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).
Technical memorandum discussing the pros and cons of removing running boards from modern sports cars based on tests on an experimental Bentley.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 117\1\ scan0293 | |
| Date | 6th January 1939 | |
| 1021 To By.{R.W. Bailey - Chief Engineer} c. to Da.{Bernard Day - Chassis Design} c. to Da{Bernard Day - Chassis Design}/Ev.{Ivan Evernden - coachwork} Rm{William Robotham - Chief Engineer}/PD.1/JH.6.1.39. re The Question of Running Boards. With the latest low built modern sports car running boards are found in most cases to be an obstruction rather than an assistance when entering and leaving the car. Obviously therefore we should like to go away with them. The advantages gained by leaving running boards off could be summed up as follows :- easy access to the body, so lessening the chances of catching ones clothes on dirty running boards, reduced weight and cost, and last but not least, an improved sports car appearance. We have carried out extended tests on an experimental Bentley with one side of the car having a running board fitted, the other side having a special front wing and small body valance, and no running board. The results of our tests show that under normal running conditions of wet weather, i.e. by normal, we mean average main road work, there is nothing to choose between either of these layouts, the car getting equally dirty on both sides. Flying spray is caught up from the outer edges of the front mudguards, and from the tyres also when cornering, and is driven against the sides of the body and front face of the rear wings. However, there is the third class type of road if taken in wet weather, when heavy mud is flung on to the leading face of the rear wings. Stones and chippings also found on this type of road, chip the paint from the wing. Under these conditions a running board protects the wing face and is a definite asset. It is an advantage for these conditions where the car is minus running boards to fit a mud flap at the lower part of the front mudguard, but appearance goes against it. Yet this, | ||