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).
The incomplete state of a vehicle test, its abrupt end, and an issue with a broken exhaust manifold.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 5a\3\ 03-page159 | |
| Date | 6th December 1931 | |
| X5840 To Hs.{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} From G.W.H. Hotel de France, Chateauroux, FRANCE. 6/12/31 18.G.IV. We have received your memo Hs.{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair}1/MJ.4.12.31. We will hand the car over to Paris on Thursday as requested by you. We shall not have completed 10,000 miles by then as we shall have a full days work in the garage with modifications. With regard to continuing running in France after Christmas the following features will not have been tested and the car will not have been run by the officials, and the results obtained, as if the mileage had been completed here. Slipper wheel, stronger double driving springs. The results of these will not be known. Increased front braking. We have been carrying out a systematic braking besides the necessary braking required in traffic. The result of the increased front braking will not be known in regard to wear of the brake shoes, drums, etc. We wished to alter the timing of the engine to obtain results on acceleration; this cannot be carried out. Less of poundage on the cross steering tube. All our measurements will be useless as we shall not have the same means of measuring in Derby as we have here. One shot lubrication will not be carried out by FH. and the London officials, necessary to maintain the lubrication of the various parts. We are very disappointed that the test has ended so abruptly as a lot of data that we have collected will now be useless. We are sending you a full sized sketch of the exhaust manifold that has broken with an imprint on the top, of the new exhaust manifold that we are fitting. It will be seen that a peculiar contraction takes place. I have reproduced the exact shape that the old manifold has taken up during this contraction, which shows that the two outer port flanges twist inwards from the top, and the two branched pipes take a set upwards on the underside, whilst the top curvature of the pipes remains the same. The pipes, as far as we can ascertain, go oval, that is bulging out, indicated by the star on the sketch. I have included a line showing where the pipe has been cracked. This is the first time that we have been able to obtain a comparable value, as this is the first time we have had a new manifold by us by which we can take comparisons. We believe this will be of interest and value. | ||