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).
Letter detailing dissatisfaction and faults with a car after modifications, including wheel wobble and steering issues.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 89\2\ scan0061 | |
| Date | 2nd January 1935 | |
| LONDON OFFICE:- BUSH HOUSE, ALDWYCH, W. C. 2. TELEPHONE: TEMPLE BAR 7193. TELEGRAMS: "BRISTAIRCO, BUSH LONDON" TELEGRAMS:- INLAND: AVIATION, PHONE, FILTON. FOREIGN: AVIATION, FILTON. CODES:- WESTERN UNION. BENTLEY'S & A.B.C. "Bristol" Aeroplanes and Aero Engines. TELEPHONES: OFFICES AND WORKS, 45051 | PRIVATE BRANCH EXCHANGE THE BRISTOL AEROPLANE COMPANY LTD SIR G.{Mr Griffiths - Chief Accountant / Mr Gnapp} STANLEY WHITE, BT{Capt. J. S. Burt - Engineer} (MANAGING DIRECTOR.) FILTON HOUSE, BRISTOL, ENG. Your Ref. Our Ref ENGINES F/HCM-1. 2nd January 1935. W.A.Robotham Esq., Messrs Rolls-Royce Ltd, Derby. Dear Robotham, I had an opportunity of giving the car a good long run over the week end, and I did a total of 407 miles, averaging about 44 m.p.h., over give and take roads, with a good deal of wind and rain. I am very sorry to have to report to you that I am far from satisfied with the car, and my comments are as follows:- 1. WHEEL WOBBLE. As far as I can judge from a total of about 500 miles, the wheel wobble at slow speed is cured, but in doing so, the whole character of the car has been changed. The steering at high speed is not nearly so satisfactory, and once or twice on Salisbury Plain at over 90 miles an hour, I was quite alarmed at the difficulty in holding the car, which was never present with the original layout, providing the road was smooth. As originally delivered, the steering at high speed was delightful on a smooth road. 2. EFFECTS OF CHANGE IN STEERING. The changes you have made in the steering have had serious effects in other directions. The whole springing and road holding capacity of the car has been changed. As already reported to you, on the first short run I had, when doing about 50 miles an hour, the rear shock absorber bolts sheared, and one shock absorber came adrift. On my second run I found that the car was really unpleasant over a bumpy road. On one particular piece of road which I know very well between Warminster and Salisbury, is a slight bend with a bump in it, and I have been accustomed to take this with the car at 55 miles an hour in perfect comfort. On the last occasion I hit my head on the roof with a resounding smack, and had some difficulty in controlling the car. What is far more serious, however, is, the car "buckets" badly now, and the back seats are not as comfortable, and both the wind screen pillars joining up to the scuttle are cracked right through. This means there is some very bad racking going on in the frame, and obviously this must be dealt with. The cracking occurred in each instance since the return of the car; the off-side after about 200 miles, and the near-side after 400 miles. -1- | ||