Body and Chassis - Automobile History

source: http://www.motorera.com/history/hist09.htm

I am spending some time under the van because I'm installing a towbar.
It got me thinking of the rarely seen part of cars and vans that's holing it together, the chassis. There I found an educative article on the subject.

"Unlike the first engine and chassis builders, who had no precedents to follow, the first auto body engineers represented an old established craft. It mattered little to them whether vehicles were to be propelled by a gasoline engine, electric power, or steam. Their task was the same as in the days of chariots: to construct a conveyance that would carry people.
The body builders contended that if carriages were good enough for horses, they were good enough for engines. They were even given carriage names -- phaeton, brougham, tonneau, landaulet, and wagonette.
Don't get the idea that early body engineers were a stodgy conservative bunch. When it came to trying new structural concepts and materials, they were as radical as the engine and chassis guys -- so much so, in fact, that practically every body structural technique in use today had been tried by 1920, even gluing bodies together. (...)"
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Difference between SWB and LWB vehicles

"The SWB and LBW is the distance measured from axle to axle. Each maker will have different measurements and size and weight. So the terms are just a guide to the model."

"The wheelbase is the measurement from the centre point of the front wheels to the centre point of the rear wheels. Though we have gone metric this length is often still quoted in inches. The longer the wheelbase the greater the cubic capacity of the load area. However, obviously, the longer the van the more unwieldy in narrow streets and when parking and there is not much point buying an LWB unless you need it's extra capacity. 

An LWB van will usually have a higher load rating than a SWB one. But again, if all you carry are a few cans of paint and some step ladders then the extra load facility is academic. 

There should not be much difference - if any - regarding the insurance costs."

" If you plan to carry heavy small things, then the SWB will be better, but if you plan to carry furniture, the LWB will suit your needs better. You will also find low, medium and high roof variants of these."

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