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).
Manufacturing fault with the B.III radiator's dummy shutter set, detailing incorrect vane positioning causing inadequate cooling.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 99\4\ scan0048 | |
| Date | 9th February 1938 | |
| 200b To HPS.{Horace Percy Smith - Experimental Factory Mgr} from Rm{William Robotham - Chief Engineer}/Std. c. By.{R.W. Bailey - Chief Engineer} Rm{William Robotham - Chief Engineer}/Std.3/AP.9.2.38 440. B.III. - FIRST RADIATOR. We have examined the dummy shutter set which is being built for the first B.III. radiator and observe that now that the vanes are located by sweating to the central stiffener, they are incorrectly positioned i.e. the gaps between them for the passage of cooling air are too small - in effect the shutters are set too far closed. The result of this will be that (a) the air flow through the matrix will be restricted and hence the cooling will be inadequate. (b) An entirely wrong idea of the final frontal appearance will be obtained. We have checked up on the stiffener which locates the vanes and find that it is as near correct as can be expected with a hand made piece. It appears, therefore, that the main cause of this defect is inaccurate locating of the vanes on the stiffener during sweating - examination of the job confirms this. We have explained this to RHC{R. H. Coverley - Production Engineer}/Mr.Bowers, but he declines to rectify this fault without special instructions - we think that it is obviously useless to build a shutter set which is known to be wrong. Will you please therefore have this fault corrected before fitting the radiator to the car. We think that these shutters should be built up by locating them on and tacking them to three stiffeners, one near the top, one at the centre and one near the bottom. In the case of the first set, whose tabs are already drilled, the support plates could then be marked off the holes in the tabs and drilled. In the case of future sets whose tabs will be undrilled, the support plates can be drilled to drawings and the taps drilled directly off them. Rm{William Robotham - Chief Engineer}/Std. | ||