Originally Posted by
johntins
"Monocoque". Are we all on the same page here?
Monocoque literally mean 'single shell'. To my knowledge there has never neen a true monocoque car. The term is better equated to boats. The cars referred to this way are really 'semi monocoque', as the "shell is reinforced with ribs and braces, often with some form of pseudo chassis, or rails, for added rigidity. There have been plenty of utes built this way. All Falcons up until the XF for example. The aforementioned VWs. Holdens, up until ,I think, the VS. My Datto 1200 also comes to mind. I have yet to see a "tray variant" of a monocoque ute. There were some VP to VR trays, but they were converted in Castlemaine and had a rear chassis added, quite similar to how ford built the AU and onwards Falcons.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but my understanding is that the Defender 130 was a 'body on frame' design, with a ladder chassis, and thus in no way can it be described as semi monocoque, let alone monocoque. (This is why Daniel at Mulgo can convert them.) Maybe the full length wagon body added some strength, or, more likely, it was much harder to overload the wagons. Whatever, chassis cracks in 130s had nothing to do with monocoque.