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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).
Car body construction, weight, strength, and comparison with American steel bodies.

Identifier  ExFiles\Box 1\1\  B001_104 Body-page49
Date  29th April 1934
  
(2)

It would appear that our only hope lies in being careful not to supply dampers which can be put up to loads higher than those which we think can be reasonably used, and to plate up our bodies inside with sheet steel until they will stand the punishment. This will inevitably cause an increase in weight, but we can claim that if you expect of them the rigidity and strength of the American steel body, we are entitled to the same weight. At the moment 25HP., and Peregrine 2. stock bodies are much lighter than their equivalent in American steel bodies. Your analysis of several American cars has shewn that while the whole car may be light for its size, the chassis has shewn itself to be much lighter than ours, and the body correspondingly heavier.

The car in question - 1-Per: 2. - has had severe use. We consider that lapping Brooklands is a drastic test. This should not be lost sight of.

In the past all experimental cars have had body subframes in order that they might not be cracked up, such as they used to be, yet we have sold satisfactorily thousands of 25HP. cars to customers with few complaints. We believe Sales will agree that in your hands the body life is much less than that of the chassis unless something in the nature of a flexible mounting, and a subframe are used, yet in the hands of a customer our bodies appear to last as long as the customer wants them to do.

The writer will come to Derby to see the body for 3-Per.2. mounted, and to discuss with you the whole body issue. If it is possible efforts will be made to overtake the remaining bodies and make any modifications that may arise out of our investigations.

The writer is very anxious to avoid a general stampede to haryass coachbuilders to increase their body strength unless we are very certainly convinced that we must do it, for such an action will cause a loss of the weight reduction we have fought so hard to obtain, and will make further price reductions - which we believe we shall be able to persuade coachbuilders shortly to accept - much more remote.

At the same time we welcome the effort that the Experi-mental Dept. are making to co-operate with ourselves to produce a more perfected article.

DA{Bernard Day - Chassis Design}/EV.{Ivan Evernden - coachwork}
  
  


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