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).
Condition of the coachwork after a 20,000-mile Continental test.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 82\5\ scan0176 | |
| Date | 16th June 1937 | |
| Coachwork report 3.B.IV Continental Test. The body on this car has completed 20,000 miles, most of this has been run in France. The body was specially built by Park Wards and is all steel with wide front door entrance, the mudguards are also made in steel. The general condition of the body at the completion of the test was very good, points of note which have previously given constant trouble, were the improved sunshine roof locking device, this is a great improvement on previous models, and remained good and quiet throughout the test. Another good feature was the silent block door locks, these gave no trouble throughout the test and were in excellent condition at the finish. In previous tests we have had constant trouble with door lock rattles. It was reported during the test that the O.S. drivers door rattled, this was caused by the door having been strained on the cheek strap, which in turn stretched and slackened off the hinge screws. The mudguards where they are attached to the running boards, and the running boards themselves were in the worst condition. The running boards were made of plywood, the ply having parted no doubt due to weather conditions. A metal inner lid{A. J. Lidsey} supplied to keep out the dust from the luggage boot returned badly warped, but it appears to have had rough treatment. We do not however like this type of lid{A. J. Lidsey}, and the locking arrangement was poor from the start. We have also noticed that the welding has parted on the draining edge of the roof just above the centre door pillar on both sides of the car. The Ace wire mesh stone shields were scrapped at the end of the test, the wire mesh being cut to pieces by flying stones. Rm{William Robotham - Chief Engineer}/F.Dodd. | ||