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).
Progress report on the Bensport chassis, detailing challenges with the engine, supercharger, and fan drive design.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 3\4\ 04-page087 | |
| Date | 13th August 1932 | |
| HS.{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} BY.{R.W. Bailey - Chief Engineer}} FROM R.{Sir Henry Royce} C. to SG.{Arthur F. Sidgreaves - MD} WOR.{Arthur Wormald - General Works Manager} DA.{Bernard Day - Chassis Design} HDY.{William Hardy} Bensport Progress. I am afraid we are making very slow progress with the Bensport chassis, partly due to the fact that at WN. we have not a drawing of the engine and supercharger. We understand however that a long supercharger is now considered by Derby and the Powerplus people themselves, more likely to bear the high speed of 5000 r.p.m. In EV{Ivan Evernden - coachwork}'s layout of the complete chassis we have increased the wheelbase to 10 ft. 6 ins. and brought the front end of the supercharger just behind the front axle. The cross steering tube which is slightly lower passes under the supercharger. Whatever view one takes of it there seems to be great difficulty in providing a suitable fan drive. One suggestion has been made of introducing another wheel over the ignition drive, but this would require a special crankchamber, which we ought to avoid. Another idea is to use the front end of the dynamo drive, passing through the pump, to get to the fan. I do not know how far this would be practical in design. One is very tempted to say that with so small an engine and so fast a car a fan will not be needed. We believe this is the practice with Lagonda, Alfa Romeo, and perhaps Bugatti, and it would enable us to get along and make a cleaner and less expensive job of this part of the car. Regarding the hand brake lever we have spent considerable time on this, and believe now that we have a simpler arrangement than heretofore, because we have arranged another system of enclosing the space that the hot gases would pass through. R.{Sir Henry Royce} | ||