My grandfather worked for Fisher Body of St.Louis from 1929 until 1964 when he retired and his job was to lead all the seams where panels were joined and unfinished. My oldest brother still has all the tools my grandpa used, paddles, etc.... it's an art.
Rolls Royce's were finally assembled in the Crewe factory but the body shells were made made by Pressed Steel Fisher (PSF) in Cowley Oxford. I went on a tour of the sheet metal Shop in 1982 and saw the area where completed body shells were being 'leaded', it was like it's own little Rolls Royce factory quite separate from where the BL panels were being pressed and only RR staff were allowed in there..................can't say I remember much in the way of fume extraction.
Well, the use of lead to conceal the joining of panels on cars isn't unique to Roll Royce. It is the way it was with every automobile manufacturer up until the 1980's. It is the origin of the hot-rod/custom car description "lead-sled" which was used for cars that had the suspension lowered (sled) and extensive custom bodywork (lead).
Been used for years in body work, plastic has replaced lead, but for classic cars lead maybe required to maintain authenticity, plus lead has properties in filler that plastic can not mimic
Lead wiping was used on a lot of cars,including the Ford Pinto. I worked part time on the Ford assembly line in NJ, and remember seeing an old timer working on the joint between the roof and quarter panel. He used a gas torch, a wire brush, a lead bar, and a big file to clean, heat, fill, and file the joint smooth. It took skill and a good eye. I don’t recall any PPE to protect from toxic exposure.
What year was that? If it was a before the dangers of lead poisoning were widely known, then no corporate would give a damn about ppe. If it was after laws or whatever then that's ground to sue them.
The danger from the lead to that old timer depends on how hot he got it. Probably, not very. Molten lead doesn't give off fumes unless it gets very hot indeed. It melts at 327C / 621F, but doesn't boil until it's 1749C / 3180F. So provided you melt it and not much more, you're not filling the atmosphere with lead gas. That's not to say that precautions are pointless - good PPE such as a breathing filter mask is always a good idea. As I understand it, the issues with working with lead mostly come from the possibilities of ingesting it in its solid form - dust, smears, particles - or ingesting compounds including it - lead-based pigments in old paint. Not washing one's hands thoroughly after handling it is a bad idea.
I’ve seen lead sulphide/galena on sale as ornamental gem, when i was going to school idiots licked the green paint on the school yard railings, sweet.😂
@@jwalster9412 Elemental lead is no big deal. I use it all the time, in soldering, and in casting weights. Some compounds, such as tetraethyl lead, are a really big deal.
Wow, I never knew this about Rolls-Royce cars. Very good explanation. I know a guy who has a Corniche and talked with him at a classic car show in Maryland in October. I would have asked him about his car if I had known. Thanks for sharing!
In the 1980s the Indian Ambassador was still being made with worn-out press tools. The cars were famously much heavier than earlier versions as massive amounts of lead were used to cover the mismatched joints.
It's actually called lead-loading. That's probably why you couldn't find many references. Done correctly it won't crack. That said, 'correct' isn't 1/2in thick. 2-3mm is ideal. Many of the problems come from not rinsing the flux (based on boric acid) correctly, or from leading over spot welded / lapped joints where the acid gets trapped in vis capillary action. Best way to mitigate against this is to run a tiny weld over the bare edge to seal it to the substrate. Then you can tin up with solder paste, then thoroughly rinse and only then apply the stick of lead. Very satisfying, but frankly now although I'm happy to offer it (having leaded for nearly 30 years) the issue now is the painters, quite rightly, don't want to risk sanding lead in with the primer, so now I tend to just use it to finesse door-shuts where the strength and stickability of lead is still ideal.
Lead loading was common up to about the ‘70’s when body fillers evolved to be come more flexible Very common on Jag’s too, usually used to fill a panel join seam as opposed to correct panel alignment
@@46spanner yes and no. On Rolls-Royce it was used as a filler. The best example is as shown in the video of the Walnut T2 where, aft of the C pillar, it is up to 1/2” thick.
I painted a few shadows and very common to find 1/2 inch of lead on the scuttle panels what makes it worse is the as the body flexes at these high stress points it cracks the lead letting in moisture causing corrosion under the lead which swells the lead too.
