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).
Multiple faults found on a vehicle, including electrical, bodywork, steering, and engine issues.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 11\2\ 02-page045 | |
| Date | 1st January 1929 guessed | |
| -3- EFC car is altogether wrong. The head lamps do not function, the sockets for the bulb lamps are poor. There is insufficient pressure at the centre electrode to keep a proper contact on the bulbs. This causes heat to generate and melts the solder off the contact of the bulb. The dynamo gives us a miserly 4 amps. at an average speed of 35 to 40 M.P.H., and during the first night's running there was not a vestige of a charge left in the accumulator, in fact there was not sufficient to work the windscreen wipers. The green lamp is useless. In fact there is nothing right. The front wings are a disgrace to the body builders. Both wings have broken right across the bottom where they are attached to the running boards, none of the bolts will stay tight where attached to the bonnet strips. The wing stays are altogether too weak and allow the wings to flap about. The steering of the car is not good. There are shocks from the wheel and general fidgeting all the time. The springing of the car is not at all good for the roads over here. The front is bouncing and not controlled, and the rear of the car is not at all nice. Pre-ignition is such that one does not need any electrical ignition after about 5 minutes' driving. Therefore, at Rm{William Robotham - Chief Engineer}'s request, we telegraphed you for some other plugs. The petrol consumption is as poor as any 20-HP car we ever had. Its average consumption is approximately 14.5 M.P.G. The air valve is already badly scored and was uncorrectly set. We are not attempting at the present moment to make all these things right. We will endeavour to do so after the SFS. car has finished its mileage, that is if the 20-HP lasts as long. There is a bad rattle from the dynamo drive. The front brakes are already thumping bad and tuck under. The propellor shaft knocks the floor boards up at the rear. The spring drive rattles on pick up. The clutch grunts and is inclined to be fierce. The controls rattle in the column. The magno to make-&-break is noisy. The controls are all stiff. The side shaft sounds as if it were dry and not oiled. We think this is all for the present. G.W.H. | ||