Design policy for the 'Peregrine' project, comparing scaled-down vs. shared components from the J.3 model.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 5a\1\ 01-page217 | |
| Date | 15th September 1931 | |
| 85770 To Wor. {Arthur Wormald - General Works Manager} From Hs. {Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} Hs. {Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} 9/WJ.15.9.31. PEREGRINE(Experimental Bentley car never produced / Aero Engine). We consider that it would be a mistake to make an exact copy of J.3 scaled down .8 dimensions. If we do this we shall be producing a large number of parts which are doing the same work, but are different in size, and which will demand a big increase in cost of jigs and tools etc. We think the right policy would be to take J.3 designs and wherever possible use the same identical pieces on the smaller car. One could pick out a number of points right away in which it would be a mistake to scale down, such as generator, pedals, controls, petrol tank fittings, shock absorbers. There are a large number of other parts which, in my opinion, could be the same on both cars and where it might be actually cheaper to produce the larger unit in quantities rather than have the two sizes. We think the gearbox might be the same, water pump, oil pump, universal joints, battery box, brake differentials, etc., etc. We think on the smaller car also we ought to seriously consider whether it is essential to have a servo or whether we could afford to have a servo. There are a large number of quite successful four wheel brake cars which have no servo. Another point is the question of road wheels. When we get down to the smaller size it is quite satisfactory to hold the wheel on with the usual nuts. In our opinion, this scaling down must be done with due consideration of what we are going to achieve. It has taken us years to get scaled down petrol tank, petrol fillers, and scaled down shock absorbers, replaced with one of a standard size. Hs. {Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} | ||
From the Rolls-Royce experimental archive: a quarter of a million communications from Rolls-Royce, 1906 to 1960's. Documents from the Sir Henry Royce Memorial Foundation (SHRMF).