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).
Special visit to test the method of carrying a car body on a separate underframe.
| Identifier | WestWitteringFiles\T\November1928\ Scan020 | |
| Date | 30th October 1924 | |
| COPY. REPORT ON SPECIAL VISIT TO DERBY BY THE COACHWORK SUB-COMMITTEE ON OCT. 30TH. TO TEST THE METHOD OF CARRYING THE BODY OF A CAR ON A SEPARATE UNDERFRAME. PRESENT : SG.{Arthur F. Sidgreaves - MD} EV.{Ivan Evernden - coachwork} HO. C. Hs.{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} in the first place took us out in the 20 HP. landaulet, the body of which is mounted on a supplementary frame but on which he had first of all bolted the supplementary frame so that the car would be to all intents and purposes as standard. The car was driven over a test route and demonstrated under all kinds of conditions, such as running on stone sets, running on ordinary macadam, running with full engine power against the brake, running up to 40 m.p.h. on 2nd. gear, coasting, and running the car standing still. The Committee formed the opinion that the car was a most un-pleasant one to ride in and not a car they would like to see delivered to a customer. The car was then taken back to the Works and altered so that it was suspended by the special under-frame. The Committee then again went out in it over the same route and the car was demonstrated in exactly the same way, when it was immediately obvious that a very considerable improvement had been effected and the car was most satisfactory in every respect, and suitable for delivery to a customer. The Committee are, therefore, tremendously impressed with the possibilities of the under-frame and advocate the continuation of the experiments with a view to fitting this as standard at the earliest possible moment, both on the 40/50 and the 20 HP. The improvement was most marked in running over stone sets, which conditions are of course always one of our great diffi-culties from the point of view of booming and the transmission of chassis noises. It should be pointed out at this juncture that the under-frame apart from having the advantage referred to above, also has another advantage, namely, it will enable the subframe to be delivered to the coachbuilders in advance of the receipt of the chassis, when they can get on with the construction of the body and turn out the complete car in very much less time than at present. This the Daimler Co. do. contd :- | ||