This was a standard panel fairing method before Bondo. Buyers of used cars were advised to check for excess filler with a magnet. (Come to think of it, it would work with Bondo as well.)
My friend worked for an auto body place in NYC years ago and they had men highly skilled in using lead. They would get high-end cars from all over the world sent to them.
Interesting! I always wondered what causes those common cracks near the roof uprights on many old cars. I’ve seen footage Ford/Chevy/Chrysler assembly line documentaries, and it looks like all of the major car makers leveraged leaded body panels at one time in the past, just maybe not half inch thick slabs of lead😅
Very nice to hear from you about technical issues, since you have such a deep knowledge of SY, having spent many years caring for them. Who else better than you!!
Nice video and explanation. American cars also used lead for many years in the same manner, typically around the cowl and rear window as shown here. Some factory films for American car companies show the use of lead in body making. It was apparently easy to place and shape on a car in a soft, hot state and then to file it to blend panels after it hardened.
Rare to have such an interesting video as this. Beautiful collection bytheway. Regards from England (West Sussex - Rolls Royces are built here today, in Chichester)
Thank you for this information. Many first-time buyers would have passed the Rolls Royce they were interested in thinking it was a stress crack in the body or a imperfections.
Hello Rodd ! I own a Silver Spirit you once sold ( SZ #4810 ). I always wondered about those cracks and what caused them. I am relieved to know what they are and also know what they are not. I hope I can visit your showroom sometime, your cars are so beautiful , Thank you.
It's always good to learn more about the construction of fine automobiles. I've always been an admirer of Rolls-Royce cars but have had Packards instead, and only one at a time.
Carl Bochek, a high school classmate from Russellton Pa was a car repair genius who could customize cars like a pro! One time, when he was working on my car (a custom paint job on a 1970 Mercury Montego) I helped him go to a junk yard, and we cut-out/removed a 'sun-roof' off an old Volkswagen. He installed this sunroof on a Jaguar XKE, and he used lead to make it a seamless, perfect job. I had never seen that done before! Most folks used Bondo back then....
Thank you Rodd! This video was quite informative. As you well know, Rolls-Royce is very reserved on disclosing its specs. and technicalities. This was definitely an education to us soon to be Rolls-Royce or Bentley owners. Please by all means share more technical information about these fine motor cars. Thank you!
This is a very informative and wonderful video. I didn't know what I was getting into when I clicked on some random youtube recommendation that didn't align with anything I had recently watched. Thank you very much for this wonderful video.
Excellent "upfront" advisory. I have a classic Rolls on my "bucket list" but the more I learn about the maintenance and care of a Rolls...the more I appreciate my Jaguar Vanden Plas - which to me - is 90% of the enjoyment of a Rolls at 10% of the cost and aggravation.
I did know about lead wiping. The headlight surrounds on the HD Holden were lead wiped. But I didn’t know about the stress fracturing of those joints. Thank you.
Interesting video. I first became aware of lead-wiping when watching an old video of " Morris Oxfords " being assembled in India showing assembly works applying liberal amounts of lead to the various joints on the body. I certainly never imagined RR using the same trickery on their " august " vehicles!
As a teenager I used to watch the body repairs at a local dealer, and the most intriguing activity was watching them paddle hot lead on body panels, use a special file to cut level, then do it again until satisfied the work was smooth and blended into the body. Still done today on top end repair and fabrication.
Thanks Rod. I had no idea. I always had this view that lead wiping was one of those arcane über craftsmanship skills that we don't use now - due to it being too hard to do. Those fatigue cracks are awful. I suppose lead was better than nothing at the time. What is the most stable and best way to joint panels BTW?
What a great collection. In fact, I was not aware of this technique and will definitely take a look at that. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and passion.
Approx 30 years ago I saw a Rolls Royce that was inside a garage during a fire. Part of my job. I was surprised to see the lead joints all over the place- especially where the roof joined the rear trunk area
I learned elementary body-work at night class. Built a few veteran motorcycle petrol tanks using soft soldering. Then restored a Riley body with lead loading. The timber framed body on a steel chassis causes flexing BUT it is more the paint not the lead, moving. I saw a Bentley have over 10kg of lead removed during restoration.
