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).
Road test report detailing issues with the gearbox, rear axle, and coachwork.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 108\3\ scan0173 | |
| Date | 4th April 1938 | |
| -5- Mx.{John H Maddocks - Chief Proving Officer}1/N.4.4.38 Cont'd.{John DeLooze - Company Secretary} ------------------- Gearbox. With the exception of 3rd. gear coming out on over run, which occurred once during the trip, the gearbox is generally satisfactory. The 3rd. gear has quietened with use and is quite a good standard. The synchro mesh operation is excellent. The box is free from slack and knocks in all gears, and this applies to the transmission generally. Rear Axle. Good standard for silence. Coachwork. The winding mechanism is out of action on both front windows. The rear offside wheel arch and rear body bracket are fractured. There are sundry rattles from the rear part of the body, which show up on bad road surfaces. The offside rear door flew open during the run, fortunately no damage ensued. Whilst this points to the inadequacy of the safety catches it is also an indication of the lack of stiffness of the body structure. With regard to the sideways shake in the rear seats, since returning to W. we have found that with very little effort, the rear end of the body can be moved sideways relative to the frame. The total movement from one side to the other being about half an inch. We are trying out a diagonal stay scheme from the rear tubular crossmember to the body to see if this will effect an improvement. If it does, some provision will have to be made for a proper scheme, similar to P.III. During the run, the nearside windscreen wiper broke off. (Berkshire). Mx.{John H Maddocks - Chief Proving Officer} KR | ||