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 John Summers & Sons to W.A. Robotham discussing overdrives, high maintenance costs, and vehicle value compared to Jaguar.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 89\1\ scan0252 | |
| Date | 22th March 1939 | |
| 261a TELEGRAMS: SUMMERS,CHESTER. TELEPHONE: 200 CONNAH'S QUAY (10 LINES). CODES USED: BENTLEY'S; BENTLEY'S 2ND PHRASE, A.B.C. 6TH (5 LETTER) EDITION, MARCONI INTERNATIONAL. WESTERN UNION, BIRCHWOOD'S, LIEBER. JOHN SUMMERS & SONS, LIMITED. MANUFACTURERS OF GALVANIZED CORRUGATED AND PLAIN STEEL SHEETS, BLACK SHEETS AND HIGH GRADE SHEETS FOR ALL PURPOSES. LONDON OFFICE: 34, LIME STREET, E.C. GLOBE IRON WORKS, STALYBRIDGE. BIRMINGHAM OFFICE: EXCHANGE BUILDINGS. ALL QUOTATIONS UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED ARE SUBJECT TO REPLY BY RETURN OF POST. Hawarden Bridge Steel Works, Shotton, Chester. YOUR REF. Rm{William Robotham - Chief Engineer}4/R.{Sir Henry Royce} OUR REF. RFS/BM 22nd March, 1939. W.A. Robotham Esq., Rolls Royce Ltd., D E R B Y . Dear Bill, Thank you for your letter of the 21st. I did not say that I was not enthusiastic about overdrives, but I am not enthusiastic about them if they are provided at the expense of another extremely useful gear. I can quite appreciate what you say about servicing the engine. I have written one or two letters to Bentley Motors complaining about high costs of maintenance of a car which costs too much in the first place by comparison with others, and I have no doubt that these letters are now covered with dust on some old shelf!! However, I am quite serious when I say that I do not think the car lasts as it should when compared with a thing like the Jaguar, which, as you know, can be bought for | ||