Old telephone cable splicers were real artists with lead. The splice between two section of lead cable involved a sleeve which was covering the wires and lead was wiped between the cable and the sleeve. When properly done it was water proof and gas tight as the cables were pressurized. Looked perfect, like a single piece of cable with a slight bulge.
I remember helping a friend do some body work on a Mustang in 82. It was a 65, and there was lead on the left side at the joint at the rear quarter panel and roof. Id never seen it before but I learned about that from the experience. 👍👍🇺🇸🇺🇸🙏
A priceless piece of information and filming on such a British legacy. I take great interest in all I find on the Crewe Family. Thank you so much Sir for your efforts. Charles DeVere. Ribble Valley.
I went to school for autobody and paint in the 70's at Ferris. We were required to lead all our welded panels. European vehicles tend to be ridged body, with no exposed seems for body flex and will get stress cracks. Lead is still the most permanent repair but almost impossible to do on newer cars because the sheet metal is so thin. But i still do it on older restorations. Beautiful collection of Rolls, by the way
I had a 77 RR SS that I loved! Still love them! This ws Such a treat to see so many in the same room that were SO pristine! Have to pick one? THAT would be a tough assignment for sure~!
I think there was a Rolls-Royce approved body repairer in Sydney somewhere in Five Dock that was allowed to do lead wiping repairs. Tony Root repaired his car at Eastwood using lead after going to TAFE to learn the process!!!!
Very fascinating! Having owned 6 Cloud IIIs this explains a lot. It's strange that they would try to reduce body weight with aluminum doors, bonnet and boot and yet slather on, probably, hundreds of pounds of lead. BTW do you have any idea where James Young's wood bucks and records wound up?
Not hundreds of pounds. That half an inch section is horrendous but coachworks would normally use only a few sticks around the joins. For instance, we grit blasted a Karmann Ghia, one of the swoopiest, most lozengey shapes imaginable to find butt-welded joints and scarcely any filler as the panels were so well aligned.
@@victorseastrom3455 Excellent question. I don't know the process for anything but steel but am quite keen on acquiring the 'new' aluminium bodied Alpine A110 so may yet find out!
@@garethmcrae668 Possibly Birmabright , a British car aluminum that my Rover's boot and bonnet - hood and trunk were made of. P4 Rover's had a reversal with Birmabright doors. I like the Grumman LLV. Make the whole coach body out of aluminum.
4:38 is fascinating and very "Rolls-Royce" - in mass-market manufacturing the lead wiping around the seam between the roof pillar and rear fender stampings would simply not be done on cars equipped with factory vinyl tops, instead the chrome molding would be designed to cover that seam.
I visited as a guest of the News of the World car club I think it was around 1980-82 the Rolls Royce factory in Acton (Park Royal?) they made all of the long wheelbase Shadow's and all the Corniches. The bodies came from Pressed Steel Fisher in Coventry and were cut in half and had twelve inches or so added in the gap. We saw all the under joints being filled with lead, but I don't remember other panel joints being wiped. In fact I went there twice with the NOTW courtesy of my best friend's father who worked at the Sun and NOTW and they lived opposite me. They were fascinating visits to a 28 year old or so would be amateur mechanic
Shadow finished in 1980 so your visit would have been at least few years before that. To make the Long Wheel Bases, they were cut to add 4" in rear compartment. I though they were made contemporaneously with the standard saloon but given what you say, makes sense about not seeing lead being added elsewhere on the car because that was already done in the first iteration.
@ thank you. It's surprising how the memory plays tricks, then yes it must have been before even the last visit. I also remember watching a guy making an aluminium wing on a buck I think it's called for one of the earlier limousine's front near side wing. That to was fascinating to watch.
Tetraethyl lead, the stuff they banned in automobile gasoline decades ago, is still legally and regularly added to aviation gasoline (avgas) that fuels around a quarter of a million small, piston-driven aircraft in the US. So chances are you're still breathing it, though greatly reduced from the insane mid-twentieth century levels.
