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 to Raymond Mays of E.R.A. Ltd regarding his new car's performance, a droning noise, and wheel specifications.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 90\4\ scan0149 | |
| Date | 25th February 1938 | |
| 261 ss{S. Smith} February 25th.1938 Rm{William Robotham - Chief Engineer}/Gry.{Shadwell Grylls}2/AP. Raymond Mays, Esq., E.R.A. Ltd., BOURNE, LINCS. Dear Mays, Many thanks for your letter. The only reason I can think of which would cause the performance of your new car to be less than that of your old one, is that the body builders may have added weight to the body. We managed to persuade Sidgreaves to let your new car have a higher compression ratio than standard, and we fitted such a cylinder head before the car left the Works. You have got the same braking system as on your last car, and we also arranged for you to have the new large tyres, which you will find give much better directional stability. The droning noise between 60 and 70 m.p.h. is probably something silly, such as the floorboard touching the gearbox. If you bring the car over to the Works, we ought to be able to put that right. While you were away in South Africa I persuaded your Secretary to agree to silver cellulosed wheels instead of chromium plated. Chromium plate on your last car and on other customers' cars have given us a lot of trouble, due to failure of the spokes through rusting. I hope therefore, that you will accept the appearance of the wheels on your new car. Yours sincerely, | ||