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).
Internal memorandum regarding a car's poor performance during a press road test due to an oil-smothered servo.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 88\2\ scan0270 | |
| Date | 5th April 1939 | |
| 260.?1379 F.{Mr Friese} Dodd See me S/W. Rm.{William Robotham - Chief Engineer} -> c to Bly.{B. W. Bleaney - Bentley Sales} B-4-MR. Rm{William Robotham - Chief Engineer} CxIO/KW5.4.39. This is the London Trials Car recently submitted to the "Motor" for one of their road test articles, and in accordance with standing orders the car was sent to you a few days prior to handing it over to Mr.Pomeroy. You will have a record of what was done to it. To our consternation, Mr.Pomeroy in his letter when returning the car says that the stopping distance from 30 m.p.h. was 50ft and he considered that the car was not in the best of tune. We could hardly believe this, seeing that the car was specially sent to you for being looked over prior to this test, so we asked RC{R. Childs} to take the car out and tell us if the brakes were O.K. He reported them as most unsatisfactory. We have therefore sent the car to K.{Mr Kilner} for investigation, and they found the Servo smothered in oil. You will no doubt be able to obtain a full report as to what has happened, and why this car has let us down so badly in the hands of the technical press representative. We shall have to loan Mr.Pomeroy the car again to remove these bad impressions, and get him to obtain results sufficiently good to publish. When you have the full report of this matter, no doubt you will let me know what is the cause of this unfortunate occurrence. Cx.{Major Len W. Cox - Advertising Manager} Rws. hold File JD{J. Draper - Frames} | ||