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 overheating issues in Switzerland and various tests and modifications to address them.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 74\3\ scan0133 | |
| Date | 1st October 1921 | |
| X3908 AT 2. Hs.{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} from EP.{G. Eric Platford - Chief Quality Engineer} c.c. to BY.{R.W. Bailey - Chief Engineer} EP{G. Eric Platford - Chief Quality Engineer}4/HB.{C. E. Harcombe}10.21. A.T. X4394 Re. OVERHEATING. X3663 X3908 X766 With reference to the complaints of our cars overheating when in use in Switzerland during the recent hot weather, we have now received a report from the mechanic at Paris who attended to these complaints, and the following are points of interest:- 1. Mr. Liechti's car ( for which we supplied a smaller fan pulley ) was a low compression and the chassis was fixed up with a totally enclosed body. An improvement in reducing the tendency to overheat was attained by taking out the cylinder liners, and so increasing the compression. 2. The tendency to boil and the water temperature was reduced by testing the car on the same hill on which the engine previously boiled, with the sides of the bonnet open, these sides resting on the front wings. 3. Considerable unpleasantness was caused by the heat through the front floorboards. 4. Full throttle running made the engine hotter than light running on lower gear. 5. In making comparative tests of the standard and small fan pulley, this was taken when the air temperature was cooler, and the test was made on a hill which was taken on third gear for about 18 minutes, and on which hill, on previous occasions, the water boiled. With the standard fan pulley on reaching the summit, the temperature had risen to 96° and with the smaller fan pulley to 89°. The commencing temperature in each case was 75°. 6. He also reports that a further car was delivered to this gentleman with an open body, high compression engine, and that this car was quite satisfactory for absence of overheating. 7. The water system on the low compression engine was thoroughly examined and considered in his opinion to be quite satisfactory. 8. The high compression car was fitted with a thermostat which was found to be a great improvement on the low compression car which had no thermostat fitted, and the engine quickly got warmed up and did not cool down so rapidly when descending hills. EP.{G. Eric Platford - Chief Quality Engineer} | ||