rolling chassis
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A rolling chassis is the
chassis A chassis (, ; plural ''chassis'' from French châssis ) is the load-bearing framework of an artificial object, which structurally supports the object in its construction and function. An example of a chassis is a vehicle frame, the underpart ...
without bodywork of a
motor vehicle A motor vehicle, also known as motorized vehicle or automotive vehicle, is a self-propelled land vehicle, commonly wheeled, that does not operate on Track (rail transport), rails (such as trains or trams) and is used for the transportation of pe ...
( car,
truck A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame construction ...
, bus, or other
vehicle A vehicle (from la, vehiculum) is a machine that transports people or cargo. Vehicles include wagons, bicycles, motor vehicles (motorcycles, cars, trucks, buses, mobility scooters for disabled people), railed vehicles (trains, trams), wa ...
), assembled with suspension and wheels.


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 or body-maker is someone who manufactures bodies for passenger-carrying vehicles.Construction has always been a skilled trade requiring a relatively lightweight product with sufficient strength. The manufacture of necessarily ...
, or bulk transporter on its own wheels, under its own power.


Automobiles

Rolling chassis was a stage of manufacture of every vehicle. Mass produced cars were supplied complete from the factory, but luxury cars like
Rolls-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
bespoke The word ''bespoke'' () has evolved from a verb meaning 'to speak for something', to its contemporary usage as an adjective. Originally, the adjective ''bespoke'' described tailor-made suits and shoes. Later, it described anything commissioned t ...
coachbuilders like
J Gurney Nutting & Co 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. The senior partner was John (Jack) Gurney ...
who would supply a body to the customer's order (or build a car which was sold from their showroom). Automobile construction methods changed when
unibody A vehicle frame, also historically known as its '' chassis'', is the main supporting structure of a motor vehicle to which all other components are attached, comparable to the skeleton of an organism. Until the 1930s, virtually every car ha ...
or
monocoque Monocoque ( ), also called structural skin, is a structural system in which loads are supported by an object's external skin, in a manner similar to an egg shell. The word ''monocoque'' is a French term for "single shell". First used for boats, ...
combined chassis and body structures gradually replaced chassis.


Restoration

In restoration circles rolling chassis is a name given to a bodyshell with wheels and
suspension Suspension or suspended may refer to: Science and engineering * Suspension (topology), in mathematics * Suspension (dynamical systems), in mathematics * Suspension of a ring, in mathematics * Suspension (chemistry), small solid particles suspende ...
but without engine and transmission. ;Some automobile chassis File:Chassis (4689544886).jpg, Rolling X-frame chassis File:1965 Turin Salon Miura Chassis -1.jpg, Rolling platform frame 1965 Miura 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, Old-fashioned space frame Mercedes 300 SL Gullwing W180 File:Mercedes R197 Chassis IAA 2011.jpg, Current unified body and chassis frame Mercedes SLS R197


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 as ...
, an otherwise complete motor vehicle that lacks some or all of the powertrain Vehicle technology {{Auto-stub