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).
Production costs of Bentley and Wraith gearboxes in comparison to a Rover box.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 148\2\ scan0110 | |
| Date | 19th January 1939 | |
| 1260? COST Hs. {Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} from Rm. {William Robotham - Chief Engineer} Rm {William Robotham - Chief Engineer} 10/R.19.1.39. Herewith a letter from Wilks, the contents of which is self-explanatory. As far as we can remember, the Works cost of the Rover Box, with synchromesh, would be about £15. The latest figures for the cost of our own gear-boxes are as follows:- Bentley 50. Bentley 'M'Series. Wraith 'B' Series (1-100) £ s d. {John DeLooze - Company Secretary} £ s d. {John DeLooze - Company Secretary} £ s d. {John DeLooze - Company Secretary} Material .... 11 4 11 14 16 9 14 19 11 Labour ...... 11 19 2 20 10 3 18 6 11 Burden ...... 26 18 1 46 3 - 41 5 7 TOTAL = 50 2 2 81 10 - 74 12 5 N.B. On all boxes the following applies:- 5% on Material 5% " Labour 225% Burden Therefore, it seems highly improbable that we can interest Rovers in a gearbox made at Derby. On the other hand, we should still be very interested to know how much the B.50 box would cost if they made it. Rm. {William Robotham - Chief Engineer} | ||