The complex shapes around the headlights of the Jaguar XJ6 and XJ12 up to and including the Series III were achieved by a process called lead loading. I'm not aware of of similar problems with them.
Lead loading and lead wiping is the same. Simply nomenclature. The lead wiping used in Jaguar is the same process but it was much thinner. That said, you can agent and do see hairline fracturing on jaguars in these areas as well
Body shops a long time ago used lead times like we bog today. Bog is an Australian term for body filler, to repair imperfections etc on a panel before painting, I've no idea what it's called elsewhere in the world!
Not only Rolls used lead. I knew a painter at Ford in Canada who learned to use lead at the factory. The same fellow did body work as a sideline and began using lead in some of his work.
I remember this kind of lead work being used extensively in the 1950s and early 1960s. It was a skilled job with self employed people being called into body shops. The coming of Isopon and the like killed it off because special lead skills were no longer needed.
This is the "man behind the name" ruclips.net/video/E4yWUxlpjZo/видео.htmlsi=tV4uhBUlUKZV1Q5-
My grandfather worked for Fisher Body of St.Louis from 1929 until 1964 when he retired and his job was to lead all the seams where panels were joined and unfinished. My oldest brother still has all the tools my grandpa used, paddles, etc.... it's an art.
Rolls Royce's were finally assembled in the Crewe factory but the body shells were made made by Pressed Steel Fisher (PSF) in Cowley Oxford. I went on a tour of the sheet metal Shop in 1982 and saw the area where completed body shells were being 'leaded', it was like it's own little Rolls Royce factory quite separate from where the BL panels were being pressed and only RR staff were allowed in there..................can't say I remember much in the way of fume extraction.
Well, the use of lead to conceal the joining of panels on cars isn't unique to Roll Royce. It is the way it was with every automobile manufacturer up until the 1980's. It is the origin of the hot-rod/custom car description "lead-sled" which was used for cars that had the suspension lowered (sled) and extensive custom bodywork (lead).
Exactly. Been done forever.
I haven't heard that expression in years. Lead was used back in the 40's. If you say lead sled today, nobody knows what you're talking about.
Been used for years in body work, plastic has replaced lead, but for classic cars lead maybe required to maintain authenticity, plus lead has properties in filler that plastic can not mimic
When I stripped my 1968 Camaro, I discovered the lead joints at the top of the quarter panels.
Apparently they've never heard of a lead-sled.☕ good day 😊
Lead wiping was used on a lot of cars,including the Ford Pinto. I worked part time on the Ford assembly line in NJ, and remember seeing an old timer working on the joint between the roof and quarter panel. He used a gas torch, a wire brush, a lead bar, and a big file to clean, heat, fill, and file the joint smooth. It took skill and a good eye. I don’t recall any PPE to protect from toxic exposure.
What year was that? If it was a before the dangers of lead poisoning were widely known, then no corporate would give a damn about ppe. If it was after laws or whatever then that's ground to sue them.
@ 1970
The danger from the lead to that old timer depends on how hot he got it. Probably, not very. Molten lead doesn't give off fumes unless it gets very hot indeed. It melts at 327C / 621F, but doesn't boil until it's 1749C / 3180F. So provided you melt it and not much more, you're not filling the atmosphere with lead gas. That's not to say that precautions are pointless - good PPE such as a breathing filter mask is always a good idea.
As I understand it, the issues with working with lead mostly come from the possibilities of ingesting it in its solid form - dust, smears, particles - or ingesting compounds including it - lead-based pigments in old paint. Not washing one's hands thoroughly after handling it is a bad idea.
I’ve seen lead sulphide/galena on sale as ornamental gem, when i was going to school idiots licked the green paint on the school yard railings, sweet.😂
@@jwalster9412 Elemental lead is no big deal. I use it all the time, in soldering, and in casting weights. Some compounds, such as tetraethyl lead, are a really big deal.
The old customisers from the 50’s used lead for bodywork. That’s why the cars were called ‘lead sleds’.
Gene Winfield has a how-to video somewhere. Most people just call it "leading".
