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).
Diagnosis and attempted repair of a severe boiling issue on chassis 53-CL.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 47\2\ Scan133 | |
| Date | 22th July 1929 | |
| X4117 #/S.-G.{Mr Griffiths - Chief Accountant / Mr Gnapp} #/S.-Mr. For By Ms. Hm{Capt. W. Hallam - Head Repairs}/NRC{N. R. Chandler}19/AW/22.7.29. re CHASSIS 53-CL - MARIEN (BELGUIM) The above Owner was seen, while staying at the Palace Hotel, Lucerne, at the request of Mr. Schmidt, who's chief mechanic Bachler was working on the car in the Hotel Garage, to cure a complaint of severe boiling. On examining the radiator tubes with a flash-lamp, it was at once evident that the spaces between the tubes visible through the filler cap, appeared completely choked with a dark brown substance resembling moist clay, and very similar in appearance to the deposit found in 29-CL a fortnight before in Poland and in 72-CL,(Sir Alec Black) last May. The distance run was only 5652 KM = (3,510 miles) and M.{Mr Moon / Mr Moore} Marien told me since we changed the rear springs, he has been entirely satisfied with the car up to the time the boiling suddenly commenced a little before reaching Lucerne, and that they had already made a trip from Brussels to Nice and back without trouble. Bachler had already removed the cylinder head to grind in the valves, one of which had been overheated as a result of the tappets being set too close. The chauffeur only had the French instruction book which shows .003 tappet clearance, (for the C.I.head) and had not got the leaflet which shows .006 for the Al.head. (By/NHW tells me that French leaflets are now at the printers). In order to try to clear the radiator, we put a blind washer of sheet rubber in the water connection flange at the bottom of the radiator, plugged up the top connection, filled the radiator with hot water, and put in about a pound of soda, with instructions to Schmidt's mechanic and the chauffeur to let it stand till next day, and then thoroughly wash out the radiator with a hose pipe so as to get rid of all the soda before connecting the radiator to the engine. I had lunch with Mr. & Mrs Marien, (neither of whom speak a word of English). They were both extremely pleased with the car up to the commencement of the boiling trouble. I advised the use of rain water and told them that if further trouble was CONT'D.{John DeLooze - Company Secretary} | ||