Custom Coach Building: Creating a True Custom Car
While most of the work we do here at Customs & Hot Rods of Andice is about classic car restoration and hot rod customization as well as fixing up old Camaros and getting Mustangs looking fresh and unique, it is not the only work we do. In fact, one of our favorite type of jobs is something we don't get a lot of but are always eager for, and that is custom coach building. Custom coach building is something of a lost art that involves taking an existing chassis and building a specialty cabin atop it, much of the like no one else has seen before. Coach building is about making your own style and recrafting vehicles to meet your specific needs and desires.
Custom Coach Building: The Art Reborn
The term 'coach building' comes from the days of horse-drawn wagons and carriages. Back then, there was no massive Ford company that mass-produced wagons. Instead, individual and collective craftspersons would use reliable chassis measurements and designs and build atop them unique and specialized coaches in which their clients would ride and drive. Should a carriage be damaged by accident or overuse, then carriage makers would take the old chassis and reform it to meet different needs.
When automobiles first entered the market, they were similar to carriages in that they were often sold as an engine and frame and coach builders would build atop them the style cabin their clients desired. But then came unibodies and mass production -- vehicles made completely by one company and sold en mass to the excited masses. But while unibodied cars and mass production brought costs down for the masses, it also meant the fading popularity of unique cars built to meet the needs of a client. By the 1950s, few coachbuilders existed.
A great example of what was possible with custom coach building is the 1928 Packard 443 Custom Eight. This vehicle showcased both the style and flexibility coach building offered, as it boasted an incredibly large chassis measuring 12 feet between the wheels. This elongated vehicle featured four doors and a long bonnet that enabled the cabin to be large and decked out for spaciousness and luxury seating. The 1928 Packard 443 Custom Eight was so big that it rivals modern day Suburban XL models. Classic car enthusiasts can still find traditional versions of the 1928 Packard 443 on the market but this version is very hard to come by.
Getting Started With Your Custom Coach Build Model
Are you dreaming of a one-off custom car build? Whether you have a whole engine and chassis you want to work with or just a dream, our team at Customs & Hot Rods of Andice is here to turn what you have into a reality. Visit our website to see some of the works we have in progress as well as some of our finished pieces. Contact us to learn more about how our custom coach building process goes and how you can get started today.