Coachbuilders - Great Britain: Books - History and Models

A-Z of British Coachbuilders 1919-1960

This book is a comprehensive illustrated study of coachbuilders and coachbuilding in Britain. The author sets the scene by describing advances in fashions and techniques of coachbuilding in separate chapters on the 1920s, 1930s and the postwar period. He then gives a unique illustrated A-Z coverage of more than 300 British coachbuilders.
In addition, there is a chapter offering useful advice on assessing the condition and likely repair needs of a coachbuilt body today.

Coachbuilding - The Hand-crafted Car Body

This account examines the history of coachbuilding, beginning with the coachbuilders who for generations had built horse-drawn wooden carriages, and then explaining how they turned their craft to building the bodywork of the first motorised cars.

Using photographs of the different stages of coachbuilding, the author describes the materials, equipment and key techniques involved. Today the profession of coachbuilding is almost a lost art, yet as the restoration of vintage cars seeks to keep the trade alive, this book reflects back on the heyday of the coachbuilt motor car and the skilled workers that made it their craft.

Contents:
- Continental curtain raisers, 1886-1914
- Slowcoach in the fast lane, 1896-1914
- Heyday of the coachbuilder, 1919-29
- Sunshine before twilight, 1930-9
- The end of the road, 1945 to date
- Glossary of coachbuilding terms
- Further reading
- Index

British Woodies - From the 1920s to the 1950s

In the 1920s, 30s and 40s, wooden-bodied shooting brakes, estate cars and station wagons were commercial vehicles made in Britain, mostly for utilitarian roles. They were built in relatively small numbers, often by small, lesser-known commercial bodybuilding firms, and required high levels of maintenance to ensure anything resembling a long life.
Every chassis from Alvis, Austin and Bentley to Standard, Vauxhall and Wolseley was built as a Woodie at some stage, and they reached the peak of their popularity in the immediate postwar years when steel was in short supply and the majority of new cars were being built for export.

Some vehicle manufacturers sold wooden-bodied utilities under their own name, but most were built in small workshops under contract to vehicle dealerships or selling direct to the general public.
However, labour intensive constriction, high maintenance requirements and the introduction of the unitary chassis by Britain's car makers all contributed to the eventual demise of the British Woodie.

The work of hundreds of small coachbuilder firms is highlighted in this book, and illustrated with 100 rare and previously unpublished photos. The British Woodie is undoubtedly a thing of beauty, and this work is a tribute to the skills of the coachbuilders that built these amazing wooden wonders.

Freestone & Webb (1923-1958) - The Story of a British Coachbuilder

Freestone & Webb was a great name in British coachbuilding for some 35 years, but as demand for coachbuilt car bodies dried up in the 1950s, the company became the first of the Big Five remaining specialists to close down.
They had started in the early 1920s, as the motoring scene was settling down after the upheaval of the First World War. Early devotees of lightweight Weymann construction, they soon earned the approval of the nearby Bentley company because their bodies did not unduly hinder the performance of these great sporting chassis.
Before long, Rolls-Royce models were also being provided with stylish and well-made Freestone & Webb coachwork, and so were many leading foreign chassis, such as Mercedes-Benz and Packard.

Although the partnership of Messrs Freestone and Webb was dissolved before the 1930s had got under way, the company survived the bleak years at the start of the decade and continued to build both arrestingly beautiful bespoke bodies and distinctive coachwork in small-volume batches. Most notable in this period was their razor-edge style, which was rapidly copied by many other coachbuilders and would remain influential into the early 1950s.
Like others, the company struggled to get back into the game after an enforced layoff during the Second World War. But with the aid of good designs and fine workmanship, they survived into the 1950s with their reputation intact.

Sadly, their continued survival could only be a matter of time, and Arthur Webb was already looking to sell the company when he died in 1954. Freestone & Webb continued gamely for four more years, experimenting with new designs and going out in a blaze of glory with their extravagant Honeymoon Express for a Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud.
This is the story of a great British coachbuilder, told with the aid of meticulous research and with great affection for the grandeur and style that its products still represent.

Park Ward - The Innovative Coachbuilders 1919-1939

Dalton Watson Fine Books is pleased to announce a major three-volume work on the pre-war history and cars of the great British coachbuilder, Park Ward.
The company was the most prolific coachbuilder on Rolls-Royce and Bentley chassis, ultimately completing over 4,300 cars.

Volume I and II is the story of Park Ward & Co Ltd. - the men who worked there and the company's growing relationship with Rolls-Royce Ltd. A photographic record of all the Rolls-Royce models from Silver Ghost to the Wraith that carried Park Ward coachwork is included, along with chapters on the W. O. Bentley cars, and the Rolls-Royce and Bentley experimental cars with Park Ward coachwork.
The Derby-built Bentleys follow, supported by chapters on the London Motor Show cars, coachwork on marques other than Rolls-Royce and Bentley, and examples of Park Ward advertising literature and catalogues.
An appendix contains a series of articles written by 'Bill' Ward, the company founder's son, entitled 'The Art and Evolution of Coachbuilding'.

Volume III contains extensive tables detailing each of over 3,000 pre-war Park Ward-bodied Rolls-Royce and Bentley, as well as a listing of over 1,000 Park Ward bodies on other marques. In addition, and rarely seen before, there are over 700 sales order pages extracted from Park Ward's Finishing books.

Author Malcolm Tucker is a past-Chairman of the Rolls-Royce Enthusiasts' Club, and is an established Rolls-Royce and Bentley historian and writer.

Topics covered include:
- Park Ward and his company
- The Cars of W.O. Bentley
- Rolls-Royce and Derby Bentley Experimental Cars
- Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost
- Rolls-Royce 20 HP
- Rolls-Royce Phantom I
- Rolls-Royce 20/25 HP
- Rolls-Royce Phantom II
- Rolls-Royce 25/30 HP
- Rolls-Royce Phantom III
- Rolls-Royce Wraith
- Derby Bentleys
- Motor Show Cars and more!