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).
Sales letter from Lite Limited proposing the inclusion of an 'Oil Tester' device as standard equipment on cars.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 165\3\ img117 | |
| Date | 21th July 1935 guessed | |
| The mileage recommended in the instruction book by the car manufacturer, may be quite safe for one car owner to adhere to; in fact he may be underrunning his oil and wasting money. But his neighbor with the same make and model of car, can definitely be overrunning the oil in crank-case of his motor, until this oil has become so loaded with gritty particles of road dust and dirt(always present in the air sucked through the carburetor and crank-case breather)also carbon and fine metal particles, as to cause harm to the finely finished bearings, and other parts of his motor. The more expensive and refined the motor, the more reason that every care be taken to insure the motor operating with clean oil in the crank-case---and not pumping through the bearings, contaminated oil, loaded with road dirt, gritty carbon, and fine metal particles. Until now, there was no quick easy way to tell whether oil was clean or dirty. Of course a motorist could draw off a sample of the oil in his motor, and send it along to a laboratory, and receive a very technical and bewildering report, after a space of time. The motorist has had to rely entirely on his own or somebody's guess. And one guess was as good as another, when all were guessing. To fill this need, we developed the Oil Tester some three and a half years ago. At that time it was made for, and used only as a part of service station equipment; to give the motorist service when buying petrol or oil. The Imperial Oil Company, in Canada, have had 500 of these instruments in use, as a service to their customers, for going on to three years now. This past year, we developed a model for permanent installation in cars; and as we were under agreement in Canada, not to market any new models, for a certain period, we have taken this opportunity to approach you, with a view of introducing the car type Oil Tester over here, as part of the standard equipment on your cars. The merits of our Oil Tester are very readily seen. It has elimated guess work entirely, as far as draining crank-case oil is concerned. The motorist can now, on a car equipped with our instrument definitely know, when the oil in the crank-case of his motor has become contaminated with gritty particles, and is in need of draining, and not have to rely on any finger and thumb test, or guess, or after so many miles, or days. He makes his own test, in less than a minute, whenever he desires, either running alon the road at any speed, or with the car stationary. We submit this Tester for your very serious consideration, assuring you that it is something for which there is a dire need, in this day when lubrication is becoming more and more vitally important. Yours truly, D.M.Reid. D.M.Reid, Lite Limited, Hamilton, Canada. | ||