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).
Disappointing performance of demonstration car 129-GN during London Trials and potential solutions.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 18\3\ Scan143 | |
| Date | 20th August 1930 | |
| X7960. F.N.4/WT20.8.30. E/W. ...from P.N. Copy to E.P. Hs.{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} 129-GN. London Trials. Referring to your EP.{G. Eric Platford - Chief Quality Engineer}13/H.13.8.30. We feel considerably disappointed that you are not able to hold out more encouragement in respect of this complete car, which was intended for demonstration purposes. We are quite aware, because W. has often impressed us with the fact, that you are able to do practically nothing towards improving an alleged roughness in the chassis in picking up, such as has been complained of in this case, but we felt having regard to the importance of the coachwork and the urgency of the complete car, it might have been worth our while to risk searching for a better combination than the car at present represents, because in our opinion to give demonstrations with the car as it stands would probably do more harm than good, unless the enquirer happened to be one more interested in performance than usual Rolls-Royce attributes. In which case of course the chances are he might prefer a Bentley etc. You refer to the heavy cost entailed by changing over a complete engine unit and gearbox, incidentally I should be obliged if I could have some figures as to what this amount might come to. You also in the same way discourage any proposition to change the body on to another chassis, although of course with proper selectivity this might have been a practical thing, although necessarily involving a certain amount of cost. We are anxious, as always to avoid persevering with any proposal which W. may not consider justified, on practical grounds. Therefore perhaps we had better, as finally suggested by EP.{G. Eric Platford - Chief Quality Engineer} take the car back into our hands again and endeavour to see whether, with special care in its control, we can be possibly justified in its use for trials work, and whether its characteristics may improve. We do not wish to make this car second-hand if it can be avoided. My impression is at the moment that we shall not have much alternative to putting it on our sales list of new cars. PN.{Mr Northey} | ||