Wow, I never knew this about Rolls-Royce cars. Very good explanation. I know a guy who has a Corniche and talked with him at a classic car show in Maryland in October. I would have asked him about his car if I had known. Thanks for sharing!
In the 1980s the Indian Ambassador was still being made with worn-out press tools. The cars were famously much heavier than earlier versions as massive amounts of lead were used to cover the mismatched joints.
I have been a "car guy" for a while and never heard this. I've left likes for several comments. Very informative video!
Lead used to be the ONLY way to join or even repair car panels.
It's actually called lead-loading. That's probably why you couldn't find many references.
Done correctly it won't crack. That said, 'correct' isn't 1/2in thick. 2-3mm is ideal.
Many of the problems come from not rinsing the flux (based on boric acid) correctly, or from leading over spot welded / lapped joints where the acid gets trapped in vis capillary action. Best way to mitigate against this is to run a tiny weld over the bare edge to seal it to the substrate. Then you can tin up with solder paste, then thoroughly rinse and only then apply the stick of lead.
Very satisfying, but frankly now although I'm happy to offer it (having leaded for nearly 30 years) the issue now is the painters, quite rightly, don't want to risk sanding lead in with the primer, so now I tend to just use it to finesse door-shuts where the strength and stickability of lead is still ideal.
Lead loading was common up to about the ‘70’s when body fillers evolved to be come more flexible
Very common on Jag’s too, usually used to fill a panel join seam as opposed to correct panel alignment
@@46spanner yes and no. On Rolls-Royce it was used as a filler. The best example is as shown in the video of the Walnut T2 where, aft of the C pillar, it is up to 1/2” thick.
Fascinating video Rodd! It'd definitely be interesting to see more videos like this - you definitely do learn something new every day!
Glad you enjoyed it!
ruclips.net/video/svsbOR0XwCY/видео.htmlsi=-wZfp15FzTP2Bf-k
Thanks to the RUclips algorithm, I've learned something today.
That car collection! Beautiful!
My favorite is the blue one at 5:43
@IronShocker77 All of them. 😁
I painted a few shadows and very common to find 1/2 inch of lead on the scuttle panels what makes it worse is the as the body flexes at these high stress points it cracks the lead letting in moisture causing corrosion under the lead which swells the lead too.
Very interesting. Never knew about this process. Thanks for the video!
I met an old body man back in the 1970’s who was an expert at lead wiping. It’s definitely an art.
@@jeffschueler1182 without question! It’s hard to get completely perfect and as much as we’d love to claim Crewe craftsmanship was perfect, it wasn’t.
I had Jensen interceptor and Bristol 407 with exactly the same issue. Good explanation though 👍🏻
This was a standard panel fairing method before Bondo. Buyers of used cars were advised to check for excess filler with a magnet. (Come to think of it, it would work with Bondo as well.)
My friend worked for an auto body place in NYC years ago and they had men highly skilled in using lead. They would get high-end cars from all over the world sent to them.
Interesting! I always wondered what causes those common cracks near the roof uprights on many old cars. I’ve seen footage Ford/Chevy/Chrysler assembly line documentaries, and it looks like all of the major car makers leveraged leaded body panels at one time in the past, just maybe not half inch thick slabs of lead😅
Very nice to hear from you about technical issues, since you have such a deep knowledge of SY, having spent many years caring for them. Who else better than you!!
Nice video and explanation. American cars also used lead for many years in the same manner, typically around the cowl and rear window as shown here. Some factory films for American car companies show the use of lead in body making. It was apparently easy to place and shape on a car in a soft, hot state and then to file it to blend panels after it hardened.
@@franktatom1837 100% correct.
Rare to have such an interesting video as this. Beautiful collection bytheway. Regards from England (West Sussex - Rolls Royces are built here today, in Chichester)
I especially liked the nose of that Rolls-Royce Z28 at 4:35.
Thank you Rodd, always enjoy your videos!!!
Very informative video, Rodd. My Corniche now wears its fine cracks below the windshield and around the convertible top as a badge of authenticity.
@@aquariumdvd and quite seriously, this is exactly how it should be viewed.
