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).
List of proposed modifications to retain reliability and develop a fast Continental sports car.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 179\2\ img081 | |
| Date | 24th January 1931 guessed | |
| -2- The following is a list of modification which we think are desirable in order to retain reliability :- (1) Modified crankshaft with the larger journals. This can be obtained from existing forgings. Balance weights to be fitted. We have the W.W. design for this crankshaft. (2) Modified brake drums with cooling ribs. We know that at the present time we are on the limit of the capacity of our brakes for getting rid of heat. We have the designs and have a number of ribbed drums running about. (3) The rear axle ratio would probably be increased from 11/41 to 12/41. We have gears of this ratio. We think it should be realised that this car represents our first attempt to make a fast Continental car. We know that with the present one there is no reason why it should be any different to the car we sell to old ladies. When we make a definite sports car we have got to expect to compromise on some of the features which are desirable for a town carriage. With the compression ratio proposed, although compared with other sports cars or the 8 litre Bentley we shall have much less detonation, there definitely will be more than on our present standard car. This means that either the special fuels, which are easily obtainable, should be used, or the ignition will have to be handled if it is desired to avoid detonation. We expect the valve gear to be slightly more noisy owing to the higher lift. If we use the higher axle ratio the pick up from the dead low speed may not be as good as our present standard car, but we are certain that the type of owner who uses these cars is not interested in that condition as in order to get good acceleration they expect to use the gears. We are sure that we can safely leave off the governor on the sports car. This applies as long as we use S.U. carburetters because with those carburetters we can run with a throttle stop and still not suffer from explosions in the silencer. We are sure that we can make a Continental car which will perform better than any other car made. The one controversial point is the question of carburetter. In adopting the S.U. we are not taking on an unknown job. There is no argument about the satisfactory results obtained with the S.U. on the 8 Litre and other Bentleys. Rg.{Mr Rowledge} used | ||