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).
Visits to coachbuilders Binder's and Kelners, with observations on their construction methods and a test run of a Peugot.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 125\1\ scan0162 | |
| Date | 29th January 1935 guessed | |
| -2- SCREENS. Mr. Sclater is experimenting on a water-tight opening screen, a rough sketch of which I append. The next Works we visited was Binder's. There is nothing of great interest here, their construction, except it is similar to ours and much heavier. Steel body panels all a mass of rust, doors and arches in aluminium. In this shop they were building a Bentley Saloon with a very ugly back the rise of which was made of sheet steel 8-gauge and lightened out in places. This they informed me was to be covered in aluminium to form the wheel arch. These people had very little to look at otherwise. Silent Travel locks used here. KELNERS. This was the last place to be visited. There was some very good work being done here, but not much of it. The whole place seemed empty. Mr. Kelner personally conducted me over his works. There I saw another Bentley Coupe U clipped to the chassis at the rear, but where the boot joins the main body this was insulated with rubber and bolted through. The body was in steel panel throughout. Although this coachbuilder seems to be putting up a very good sturdy job, plenty of weight and strength, Mr. Sclater always regards them as a rattle-box and is thoroughly dissatisfied with this firm's work and calls it the 'Julius Caeser' type of work, meaning old-fashioned. This firm also uses the Silent Travel locks and incorporates the tongue of rubber between the shuts as used at Van Rouien Works, but only on his Coupe bodies. * On Saturday morning Mr. Sclater wished me to accompany him, together with Mr. Punt, on a test run in a four-seater Peugot, 601 or Standard production. He had this car lent to him to try out. It had an opening screen with a centre control, a sliding sunshine roof which was sealed down on rubber and absolutely free from wind noises. The unfortunate part of it was the car had to be stopped to open it up as both hands were needed to it. It was a two-door Saloon fitted with Silent Travel locks to the centre of the door which were not of the cut-through type, but had a rubber buffer 2½" x 1" let in the rocker to silent the door there. It had no other buffers or stops to the doors, but when the car was standing in | ||