The Bedford VAS was a commercial vehicle chassis produced by Bedford Vehicles from 1963 until 1987. It was sold as a bare chassis including engine, transmission and driving controls, and was intended to be fitted with a bus or coach body from another manufacturer.
18-605: The Bedford subsidiary of Vauxhall Motors had produced rolling chassis suitable for single-deck buses and coaches since 1931, with models such as the WHB, WLB and WTB produced until 1939, to be succeeded by the OB/OWB in 1939 and, during the war, the OWB. The bodies were produced for these by outside coachbuilders such as Duple , and provided up to 32 seats in an overall length of around 24 feet 6 inches (7.47 m). The Bedford SB replaced
36-409: A coachbuilder to be completed. Historically, bespoke 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. Prior to unibodied vehicles, the rolling chassis stage
54-510: A four-speed synchromesh gearbox, but the ratios differed. In 1967, the VAS1 was replaced by the VAS5, which used a 330 cu in (5.4 L) diesel engine. A 300 cu in (4.9 L) petrol engine was offered from about 1972, and this was model VAS3. A new system of model codes was introduced by General Motors in 1968. Under this, the first letter (in this case, P) denoted the basic model range;
72-457: A lucrative offer from Murray Corporation , one of Ford's and Lincoln's main body builders, in 1925 and resigned from LeBaron to start Dietrich, Inc. With both founders gone, LeBaron could have been in trouble. But Roberts continued to run the company and orders kept coming in. Walter O. Briggs began talks with Roberts in 1926 to buy LeBaron and move it to Detroit, setting up operations at Mack Avenue Stamping (Old Mack Factory) . LeBaron
90-418: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . LeBaron Incorporated 42°23′03″N 82°58′44″W / 42.3840732°N 82.9788219°W / 42.3840732; -82.9788219 LeBaron Incorporated (originally LeBaron, Carrossiers Inc. ) was an American design business from 1920 and also a coachbuilder from 1924 until 1953. LeBaron was one of the many prominent coachbuilders in
108-456: The 1920s to provide bodies for luxury cars. Until World War II most of the great prestige automakers like Duesenberg or Packard would readily supply only a running chassis which wealthy buyers would have fitted with custom bodywork. Automakers like Rolls-Royce and Hispano-Suiza only supplied a rolling chassis . LeBaron Incorporated eventually became part of Chrysler Corporation . LeBaron, Carrossiers Inc. free-lance design consultants
126-460: The LeBaron administrative jobs to his friend, Ralph Roberts , who had just gotten his Bachelor of Science degree from Dartmouth College . Most design work came to LeBaron through dealers. Hibbard met fellow designer, Howard A. "Dutch" Darrin (1897-1982) in 1923. Hibbard and Darrin decided to go to Paris, initially to try to sell LeBaron designs where manufacturing costs were lower but once in view of
144-547: The OB in 1950, and was longer with a greater seating capacity - typically 33 to 41. However, some operators still felt a need for a smaller vehicle. Consequently, Bedford introduced a new model in 1963, the VAS, which provided an overall length of up to around 23 feet 9 inches (7.24 m) upon which a 29-seat body could be fitted. The basic layout was similar to the SB model, but the wheelbase
162-589: The United States included Lebaron , Fleetwood , and Rollston . Over time top luxury automakers absorbed one or more of their vendors and moved vehicle finishing in-house. 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 , or bulk transporter on its own wheels, under its own power. This article about an automotive part or component
180-400: The driver, opposite the entrance; five rows of four arranged as pairs either side of the central gangway; and a bench seat for five at the back. Rolling chassis A rolling chassis is the fully-assembled chassis of a motor vehicle ( car , truck , bus, or other vehicle ) without its bodywork . It is equipped with running gear (engine and drivetrain ) and ready for delivery to
198-430: The front axle, as with the SB model. The short rear overhang was less of a problem, and the body builders usually added extension pieces to the rear of the main chassis frame, below which a luggage boot was usually fitted, bringing the overall length to around 23 feet 9 inches (7.24 m). Within this length, up to 29 seats could be accommodated: two alongside the driver, above the nearside front wheel; two behind
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#1732868788515216-459: The front axle, with shaft drive to the rear axle. 16-inch (410 mm) road wheels were fitted. The driver's position was alongside the engine, the forward control arrangement. A choice of two engines was offered, giving rise to numeric suffixes to the model code: the VAS1 used a 300 cu in (4.9 L) diesel engine, and the VAS2 used a 214 cu in (3.51 L) petrol engine. Both had
234-518: The opportunities decided to set up their own business in Paris and founded Hibbard & Darrin . Hibbard resigned from LeBaron in 1923. Dietrich and Roberts continued operating LeBaron with a new illustrator, veteran Roland L. Stickney . LeBaron took over the Blue Ribbon and Bridgeport Body companies thus becoming body builders as well as designers and changed name to LeBaron Inc. Dietrich received
252-427: The second letter denoted the engine type; and the third letter the gross weight range for a complete vehicle, which for a VAS was K, denoting 5,700–7,000 kg (5.6–6.9 long tons). Model codes for the VAS (now the P series) were as follows: Several outside firms constructed bodywork for the VAS, primarily Duple and Plaxton . The short overhang at the front meant that the passenger entrance needed to be placed behind
270-408: Was common to the manufacture of all motorcars. Mass-produced cars were supplied complete from the factory, but luxury cars such as Rolls-Royce were supplied as a chassis from the factory to several coachbuilders , 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
288-647: Was founded in New York City in 1920 by American designers Raymond H. Dietrich (1894-1980) and Thomas L. Hibbard (1898-1982) who had met while working for Brewster & Co. Dietrich and Hibbard remained among the Brewster personnel so they invented a new name LeBaron, Carrossiers from a list of French words that could be easily pronounced but still sounded impressive. Within twelve months Brewster learned what they were doing and ended their Brewster & Co business relationship. They found more work and Hibbard offered
306-560: Was purchased by Briggs Manufacturing Company of Detroit in 1926 and operated as a subsidiary. Briggs was already supplying bodies to nearby Chrysler , Essex , Ford , Hudson , and Overland . As a Briggs subsidiary, LeBaron handled special custom work, provided design ideas for the main business, and supplied exquisite custom bodies for various car companies such as Chrysler 's luxury Imperial line, Duesenberg , Packard , and Cadillac . In 1932, for example, they built 28 Imperial Custom Convertible Coupes, Chrysler's top model, which rode
324-401: Was shorter. The chassis frame had two longitudinal main members arched over the front axle; at the rear they were tapered upwards to clear the rear axle. The axles were mounted close to the ends, to give a nominal front overhang of 36.5 inches (930 mm), a wheelbase of 164 inches (4.2 m) and a nominal rear overhang of 37 inches (940 mm). The engine and transmission were mounted above
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