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).
Test drive and review of a Packard car, focusing on its shock absorbers, gearbox, and engine performance.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 127\1\ scan0167 | |
| Date | 14th September 1931 | |
| N3 X435. To R.{Sir Henry Royce} from Sg.{Arthur F. Sidgreaves - MD} Copy to Lor. H.{Arthur M. Hanbury - Head Complaints} Hs.{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} re Shock Absorbers. You will, I think, be interested to know that, having heard that there was a Packard car now available for sale with hydraulic shock absorbers controlled from the driver's seat, we managed to get hold of one and PN{Mr Northey} and I the other day had a run on it. We went up to Hampstead and along Bishops' Avenue, which, as you probably know, is one of the worst road surfaces within easy reach of here. There are actually three positions of the hydraulic adjustment, one of which removes all the damping and is, therefore, more or less useless because at no time is one justified in running in this condition. Undoubtedly, however, the ability to obtain so readily the benefit of the other two positions is extremely valuable, one for ordinary working as in town and the other for speed work etc. The results we obtained were certainly very good and I understand that the make of shock absorbers were Lovejoys. The other interesting features of the car were that it had a synchro mesh gearbox. Both PN{Mr Northey} and I drove the car and we found that this enabled one to change speed with great ease at almost any speed. The engine was an 8-cylinder and, whilst it had a mild torque reaction vibration at between 15 and 20, it was not of a character which would call forth any complaint. The engine generally was very quiet and, when the car was stationary and the engine running it was almost impossible to hear it. Sg.{Arthur F. Sidgreaves - MD} | ||