Thank you for this information. Many first-time buyers would have passed the Rolls Royce they were interested in thinking it was a stress crack in the body or a imperfections.
I still use lead on certain motorcycle tins restoration, used properly it it great
Great video!! I always thought of buying a RR and now I’ll know what to look for to get an original.
Hello Rodd ! I own a Silver Spirit you once sold ( SZ #4810 ). I always wondered about those cracks and what caused them. I am relieved to know what they are and also know what they are not. I hope I can visit your showroom sometime, your cars are so beautiful , Thank you.
It's always good to learn more about the construction of fine automobiles. I've always been an admirer of Rolls-Royce cars but have had Packards instead, and only one at a time.
IT's not at all unique to "fine automobiles", leading has been a standard process for 60-70 years, even in the lowest-end consumer cars.
Carl Bochek, a high school classmate from Russellton Pa was a car repair genius who could customize cars like a pro! One time, when he was working on my car (a custom paint job on a 1970 Mercury Montego) I helped him go to a junk yard, and we cut-out/removed a 'sun-roof' off an old Volkswagen. He installed this sunroof on a Jaguar XKE, and he used lead to make it a seamless, perfect job. I had never seen that done before! Most folks used Bondo back then....
love it!
Thank you Rodd! This video was quite informative. As you well know, Rolls-Royce is very reserved on disclosing its specs. and technicalities. This was definitely an education to us soon to be Rolls-Royce or Bentley owners. Please by all means share more technical information about these fine motor cars. Thank you!
Fascinating! Never knew. I like these technical videos.
Great video.. why is there no rust on these cars?
This is a very informative and wonderful video. I didn't know what I was getting into when I clicked on some random youtube recommendation that didn't align with anything I had recently watched. Thank you very much for this wonderful video.
You are very welcome. Thank you for stopping by.
I chopped the roof off a mk3 cortina once. Thick lead between the roof and quarters from the factory.
Prior to repainting, could a torch be used to melt the original lead back together?
Interesting video! And btw, that two tone silver over blue Silver Shadow is absolutely stunning.
Excellent "upfront" advisory. I have a classic Rolls on my "bucket list" but the more I learn about the maintenance and care of a Rolls...the more I appreciate my Jaguar Vanden Plas - which to me - is 90% of the enjoyment of a Rolls at 10% of the cost and aggravation.
Not quite true. I also love Jaguars and I would say Maintenance and care is about the same for both of them when you start with good examples of each.
No. Rolls aren't all that expensive if you garage them and take good care of them. Some Jags are wicked expensive after they went metric.
I did know about lead wiping. The headlight surrounds on the HD Holden were lead wiped. But I didn’t know about the stress fracturing of those joints. Thank you.
the main car you were showing, the gray and blue, was awesome.. couldn't tell if that was a wraith or a shadow? i didn't see it on your inventory.
Thanks for that info. I feel alot more at ease with my Bentley T2 now, which also shows these same cracks.
Interesting video. I first became aware of lead-wiping when watching an old video of " Morris Oxfords " being assembled in India showing assembly works applying liberal amounts of lead to the various joints on the body. I certainly never imagined RR using the same trickery on their " august " vehicles!
As a teenager I used to watch the body repairs at a local dealer, and the most intriguing activity was watching them paddle hot lead on body panels, use a special file to cut level, then do it again until satisfied the work was smooth and blended into the body. Still done today on top end repair and fabrication.
Truly beautiful collection .
@byteme9718
It's a beautiful collection regardless .
Yes, please post more of these. I've subscribed and look forward to more videos about these Legendary cars.
Thanks Rod. I had no idea. I always had this view that lead wiping was one of those arcane über craftsmanship skills that we don't use now - due to it being too hard to do. Those fatigue cracks are awful. I suppose lead was better than nothing at the time. What is the most stable and best way to joint panels BTW?
Still beautiful motor cars though, the red one in the video is simply stunning, thank you for sharing!👍👏👏♥️
What a great collection. In fact, I was not aware of this technique and will definitely take a look at that. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and passion.
I like that blue car! Nice! Sub compact?
Rodd your workplace is my idea of heaven, I'd happily live in it lol Really informative video thank you.
very interesting to learn! And YES I would love to learn more. Thank you Mr. Sala!
