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).
Relationship with coachbuilders, including a misunderstanding about a free body replacement and the strategy for sharing improvements.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 71\1\ scan0228 | |
| Date | 26th June 1926 | |
| To K.{Mr Kilner} from LHS.{Lord Herbert Scott} c. to BJ. c. to PN.{Mr Northey} c. to Hs.{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} c. to Ba. c. to Ev.{Ivan Evernden - coachwork} Bodywork Generally. Your R4/M24.6.26. I think there has been a slight misunderstanding on Ev{Ivan Evernden - coachwork}'s part because we have not found any indication that Barkers are desirous of making you a new body free of cost to replace your 7-EX, and personally, I do not think it would be quite fair of us to request them to do so. Our Coachbuilders are always anxious to receive your valuable criticisms from a mechanical construction point of view, and they do their best to take advantage of the same, but I rather doubt whether they would welcome our going too far in this direction, as although their methods may be in certain directions old-fashioned, yet nevertheless, they have built up a very considerable trade, which is on the increase if anything. As you are aware, Barkers spend a very large sum of money per year on purchasing Rolls-Royce chassis for their clientele, but they also build bodies for many other makers of chassis. I think you very rightly put forward in your memorandum the danger of the mechanical improvements and methods suggested by yourself being used for the advantage of other maker's of cars; in fact, there is no doubt they would be, and a great proportion of the work of yourself and your subordinates would, therefore, become profitless from R.R. point of view, and we should merely be public benefactors on philanthropic lines, which is, I venture to think, not quite what the firm has at the back of its mind. My personal views are that the best method of operations would be, if and when suggestions beneficial to coachwork occur to you, that they be conveyed by the means of Ev.{Ivan Evernden - coachwork} to the coachbuilders, who, as I have said before, welcome your valuable help enormously. But I believe that direct means would be upsetting to these old-fashioned businesses and would meet with severe opposition in many directions from many individuals within their factories. It is, I believe, a fact that the leading coachbuilders receive much fewer complaints with regard to coachwork from our leading competitors, whether this is due to less vigilant | ||