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).
Quality and appearance of English versus French coachwork and the Weymann body.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 71\1\ scan0298 | |
| Date | 27th April 1927 | |
| To B.J. (Copy to H.S.) From LHS.{Lord Herbert Scott} LHS{Lord Herbert Scott}9/C27.4.27. Re COACHWORK. Hs{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair}4/LG12.4.27 ---- The CSC. quite agree, in the main, with the general remarks in Hs{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair}' memo. namely it is essential that we should all strive to obtain coachwork which is worthy of the chassis, and this we are continually endeavouring to do. It is not so simple as it would appear, however, to meet our particular method of business. It must be borne in mind that every body is separately made in order to suit the requirements of individual customers; and that the coachwork is made by different grades of Coachbuilders in England (and Abroad) and some of it must necessarily be inferior in quality. There is no question that experience has shown us that the best coachwork we are so far able to obtain is that made by Barker and Hooper, and a few other first-class coachbuilders. Our experience does not show us that French coachwork is as good as English coachwork, and certainly French coachwork is not saleable in England. We agree with the merits of the Weymann body from the point of view of silence, weight, etc., but our difficulty so far as the 40/50 h.p. is concerned is that the appearance of the fabric covering is not good enough for our particular clientele. On the 20 h.p. quite a number of English-built Weymanns are being fitted, and we have two samples in hand for sale. The English-built Weymann is, of course, a better looking job than the French-built Weymann from the point of view of appearance. The CSC. are inclined to agree with Hs{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair}' remark that there is not the same effort made by Coachbuilders to overcome various difficulties as by ourselves, but it must be remembered that the problem is an entirely different one, and there certainly are Coachbuilders who are endeavouring to improve their productions the whole time, and who would welcome any suggestions from the Works which might help them in obtaining more satisfactory results as regards the mechanic' strength of the body and fittings, and also the accessories used by them. Hs{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair}' criticisms would be most helpful in this respect. We should like to see 10-G3 when it returns to London in two or three weeks time. Our great difficulty, when a | ||