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).
Page of letters to the editor from a motoring magazine discussing various automotive topics.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 160\4\ scan0080 | |
| Date | 4th April 1939 | |
| File for P/M 1349. April 4, 1939. 369 The Motor Contd. Air Conditioning and Heating I WAS very interested in your article on air conditioning in motorcars (The Motor, March 28). I have had an A.C. heater fitted to one of the new series Vauxhall 14 saloons, and it really makes an extraordinary difference to winter motoring. I should be very reluctant now to own a car without a heater fitted. In the case of the Vauxhall and its ventilation system, the combination is extremely effective in keeping the air changed and at a comfortable temperature. Hove, 3. M. {Mr Moon / Mr Moore} P. STONEHAM. Evidence of One Officer Accepted IN The Motor, March 14, it was recorded that the Louth magistrates had unanimously dismissed a speeding charge against a motorist on the grounds that the only witness— a constable in a patrol car—could not (a) watch other traffic; (b) keep an equal distance from the car he was trailing; and (c) watch the speedometer, all at the same time. It may interest your readers to know that I was stopped in Brecon recently by a single officer in a patrol car for alleged exceeding the speed limit. I had a passenger in my car and although unable to appear at the court to answer the charge, we both wrote to the effect that we had not exceeded the speed limit, pointing out also that we were certain of our speed, the car being fitted with an engine revolution counter as well as a speedometer. In my letter I set forward the difficulties of a single officer following a car as set out above. I was fined £1, but no endorsement. One can only conclude that the magistrates just do not bother to consider any evidence in favour of the accused although it was the word of myself and my passenger against a single officer. Stoke Gifford. G. {Mr Griffiths - Chief Accountant / Mr Gnapp} B. BOWEN. Streamlining that has been Beneficial YOUR correspondent “Vintagent” (The Motor, March 21) considers it derogatory to streamline a car. May I suggest that if the 4¼-litre Bentley, which he quotes as having done so well in last year’s M.C.C. trial, had been streamlined, it possibly would not have been necessary for it to have had a two-seater open body. I think that The Motor's attitude towards streamlining has been refreshingly broadminded and progressive. In the past, under the guise of the word “streamline,” cars have been produced having curious shapes, which have detracted from their utility without appreciably improving efficiency. The 4¼-litre Bentley seems to be one of the first examples that has been offered to the public of an automobile on which the full results have been achieved by scientific reduction of wind resistance. Thus we have a car with a moderate tax, and phenomenally low petrol and oil consumption, which will do over 110 m.p.h. in still air and 120 m.p.h. on the road. The alternative seems to be a car which develops a very large horse-power, which is therefore not economical to run, or a car of moderate horse-power which has little seating accommodation or weather protection, and is, therefore, of little interest to the public. London, W.1. E. {Mr Elliott - Chief Engineer} R. {Sir Henry Royce} HALL. [See “ Topical Technics ” this week.—ED. {J. L. Edwards} ] Television and Ignition Interference It Can Be Eliminated FOR many years I have been one of those enthusiastic pioneers of short-wave transmission, and I can assure you that the radiation of electrical interference from cars is a problem yet to be satisfactorily solved, and the result may be a compromise. Car radio sets are mainly concerned with broadcast reception and it has proved possible almost completely to eliminate the effect of shock excitation from ignition equipment; it must be remembered, however, that this shock excitation is actually “peaking” much more powerfully in the neighbourhood of 15 metres and that this wavelength varies with different ignition wiring systems. With regard to interference to television, it is possible to eliminate the troubles arising from motorcar ignition, but only below certain intensities. The interference from any given make of car rises many hundred per cent. when the throttle is opened to take an incline (due to higher gas density and higher voltage accumulation before spark - jumps plug points). As you rightly remark, this problem of interference is being investigated in research laboratories, and, as a serious motorist and one who detests suppressors of the resistance type, I am still of the opinion that it is too early to prognosticate the nature of a fair solution. London, E.C.2. J. {Mr Johnson W.M.} W. COVENEY. No Trouble with Suppressors I HAVE driven cars fitted with interference suppressors some 66,000 miles since having radio installed early in 1936. I have not experienced any loss of efficiency in the ignition system or sooting-up of plugs, although most of my driving is in town. In addition to the plugs, I have suppressed the coil, dynamo, windscreen wiper, self-starter and all ignition leads. This was done first on an Austin Seven and now on a Standard Nine. My present radio set is a low-priced American one which has been in trouble-free use for a year. Radio is one of the greatest aids to safer, happier motoring, on both long and short journeys, and I believe that, before long, it will be fitted as standard on all but the cheapest cars. Sunbury-on-Thames. SYD. PETTIT. Conversion from Tourer to Coupé FOR some eighteen months I have been endeavouring to find a means for converting my four-seater open car into a drop-head coupé. As an open car it was most satisfactory but when the hood was used it was unpleasantly cold and very draughty. After numerous enquiries the only plan that seemed feasible was to have a new body, or to exchange the car for a closed one, both very expensive propositions. My troubles were solved, however, when I saw an advertisement in The Motor by the Bontop accessories makers. I rang them up and five minutes later I had a very satisfactory quotation. Three days later I had my car back looking very smart with a two-four-seater coupé—an excellent and comfortable job of work done by Bontop. London, W.2. CHARLES G. {Mr Griffiths - Chief Accountant / Mr Gnapp} GRAY. [Bontop accessories and conversions are products of Messrs. Grafton Accessories, 100, Richmond Road Raynes Park, London, S.W.20.—ED. {J. L. Edwards} ] C19 | ||