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).
Causes and solutions for the overheating of car bodies, particularly in Phantom models.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 74\3\ scan0189 | |
| Date | 21th September 1926 | |
| H.L. (Copy to LHS.{Lord Herbert Scott}, C., PH. & Sp.{Mr Spinney}) OWB/GB/21.9.26. Overheating of Car Bodies. This matter has been very much to the fore during the past summer and the matter has been fully discussed and ventilated. Whilst in Paris, I found that they were suffering even more than we in England from this trouble and that complaints of Phantom Cars being unbearably hot, were frequent. Pe. has been working on this matter and has achieved complete success in all cases by the adoption of the following arrangements:- Firstly, the floorboards are properly refitted in the Car so that the chance of leakage of heated air or hot gas is reduced to a minimum. In practically all cases, it is found that the floorboards are badly warped and have shrunk considerably. Secondly, the floorboards are definitely screwed down or are held down by some other means than the very feeble tongue which is the usual Coachbuilders fitting. Thirdly, the rear silencer is completely covered with a jacket made up of thin asbestos between two sheets of thin tinned plate, leaving an air space of about 1/2" between this casing and the silencer itself. This does not appear to affect the cooling of the silencer but does carry away the air which has been heated by contact of the silencer to the extreme end of the chassis and so removes it behind the place where it can penetrate the back of the body. This matter is so important and we have spent so much money and so much dissatisfaction has been caused, that I strongly urge we should standardise the fitting of an air casing around the silencer for all cars, whilst we should insist on the floorboards being better made and of more seasoned wood. Each floorboard should be framed and prevented from warping in the same manner that a drawing board is made and the means adopted for securing the floorboards down should be much more efficient. Messrs H.J. Mulliner of Chiswick have a proper method of doing this which might be more generally adopted. OWB. | ||