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Ladbrook Engineering's Expertise Helps Keep Historic Car on The Road

Ladbrook develops and manufactures press tools for components for 1899 Panhard veteran car.

When a team of veteran car enthusiasts found themselves with a major engineering challenge, they went in search of local expertise that would match that of the Victorian engineers that designed and built the car in need of repair

The car in question is an early Panhard 8hp, built in 1899. What makes this car so special is that it is believed to have been commissioned and built for Charles Rolls, who later went on to establish Rolls Royce. In its day, the Panhard was at the leading edge of automotive design, one of the first cars to have its engine at the front. The car is now an important feature at the Gressenhall Museum of Norfolk Life and is maintained by a team of enthusiasts under the leadership of museum volunteer Mike Vincent.

Panhard 8hp - with new radiator to authentic 1899 Specifications

Over the past two years, the Panhard Team have been working to replace the complex radiator system that is required to cool the 2.5 litre engine. Determined to replicate the original design, the team had to create new engineering drawings and then find the necessary expertise to manufacture the parts. Ladbrook’s role was to develop and manufacture the press tools for the 'gills', circular cooling elements that cover the entire length of the winding radiator pipe work.

"We are very proud of our contribution," said Gerry Turner, Senior Development Engineer at Ladbrook Engineering. "The Victorians were great engineers and this particular part has a very complex geometry. In many ways this was a very challenging design that absorbed us in many man-hours of engineering time. We are very pleased that the press tools work so well and are now available for future generations, should they need to rebuild the radiator in another 100 years or so."

The Gill Press Tools

In addition to Ladbrook's contribution, the Panhard Team recruited support from Beehive Coils of Newmarket for the manufacturing of the main cooling pipework and specialist support and materials from global adhesive experts Loctite. Loctite played an important role in resolving concerns regarding the joining of the pipe components. The final radiator assembly had to be baked, in order to harden the bonding of the final parts, this facility was provided by Carbonelite at Watton

"This project has been an excellent example of local industry assisting the community," said Philip Waltham, Project Engineer at Team Leader. "Without Ladbrook’s help, and help from the other companies and from the local community, this project would have been prohibitively expensive. We are very grateful for the time, energy and specialist materials that these companies have provided. The new radiator looks wonderful and is performing extremely well. We are very pleased with the final result."

Visitors to the Gressenhall Museum of Norfolk Life can see the vintage Panhard and meet with the Panhard Team. The garage that houses the car has a wealth of historic fact about the car and early automotive technology. For example, this car did not have spark plugs until the turn of the century; instead it had a series of 'hot tubes', a fairly crude approach that will fascinate even the non-mechanic.

For more information regarding Ladbrook's press metal and metal spinning services, contact Paul Goodman on 01692 402156

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