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).
Issues related to Ethyl fuel and spark plugs in Bentley cars.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 150\1\ scan0272 | |
| Date | 14th January 1937 | |
| Rm {William Robotham - Chief Engineer} ~~To Hs. {Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} from Sg. {Arthur F. Sidgreaves - MD} ~~ re Ethyl Fuel for Bentleys. ~~Copy to Rm. {William Robotham - Chief Engineer} ~~ I am sorry to worry you again about this but I had lunch with Dodds the other day whose trouble has never disappeared and who has, I think, kept his car reasonably good by constantly cleaning the plugs. He tells me that he has tried various types, including Champion Ceramic. These, he said, gave up the ghost after a few hundred miles and were absolutely useless! He said an American friend also lent him another set, the name of which he has forgotten but they also proved useless. I am mentioning this particularly about Ceramic plugs because Rm {William Robotham - Chief Engineer} 's latest information was that the Ceramic plug was going to save the situation and that KLG's were going to manufacture them specially. I have told Dodds to run on Discol and/or National Benzole. He has sent his car to K. {Mr Kilner} to have the diaphragm ~~mitxxx~~ of the pump altered for the former. I had lunch yesterday with Minchin who has run his 4¼-litre Bentley 10,000 miles, has never looked at a plug and who uses National Benzole mixture. I forgot to tell you when you were here on Tuesday that C. told me that our own Repair Dept. at Derby are recommending owners to use half Ethyl and half straight petrol! So where are we? Dodds tells me that he is of the opinion that our trouble partly lies in our induction system because he says that every time he has stopped and taken out a plug when the engine is missing, the plugs have always been wet with petrol. I will raise this when at Derby next week. Minchin also tells me that Azur is the stuff to use in France. By the way, Minchin says that the only time he used Ethyl on his Bentley, it did not run as well as on National Benzole. Somebody put it in for him when he lent them the car and he wished they had not. Sg. {Arthur F. Sidgreaves - MD} | ||