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).
Feasibility of having two independent ignition systems on the 20 HP car.
| Identifier | WestWitteringFiles\J\November1922\ Scan105 | |
| Date | 22th November 1922 | |
| R.R. 199 (250T) (SD676 19-7-17) MP180865 To BJ. from Hs.{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} c. to BY.{R.W. Bailey - Chief Engineer} c. to Wor.{Arthur Wormald - General Works Manager} c. to EF. ORIGINAL. Hs{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair}1/LG22.11.22. MAGNETO FOR 20 HP. CAR. Referring to your memo. BJ1/H21.11.22. We do not need any convincing of the advantages of having two independent ignitions on the 20 HP. car or any other car. We are wholeheartedly in agreement. The position at the present time is, however, that the only designs we have available for the 20 HP. car allow for only one ignition to be used at a time; either Magneto or battery - the other may be fitted as a spare but it necessitates certain simple operations before it can be used. The only possible thing we can do at the moment is to make the best we know of out of the existing designs. To have two independent ignitions so that the driver can switch over from one to the other requires, design work, experimental work, time for testing and standardising and time for production. If it were agreed to immediately commence on designs so as to make the car to run with two independent ignitions, it would still be a very considerable time before cars could be produced as such. It must be remembered that when the original design for the 20 HP. was got out, it was considered that we could not afford to have two ignitions. The Sales Dept. were aware of this and were also aware 6 months ago that the magneto could only be considered as a spare, and to connect it up would entail certain amount of work. contd:- | ||