Rolling chassis on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
A rolling chassis is the fully-assembled
File:Chassis (4689544886).jpg, Rolling X-frame chassis
File:AK 427 Cobra replica rolling chassis - Flickr - exfordy.jpg, Rolling platform frame AK 427 Cobra replica rolling chassis
File:Mercedes-Benz SL 300 Chassis vl TCE.jpg, Hand-crafted
chassis
A chassis (, ; plural ''chassis'' from French châssis ) is the load-bearing framework of a manufactured object, which structurally supports the object in its construction and function. An example of a chassis is a vehicle frame, the underpart ...
of a motor vehicle
A motor vehicle, also known as a motorized vehicle, automotive vehicle, automobile, or road vehicle, is a self-propelled land vehicle, commonly wheeled, that does not operate on railway track, rails (such as trains or trams), does not fly (such ...
(car
A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people rather than cargo. There are around one billio ...
, truck
A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport freight, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame construct ...
, bus, or other vehicle
A vehicle () is a machine designed for self-propulsion, usually to transport people, cargo, or both. The term "vehicle" typically refers to land vehicles such as human-powered land vehicle, human-powered vehicles (e.g. bicycles, tricycles, velo ...
) without its bodywork. It is equipped with running gear (engine and drivetrain
A drivetrain (also frequently spelled as drive train or sometimes drive-train) or transmission system, is the group of components that deliver mechanical power from the prime mover to the driven components. In automotive engineering, the driv ...
) and ready for delivery to a coachbuilder
A coachbuilder manufactures bodies for passenger-carrying vehicles.
The trade of producing coachwork began with bodies for horse-drawn vehicles. Today it includes custom automobiles, buses, Coach (bus), motor coaches, and passenger car (rai ...
to be completed. Historically, bespoke
''Bespoke'' () describes anything commissioned to a particular specification, altered or tailored to the customs, tastes, or usage of an individual purchaser. In contemporary usage, ''bespoke'' has become a general marketing and branding concep ...
luxury automobiles were finished inside and out to an owner's specifications by a coachbuilder, and specialty vehicles (such as fire engines) were outfitted by firms devoted to that task.
The term is also used to describe the chassis and running gear of a vehicle in a body-off restoration.
Automobiles
Prior to unibodied vehicles, the rolling chassis stage was common to the manufacture of all motorcars. Mass-produced cars were supplied complete from the factory, but luxury cars such asRolls-Royce
Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to:
* Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct
Automobiles
* Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...
were supplied as a chassis from the factory to several coachbuilder
A coachbuilder manufactures bodies for passenger-carrying vehicles.
The trade of producing coachwork began with bodies for horse-drawn vehicles. Today it includes custom automobiles, buses, Coach (bus), motor coaches, and passenger car (rai ...
s, in its case J Gurney Nutting & Co, Mulliner, Park Ward, and others. These handcrafters would supply a body and interior to a customer or dealer's specifications. Important names in the United States included Lebaron, Fleetwood
Fleetwood is a coastal town in the Borough of Wyre in Lancashire, England, at the northwest corner of the Fylde. It had a population of 25,939 at the 2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 census.
Fleetwood acquired its modern character in the 1830 ...
, and Rollston.
Over time top luxury automakers absorbed one or more of their vendors and moved vehicle finishing in-house.
space frame
In architecture and structural engineering, a space frame or space structure (Three-dimensional space, 3D truss) is a rigid, lightweight, truss-like structure constructed from interlocking struts in a geometry, geometric pattern. Space frames can ...
Mercedes 300 SL Gullwing W180 in "rolling chassis" form during restoration
Heavy vehicles
Separate chassis remain in use for almost all heavy vehicles ranging from pickup trucks to the biggest trucks and commercial passenger carrying vehicles. The rolling chassis is delivered to the commercial body maker,coachbuilder
A coachbuilder manufactures bodies for passenger-carrying vehicles.
The trade of producing coachwork began with bodies for horse-drawn vehicles. Today it includes custom automobiles, buses, Coach (bus), motor coaches, and passenger car (rai ...
, or bulk transporter on its own wheels, under its own power.
See also
*Glider (automobiles)
In the United States, with regard to automobiles, a glider is a vehicle without a powertrain (especially without an engine). Gliders are generally sold as unused car bodies, but a second-hand car may also be stripped of its powertrain and sold a ...
, an otherwise complete motor vehicle that lacks some or all of the powertrain
References
Vehicle technology {{Auto-part-stub