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).
Status report on the general car work, focusing on the Phantom III experimental vehicles and testing.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 91\1\ scan0193 | |
| Date | 5th January 1936 | |
| To Wer. from Hs{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair}/Rm.{William Robotham - Chief Engineer} c. to E.{Mr Elliott - Chief Engineer} c. to By.{R.W. Bailey - Chief Engineer} c. to Da.{Bernard Day - Chassis Design} c. to RHC.{R. H. Coverley - Production Engineer} c. to Mx.{John H Maddocks - Chief Proving Officer} X30D General Position of Car Work. The general position of car work at present is as follows :- PHANTOM III. One of our biggest difficulties on the Ph.III is that we are short of experimental cars. We have found that working on the trials cars is not satisfactory from the experimental point of view because we can never make major modifications to these chassis since they are likely to be required for demonstration at any time. Furthermore, none of them are up to the standard of the last 15,000 miles car. We shall get our next experimental car, which is the re-build of the chassis which completed its 15,000 miles test in the first week of September, in a few days' time. At the present moment we have no promise for another experimental car. We think that a big effort should be made to get at least one more experimental car running with the minimum of delay, and that two of the Trials cars should be permanently handed over to London and one retained by the Experimental Dept. This will leave us with two cars to work on and one to run 15,000 miles, which we think isthe minimum for clearing up the outstanding 15 points. Since R/Lid.{A. J. Lidsey}1/AF.1.1.36 was written, we have had the new induction system and Stromberg carburetter on the test bed. The results so far show that we are 6 to 7 H.P. down at the top, and the low speed distribution is not so good as on the mock-up scheme. The mock-up scheme is not possible because the plugs could not be got in. | ||