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).
Copy of a customer feedback letter from Geoffrey Summers regarding his Bentley, praising its performance but highlighting design issues with the oil drain and front wings.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 89\1\ scan0074 | |
| Date | 29th June 1934 | |
| Bly{B. W. Bleaney - Bentley Sales}19/RW.29.6.34 Copy of letter to Bly{B. W. Bleaney - Bentley Sales} from Geoffrey Summers, Esq., Dear Mr. Bleaney, Having now had two months experience of my Bentley car, I thought you would be glad to know how thoroughly pleased I am with it. I am definitely surprised at its tremendous liveliness, and its high speed capabilities without fuss. As you know, I have owned two 40/50 Rolls-Royce cars since the war, and also two super-charged Alfa-Romeos, but I can truthfully say that my Bentley excels the Alfa-Romeos for speed and acceleration and my big Rolls-Royce for smoothness and complete absence of noise and fuss. I have always been used to driving fast cars and with every one I have owned previously I have always felt I would have liked a little more power and speed; in the case of the Bentley I no longer feel like this, and I consider it has all the power that is reasonably possible to use in this country. While the car, is in my opinion, almost perfect, there are one or two small details which I would like to bring before you:- 1. I am anxious to have the new type of oil drain to the engine sump, which I understand is now being fitted at Derby. This does not project below the sump as the present one does, and is therefore less vulnerable on rough and narrow tracks. I hope to go up to Scotland in a few weeks time, into the far north, where roads are very primitive and very rough; I once knocked the oil drain off the bottom of the Alfa base chamber, lost all the oil, and was unable to proceed. I don't want to have a similar experience with the Bentley, travelling over a road which has, for instance, bad dart ruts and a raised centre; a large stone could easily knock off the oil drain plug, whereas if this were flush with the base chamber, the same stone could slide along the bottom of the base chamber without doing any serious damage. 2. The front wings are inclined to flap about; this is not due to inadequate support of the wings themselves, but would appear to be due to the flexing of the main chassis member. The Headlamp brackets and wings seem to move together; I have tightened up every possible nut which might have any bearing on this trouble, but | ||