I've been obsessed with Rolls-Royce and Bentley since I was about 4 yrs. old
Approx 30 years ago I saw a Rolls Royce that was inside a garage during a fire. Part of my job. I was surprised to see the lead joints all over the place- especially where the roof joined the rear trunk area
I learned elementary body-work at night class. Built a few veteran motorcycle petrol tanks using soft soldering. Then restored a Riley body with lead loading. The timber framed body on a steel chassis causes flexing BUT it is more the paint not the lead, moving. I saw a Bentley have over 10kg of lead removed during restoration.
The 1961 Rolls-Royce....Boss of all time!!!
Very informative video! In what year did they completely switch over to the newer method of Manufacturing??
Always wondered why RR looked so good. NO panel joints; I never noticed that before. Thanks.
Old telephone cable splicers were real artists with lead. The splice between two section of lead cable involved a sleeve which was covering the wires and lead was wiped between the cable and the sleeve. When properly done it was water proof and gas tight as the cables were pressurized. Looked perfect, like a single piece of cable with a slight bulge.
I remember helping a friend do some body work on a Mustang in 82. It was a 65, and there was lead on the left side at the joint at the rear quarter panel and roof. Id never seen it before but I learned about that from the experience. 👍👍🇺🇸🇺🇸🙏
WHAT AN AMAZING collection you have at that museum
A priceless piece of information and filming on such a British legacy. I take great interest in all I find on the Crewe Family. Thank you so much Sir for your efforts. Charles DeVere. Ribble Valley.
I went to school for autobody and paint in the 70's at Ferris. We were required to lead all our welded panels. European vehicles tend to be ridged body, with no exposed seems for body flex and will get stress cracks. Lead is still the most permanent repair but almost impossible to do on newer cars because the sheet metal is so thin. But i still do it on older restorations. Beautiful collection of Rolls, by the way
Beautiful collection of classics
That did it for me…..i won’t be buying one now…..couldn’t anyway! Great video
@@tommooe4524 why? It’s actually part of the charm and idiosyncrasies of a classic hand built Rolls-Royce motor car.
@ the note was a compliment not a criticism
I had a 77 RR SS that I loved! Still love them! This ws Such a treat to see so many in the same room that were SO pristine! Have to pick one? THAT would be a tough assignment for sure~!
This is a very interesting and uniquely informative post. Thank you very much.
Wow! I'm blown away by how much lead they used.
Surprised!!! Excellent video
I think there was a Rolls-Royce approved body repairer in Sydney somewhere in Five Dock that was allowed to do lead wiping repairs. Tony Root repaired his car at Eastwood using lead after going to TAFE to learn the process!!!!
Always enjoy your videos technical or not. Thank you Rodd.
Very fascinating! Having owned 6 Cloud IIIs this explains a lot. It's strange that they would try to reduce body weight with aluminum doors, bonnet and boot and yet slather on, probably, hundreds of pounds of lead. BTW do you have any idea where James Young's wood bucks and records wound up?
Not hundreds of pounds. That half an inch section is horrendous but coachworks would normally use only a few sticks around the joins. For instance, we grit blasted a Karmann Ghia, one of the swoopiest, most lozengey shapes imaginable to find butt-welded joints and scarcely any filler as the panels were so well aligned.
@@garethmcrae668 Thanks. I wonder what they did with the Aluminum bodied cars like the Phantom Vs
@@victorseastrom3455 Excellent question. I don't know the process for anything but steel but am quite keen on acquiring the 'new' aluminium bodied Alpine A110 so may yet find out!
@@garethmcrae668 Possibly Birmabright , a British car aluminum that my Rover's boot and bonnet - hood and trunk were made of. P4 Rover's had a reversal with Birmabright doors. I like the Grumman LLV. Make the whole coach body out of aluminum.
4:38 is fascinating and very "Rolls-Royce" - in mass-market manufacturing the lead wiping around the seam between the roof pillar and rear fender stampings would simply not be done on cars equipped with factory vinyl tops, instead the chrome molding would be designed to cover that seam.
