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 discussing the production and clutch testing of the big bore Bentley, and issues with a Spectre model.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 83\4\ scan0026 | |
| Date | 1st November 1935 | |
| G.W. Hancock Esq., Hotel de France, Chateauroux, Indre, France. X7649 Hs{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair}/Rm.{William Robotham - Chief Engineer}18/KW.1.11.35. We are now going into production with the big bore Bentley. Sales fell off badly at the Show, and they have decided that we must have this car to keep things going. The only thing I have any apprehension about is the clutch, because we have not really tested it very thoroughly. I think there is no question whatever that it will be considerably better than the original Bentley clutch, but some snag might arise when using it in traffic with which we have had no experience. We should like you to run up to Paris and spend a day in the traffic, and let us have your opinion on the clutch. You might leave the car up there for another day and do intensive traffic work and take careful measurements of the clutch wear. We should really be O.K. as we are using a larger size clutch than the Buick, with which I believe you were very satisfied. I am sorry you have had so much trouble on the SpectreCodename for Phantom III. We attribute the bearing failure almost entirely to the oil temperature rising, which we presume was due to the cooler bursting, since we carried out endurance bench tests and the big ends appeared to be O.K. Hs{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair}/Rm.{William Robotham - Chief Engineer} | ||