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).
Letter from Shell-Mex and B.P. Ltd. seeking approval for their new oil recommendations for winter and summer use.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 145\3\ scan0265 | |
| Date | 7th September 1937 | |
| CONTINUATION SHEET No. 1. FROM SHELL-MEX AND B.P. LIMITED. TO Rolls Royce Ltd. DATE 7th Sept. 1937. Our suggestion is that Single Shell should remain your winter grade of our product and that Triple Shell should replace AeroShell for summer; we seek your approval thereof. As it was only in June last that we sent you samples of our new oils (then marked Light, Medium, Heavy and Extra Heavy, which now correspond to Single, Double, Triple and Golden) we fear that it is rather early to expect you to have completed aught but laboratory tests, we venture to hope, however, that you have obtained sufficient information to agree that in the general guide we have to issue indicating our recommended oils for all cars we can state Single as the winter recommendation and Triple for summer - this being of course this Company's recommendation and not necessarily, though we hope it will be, the Rolls Royce and Bentley Co.'s official recommendation. The main point for your consideration appears to be that of replacing AeroShell Oil with Triple Shell in your extant and future instructional literature, and if it is of assistance to you we should like to say that Austin, Hillman, Ford, Riley, S.S., Talbot and other cars, which we had built up on the new oils in the makers' factories, have all stripped down after lengthy road tests (over 10,000 miles each) in highly satisfactory condition with regard to both cleanliness and wear and tear - leading all those makers to approve the new oils without hesitation. Destructive bench tests in both Hillman and Ford Works, running into hundreds of hours, have also shown the oils to be above criticism on current standards of lubrication. Additionally we have now completed over a million miles running on them in our commercial fleet without a single instance of trouble. Although we do not wish to imply that your test standards can be compared with those of many lesser concerns we venture to hope that the evidence we put forward will assure you that our new oils will be entirely suitable for your engines. Yours faithfully, For SHELL-MEX AND B.P. LTD., [Signature] Manager - Technical & Research Department. | ||