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).
Letter to the Experimental Department regarding car springing, speedometer accuracy, and a requested saloon car test drive.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 89\1\ scan0010 | |
| Date | 7th November 1933 | |
| TELEGRAMS: SUMMERS, CHESTER. X7967 TELEPHONE 200 CONNAH'S QUAY. (10 LINES) JOHN SUMMERS & SONS, LIMITED. Hawarden Bridge Steel Works, Shotton, Chester. MANUFACTURERS OF GALVANIZED, CORRUGATED AND PLAIN STEEL SHEETS, &c. LONDON OFFICE: 34 LIME STREET, E.C. GLOBE IRON WORKS, STALYBRIDGE. LIVERPOOL OFFICE: 14 CHAPEL STREET. MANCHESTER OFFICE: 33, BRAZENNOSE STREET. ALL QUOTATIONS UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED ARE SUBJECT TO REPLY BY RETURN OF POST REFERENCE R.F.S./B. 7th November, 1933. W. A.{Mr Adams} Robotham, Esq., c/o Messrs. Rolls-Royce, Ltd., Experimental Department D E R B Y. Dear Bill, Thank you for your letter. I am sorry it is not possible to expedite delivery of the car at all, because, as pointed out in my previous letter, it would be extremely useful at the present time. With regard to the point I raised with you on the telephone, I quite seriously mean that I do not think the springing of the shut car was quite up to the high standard of the one you brought over here the other day. Geoffrey Boston, as I told you, is super-critical, and his grouse about the springing was chiefly at low speeds. He has now been out in two shut cars and one open one. Like myself, he was extremely impressed with the open one, but a little disappointed with the two shut ones. I cannot quite understand the policy of fitting these machines up with obviously optimistic speedometers. What steps can be taken to ensure that I get a really accurate one ? In fact, if anything, I would rather it read slow than fast. I hope you will be able to arrange for myself and Geoffrey Boston to have a reasonably prolonged run on a saloon which you think is truly representative of what the production car will be like. I am pretty certain Boston will not buy one until he has tried what he considers is up to the standard of the open car. He will also want to satisfy himself as to whether the exhaust leak was responsible for making his family ill. Yours sincerely, Richard. | ||