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).
Secret memo discussing the advantages of using sheet metal pressings for floorboards on the Bentley chassis.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 136\5\ scan0093 | |
| Date | 30th July 1934 | |
| V819 SECRET. To:- Eg. From E.{Mr Elliott - Chief Engineer} c.c. Wor.{Arthur Wormald - General Works Manager} C. Hs.{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} HY.{Tom Haldenby - Plant Engineer} Sft.{Mr Swift} OX. Bn.{W.O. Bentley / Mr Barrington} De. KV. re Floorboards in Sheet Metal - re Sg.{Arthur F. Sidgreaves - MD}8/D26.7.34. Front floorboards in sheet metal are of more advantage on the Bentley than on our other chassis because on this car the boards are necessarily of a very complicated shape and it was mainly on this account that I proposed making them from pressings. As a matter of fact the present boards are of composite construction, because wood alone is not suitable. There is correspondence in which the matter was discussed at the time, and our people who have to deal with the shortcomings of wooden floorboards hailed the suggested substitution of metal as an improvement. We think the advantages of using pressings are as follows:- (1) Complicated shapes can be easily provided and without loss of strength and rigidity. (2) Appreciable saving of weight. (3) Greater overall rigidity can be obtained by combining the ramp and horizontal in one pressing. (4) The sheet metal allows more clearance or a lower floor level. (5) The metal boards would be free from the shrinking and distortion attached to the use of wood which give rise to squeaks, rattles, and gas leakages. (6) Saving of cost in production. The metal boards are coated on the under surfaces with asbestos and on the upper with rubber, the latter dispensing | ||