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 B.III car and engine development, covering road tests, parts durability, and experimental costs.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 97\5\ scan0271 | |
| Date | 18th May 1938 | |
| 400. SECRET. ✓Sg.{Arthur F. Sidgreaves - MD} from Rm.{William Robotham - Chief Engineer} ✓Hs.{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} ✓c. By.{R.W. Bailey - Chief Engineer} ✓c. RHC.{R. H. Coverley - Production Engineer} c. Da.{Bernard Day - Chassis Design} ✓c. Mx.{John H Maddocks - Chief Proving Officer} ✓c. HPS.{Horace Percy Smith - Experimental Factory Mgr} B.III PROGRESS. We have already issued reports on this car Rm{William Robotham - Chief Engineer}7/R.18.5.38 and engine Rml/R.9.5.38. The general position is as follows:- With the car we have running about we have been concentrating on ride, road holding, steering, brakes and suspension noises. Considerable progress has been made in determining the rate of springs required, the position for the roll rod, the best type of shock damper and the best compromise for satisfactory steering geometry. In parallel with these road tests, continuous work has been carried out on the bumper to get satisfactory durability of the front suspension pieces, particularly with reference to the rubber bushes used therein. This has proved to be the most troublesome part of the new design, but we are now approaching Packard reliability though rubber bushes manufactured in England do not seem as satisfactory for this work as those produced in America. Endurance running on the test bed has proved the engine parts, and indicated the desirability of a duplex exhaust system which is now being designed. The power obtained is slightly up on the Bentley II, but we are trying an alternative camshaft in the hope of further improvement. Most of our tests have had to be duplicated to get a value for less costly pieces and such work is going on continuously. We have purposely starved ourselves with regard to experimental cars in order to reduce the cost of development work. As an example, the second B.III will not be on the road until the middle of [strikethrough]June[/strikethrough] [handwritten]July.[/handwritten] or [strikethrough]four[/strikethrough] [handwritten]five[/handwritten] months after the first one. This gap would not have been so large had we not refrained from building the second car until the final frame at the right price was available. The development work put in on the frame will be reflected in production costs. | ||