1939 RR P111 Gurney Nutting

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Styria

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Could anyone enlighten me as to who was responsible for the styling of the Gurney Nutting Rolls Royces ? Does anyone know if that company also produced bodies on, say, Daimler chassis or did they only body Rolls Royce chassis/frames ? They seem to have a styling all of their own - in my view, fairly angular and heavy in appearance. Regards Styria
 
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Hi Styria have you had a chance to look at the links to answer your questions. Geoff
 

BenzBoy

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Could anyone enlighten me as to who was responsible for the styling of the Gurney Nutting Rolls Royces ? Does anyone know if that company also produced bodies on, say, Daimler chassis or did they only body Rolls Royce chassis/frames ? They seem to have a styling all of their own - in my view, fairly angular and heavy in appearance. Regards Styria
J Gurney Nutting produced some of the highest quality bodies in the coach-building era. Gurney Nutting was a qualified joiner and his timberwork frames are amongst the most solid and reliable ever produced. Remember that the frame on my PII is original and rattle free depsite now being 79 years old. You will also note that my PII has concealed door hinges at a time when most hinges still stood out from the body. It's little things like that which show the quality of construction as well as the design which made JGN a favoured coach builder.
If the designs seem heavy to you Styria then remember that the designs were bespoke according to the desires of the owner and in many cases were built on extremely heavy chassis and engine combinations. As they were built for a long life such bodies had to be quite sunstantial. Evidence of this is that many JGN Weymann (fabric over timber - designed to lighten weight) bodies still exist today in their original form.
There are other builders who designed bodies that appeared very light - such as Mann Edgerton - but generaly they have not stood the test of time.
When JGN passed on, Jack Barclay, one of the main R-R dealers in London, bought the company and so after WWII Gurney Nutting continued but in a different form.
JGN continues to be one of my favourite coachbuliders because of Neil's effective use of line and JGN's effective building techniques. I've had the PII on rough roads at 80+ mph and there has been no body flex or doors jumping open etc. That speaks well of the construction techniques as the body is original with the exception of the front floorboards.
Regards,
Brian
Regards,
Brian
 
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Hi Styria i think they are contemporary and current designs for their time and country. Remember the queens were considered regal but bland desgns of their time compared to there European contemporarys. The Rex and the beautiful French Normandie. But JGN could also do extravagant just look at the Duesenberg they built in 1935. Geoff
 

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Hi Styria i think they are contemporary and current designs for their time and country. Remember the queens were considered regal but bland desgns of their time compared to there European contemporarys. The Rex and the beautiful French Normandie. But JGN could also do extravagant just look at the Duesenberg they built in 1935. Geoff

What Geoff is saying is that British design was restrained; Continental was often flamboyant. American was exciting.
Regards,
Brian
 
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Yes Brian or to put it in a way that someone from Sydney can understand. Give me a turn of the Century house in Wahroonga over a Mosman gin palace any day. One shouts old money and class the other nauveau riche or just Alan Jones. Geoff
 

Styria

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Hi Geoff, are you talking about my hero ? Alan Jones, that is. :D Mind you, one can't really discuss the man without getting into some sort of political debate and after the trials and tribulations experienced over the last few days, constraint is the better part of valour - just for a little while.

Wahroonga vs. Mosman - you might be trying to crush a huge bone - one would think that they would be pretty well on a par, with magnificent old homes (and newer), but I would have said that Warrawee was an even better and more prestigious location. I used to have a home at Wahroonga(I bought it at age 24), but it was on the wrong side of the railway line - in other words, close to the border of Normanhurst. Chalk and cheese between east and west of the line, but the address still held prestige.

You know BenzBoy, it obviously takes a man with Rolls Royce experience to evaluate the bodies of various body builders that utilized that company's chassis. I guess soe are more attractive than others to look at, but I am certainly not in a position to judge quality - I can only judge on looks. The features that you raise of your car are certainly noteworthy. The question I have is this : How do they compare with the '30s Mercedes range, such as, say, a 500K or 540K, or even a 770 ? Interested in your opinion. Regards Styria
 

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Hi Geoff, are you talking about my hero ? Alan Jones, that is. :D Mind you, one can't really discuss the man without getting into some sort of political debate and after the trials and tribulations experienced over the last few days, constraint is the better part of valour - just for a little while.

Wahroonga vs. Mosman - you might be trying to crush a huge bone - one would think that they would be pretty well on a par, with magnificent old homes (and newer), but I would have said that Warrawee was an even better and more prestigious location. I used to have a home at Wahroonga(I bought it at age 24), but it was on the wrong side of the railway line - in other words, close to the border of Normanhurst. Chalk and cheese between east and west of the line, but the address still held prestige.

You know BenzBoy, it obviously takes a man with Rolls Royce experience to evaluate the bodies of various body builders that utilized that company's chassis. I guess soe are more attractive than others to look at, but I am certainly not in a position to judge quality - I can only judge on looks. The features that you raise of your car are certainly noteworthy. The question I have is this : How do they compare with the '30s Mercedes range, such as, say, a 500K or 540K, or even a 770 ? Interested in your opinion. Regards Styria
Sorry Styria, I have no idea. Regrettably with so few early Benzs available, I don't know anyone who has made such a comparison.
Just a pont on construction, JGN used stainless wire stringers running through the body and attached at various points throught the chassis - with adjustable turnbuckles to achieve constant tension. Rather novel but effective and an idea taken from yacht building.
Regards,
Brian
 
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