin clothing is suitable for hot, dry climates.- Etymology and history :...
over Chicken wire
Chicken wire
Chicken wire, or poultry netting, is a mesh of wire commonly used to fence poultry livestock. It is made of thin, flexible galvanized wire, with hexagonal gaps...
with a thin layer of cotton batting used to span large open areas and over this a top layer of fabric, usually a pigmented synthetic leather is placed. Any exposed joints in the fabric are covered with aluminium mouldings. The seats are fixed directly to the chassis.
Advantages when compared with conventional coachbuilt construction
J Gurney Nutting & Co Limited
J Gurney Nutting & Co Limited was an English firm of bespoke coachbuilders specialising in sporting bodies founded in 1918 as a new enterprise by a Croydon firm of builders and joiners of the same name...
of Chelsea, London, assured purchasers of his Weymann bodies, including The Prince of Wales:
- Absolute silence
- As durable as any other body
- Withstands rough roads and speed
- No squeaks, rattles, or draughts
- Absence of drumming and rumbling
- Lightness increases operating economy and speed
- Most luxurious
- Perfect comfort in any weather
- Less expensive than coachbuilt composite bodies of similar quality
- Easily cared for
- Easy to wash and clean
- Easily repaired in case of accident
Designer and patent holder
The system was invented by Charles WeymannCharles Terres Weymann
Charles Terres Weymann was an early aeroplane racing pilot and businessman. He was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on 2 August 1889 of an American father and Haitian motherIt is said that Charles Weymann's mother was Cornelie Miot, herself Haitian and daughter of Charles Miot and Lesinska Cecile...
(1889–1976). An early portrait may be seen in the archives of FLIGHT magazine.
Weymann's Paris coachbuilding business was located at Carrossier Weymann, 20 rue Troyon, Paris and their elegant and luxurious Bugatti, Rolls Royce, Hispano-Suiza, etc. bodied limousines and cars bore the label Les Carrosseries C. T. Weymann, 18-20 rue Troyon, Paris.
Coachbuilder licensees
The licensing company which provided customers with permits to make Weymann fabric bodies for fitting to chassisChassis
A chassis consists of an internal framework that supports a man-made object. It is analogous to an animal's skeleton. An example of a chassis is the underpart of a motor vehicle, consisting of the frame with the wheels and machinery.- Vehicles :In the case of vehicles, the term chassis means the...
was based in Paris. Weymann claimed 123 licensees of his patents and that he received payment for around 70,000 bodies.
Licensed manufacturers included:
- Weymann Motor Bodies limited, founded in England in 1922 with the first licences issued in 1923 to, amongst others, the Rover Company.. In 1925 a move was made into actual body production as well as licensing and the CunardCunard (coachbuilder)The Cunard Motor & Carriage company was a British vehicle coachbuilder. It was founded in London in 1911 and continued in various forms up to the 1960s....
coachbuilding company based in Putney, South London, was purchased. The enterprise was a success and a move was made to larger premises at what had been the BlériotBlériot-WhippetThe Blériot-Whippet was a British 4 wheeled cyclecar made from 1920 to 1927 by the Air Navigation and Engineering Company based in Addlestone, Surrey....
aircraft factory, AddlestoneAddlestoneAddlestone is a town in the borough of Runnymede in the county of Surrey, England.Immediate surrounding towns and villages include Weybridge, Ottershaw, Chertsey, and New Haw. It is near Junction 11 of the M25 motorway and is served by Addlestone railway station on the Chertsey Branch Line. It also...
near Weybridge, Surrey, England. By 1930 the company had turned its attention to bus body construction and in 1932 became part of the Metro Cammell WeymannMetro Cammell WeymannMetro Cammell Weymann was once a major player in transportation manufacturing in the UK and Europe. It was formed in 1932 by Weymann Motor Bodies Ltd and Metro Cammell's bus bodybuilding division to produce bus bodies....
organisation. - Weymann American Body Company of Indianapolis, USA
- Carrozzeria TouringCarrozzeria TouringCarrozzeria Touring is an automobile coachbuilder established on March 25, 1926 in Milan, Italy by Felice Bianchi Anderloni and Gaetano Ponzoni...
, Milan Lombardy Italy and its own development, SuperleggeraSuperleggeraSuperleggera is an automobile chassis construction technology developed by Felice Bianchi Anderloni of Italian coachbuilder Carrozzeria Touring. The company was located just north of Milan, near Alfa Romeo, Italian Citroen, and the former Isotta-Fraschini plant...
