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).
Discussion about a new foot-operated headlamp changeover switch and P.100 bi-focal headlights.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 61a\2\ scan0516 | |
| Date | 14th February 1935 | |
| r6116 WST S/W. Hs{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair}/Wst. C. to E.{Mr Elliott - Chief Engineer} C. [REDACTED] Hn{F. C. Honeyman - Retail orders} Cxl/KW14.2.35. Headlamps. Hs{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair}/Wst.1/MA13.2.35. We are very glad indeed to receive your suggestion regarding the changeover switch enabling the driver by means of the foot switch only to operate either the dual dipping scheme or the dip and switch scheme, and we should like this arrangement very much indeed, as it retains the control by the same process, i.e. the foot switch all the time. We should like this introduced at once into the wiring system of chassis, and, although we should like to know the cost, we cannot believe it will be more than a few shillings per chassis, particularly as the scheme is to be applied to all R-R and Bentley cars and therefore the switch which you select can be purchased in large quantities. Can we therefore be informed whether you could bring this in at once, and if so give us the chassis numbers on which it will commence and also what the cost per chassis is likely to be. Is it easy to introduce this scheme on existing cars, i.e. cars at present at Coachbuilders not yet completed and cars already in commission? We feel that we should like in any case to alter our existing Trials Cars in this way if the alteration did not complicate matters. Re P.100 headlights with new front glass, I shall be interested to hear whether you feel that the use of the bi-focal bulbs gives sufficient driving light when in the anti-dazzle position. It has probably got to be very good indeed to persuade users that it is a better scheme than what we are now about to adopt, i.e. either double dippers or dip and switch with a changeover switch, because anybody having bi-focal lamps would not have these two alternatives but would merely have presumably both headlights always in operation, in the one case full on and in the other with the anti-dazzle bi-focal lamp. | ||