Lincoln Leaded the Body Joints as well.
Great video Rodd please do more.
Very good explanation , Many thanks Rodd . More vids please .
Years ago i was working on an old Chrysler i was installing a switch for the truck lid. And was stunned it had lead and more so with how thick.
I love that copper brown color. Many beautiful cars.
Great to see profound knowledge married with true love of these storied motorcars.
Very interesting, Rod. Who would have thought about this. Most would think it was bondo letting loose.
Great video, very informative and nostalgic I had to subscribe.
I visited as a guest of the News of the World car club I think it was around 1980-82 the Rolls Royce factory in Acton (Park Royal?) they made all of the long wheelbase Shadow's and all the Corniches. The bodies came from Pressed Steel Fisher in Coventry and were cut in half and had twelve inches or so added in the gap. We saw all the under joints being filled with lead, but I don't remember other panel joints being wiped. In fact I went there twice with the NOTW courtesy of my best friend's father who worked at the Sun and NOTW and they lived opposite me. They were fascinating visits to a 28 year old or so would be amateur mechanic
Shadow finished in 1980 so your visit would have been at least few years before that. To make the Long Wheel Bases, they were cut to add 4" in rear compartment. I though they were made contemporaneously with the standard saloon but given what you say, makes sense about not seeing lead being added elsewhere on the car because that was already done in the first iteration.
@ thank you. It's surprising how the memory plays tricks, then yes it must have been before even the last visit. I also remember watching a guy making an aluminium wing on a buck I think it's called for one of the earlier limousine's front near side wing. That to was fascinating to watch.
They were made in T building PSF Cowley, now the BMW factory.
Very interesting. Thank You, And what a beautiful collection!
Used to do that on the Hillman Avenger in 73 when I worked there.
General motors was srill using lead where the roof met the rear quarter panel at least until 1977, maybe longer.
Tetraethyl lead, the stuff they banned in automobile gasoline decades ago, is still legally and regularly added to aviation gasoline (avgas) that fuels around a quarter of a million small, piston-driven aircraft in the US. So chances are you're still breathing it, though greatly reduced from the insane mid-twentieth century levels.
Thank you for sharing. My 1977 SS II has no cracks, courtesy of a restoration. Here's hoping for the longer term. From Australia
GM was doing lead wiping on full-sized Chevy Impals as late as 1996.
Rodd, great video! Would like one on wood care and repair.
Thanks for making this interesting and informative video
The complex shapes around the headlights of the Jaguar XJ6 and XJ12 up to and including the Series III were achieved by a process called lead loading. I'm not aware of of similar problems with them.
Lead loading and lead wiping is the same. Simply nomenclature. The lead wiping used in Jaguar is the same process but it was much thinner. That said, you can agent and do see hairline fracturing on jaguars in these areas as well
Body shops a long time ago used lead times like we bog today. Bog is an Australian term for body filler, to repair imperfections etc on a panel before painting, I've no idea what it's called elsewhere in the world!
Looks paradise fantastique
My MK1 ford Cortina had lead wiping on some of its panel joints.
@@andrewallen9993 yes….. many cars from the 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s were built using this technique.
Very interesting. I never knew about this. Great video.😊
Finally someone explains the intracies of lead wiping! Now, about that bonnet strip …
Customer's car. Wasn't authorised to rectify!
@@roddsala4626 I figured as much because otherwise you’d have dealt with it in an instant! I just had to give you a hard time 😉
Interesting video thank you, please make more... 👍🏼
Thank you, Rodd! Very interesting! Please share your substantial knowledge in more technical videos :-)
Not only Rolls used lead. I knew a painter at Ford in Canada who learned to use lead at the factory. The same fellow did body work as a sideline and began using lead in some of his work.
I remember this kind of lead work being used extensively in the 1950s and early 1960s. It was a skilled job with self employed people being called into body shops. The coming of Isopon and the like killed it off because special lead skills were no longer needed.
@@davecooper3238 plus safety concerns.
Thanks, that helps anyone who's in the market for an old Roller. I am really surprised at that!
I never knew that about the lead Rodd, I thought the cracking was due to thick paint expanding and contracting.