. See detail in Wikipédia en français
English licensees 1928
From a joint advertisement by the following Makers of Genuine Weymann bodies, placed by Weymann Motor Bodies (1925) Limited, 47 Pall Mall, London, SW1| Horace Adams, Newcastle-on-Tyne | T H Gill & Son, W1 | Mulliners, Birmingham Mulliners (Birmingham) Mulliners of Birmingham was a British coachbuilding company.Although not financially connected with the other coachbuilding companies having Mulliner in their name – Arthur Mulliner based in Northampton, Mulliner based in Liverpool who also opened a showroom in Brook Street, Mayfair, London and H.J... |
| William Arnold, Manchester | H A Hamshaw, Leicester | Arthur Mulliner, Northampton H. J. Mulliner & Co. H. J. Mulliner & Co. was a well-known British coachbuilder operating at Chiswick in West London.The Mulliner family can trace their coachbuilding history back to 1760, building coaches for the Royal Mail in Northampton.... |
| J Blake & Co, Liverpool | Hancock & Warman, Coventry | K J Newns, Thames Ditton |
| Cadogan Motors, Fulham | Thomas Harrington, Brighton Thomas Harrington Ltd Thomas Harrington & Sons Ltd was a coachbuilder in the county of Sussex from 1897 until 1966, initially at Brighton but from 1930 until the end in a purpose built Art Deco factory at Old Shoreham Road, Hove.-Overview:The company began with the construction of horse-drawn carriages... |
J Gurney Nutting & Co, Chelsea J Gurney Nutting & Co Limited J Gurney Nutting & Co Limited was an English firm of bespoke coachbuilders specialising in sporting bodies founded in 1918 as a new enterprise by a Croydon firm of builders and joiners of the same name... |
| Carlton Carriage Co, Willesden | Kelly Davies Co, Manchester | Park Ward, Willesden Park Ward Park Ward was a British coachbuilder founded by William M. Park and Charles W. Ward in 1919. They had worked together at F.W. Berwick Ltd., the makers of Sizaire-Berwick cars.Their business operated from Willesden, North London.-History:... |
| Caversham Motors, Reading | W H Knibbs & Sons, Manchester | F W Plaxton Smith & Bianchi, Scarborough Plaxton Plaxton is a builder of bus and coach vehicle bodies based in Scarborough, England.-History:The Plaxton of today is the successor to a business founded in Scarborough in 1907 by Frederick William Plaxton.-Beginnings:... |
| John Chalmers & Sons, Redhill | Lancefield Coachworks, W13 | Rippon Bros, Huddersfield |
| Charlesworth Bodies, Coventry | Mann Egerton & Co, W1 Mann Egerton Mann, Egerton & Company Ltd. was an automotive and aerospace company headquartered in Norwich, United Kingdom. During its history the company was variously active in automotive retailing, aircraft manufacturing, automotive coachbuilding and electrical services.It was formally founded in 1905 by... |
Union Motor Car Co, SW1 |
| Connaught Motor & Carriage, W1 | Marshalsea Bros, Taunton | Martin Walter, Folkestone |
| Flewitt, Birmingham | E Maule & Son, Stockton-on-Tees | F J Williams, Cheltenham |
| John Fowler & Sons, Harrogate | Morgan & Co, Leighton Buzzard | G Wylder & Co, Kew Gardens |
| Freestone & Webb, Willesden Freestone and Webb Freestone and Webb were an English coachbuilder, most notably for Rolls-Royce and Bentley motor cars.The company was formed in 1923 by V.E. Freestone and A.J. Webb as a specialist coachbuilding service, based in workshops in Brentfield Road, Willesden, North London, which became its home for its... |
Motor Bodies & Engineering Co, N7 | James Young & Co, Bromley Kent James Young (coachbuilder) James Young Ltd was a British coachbuilding company. The business was started in 1863 in LondonRoad, Bromley. originally producing horsedrawn carriages.... |
Gallery
External links
- Coachbuilt Weymann American http://www.coachbuilt.com/bui/w/weymann/weymann.htm
- Voisin C7 under restoration http://www.automobiles-voisin.fr/C_7_4.html
- Bentley Speed Six Gurney Nutting Weymann coupe 1930 http://www.supercars.net/Pics?viewPic=y&source=gal&uID=119513&gID=2137&pgID=9&pID=878999&first=true
- Rolls Royce Phantom II with Weymann body by H J Mulliner 1929, after 80 years it still retains the original fabric http://www.alpineeagle.co.uk/Restorations/Larson/Larson.html