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 from Park Ward & Co. Ltd. to The Earl of Rothes discussing the construction of a steel body on a Rolls-Royce chassis.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 30\5\ Scan158 | |
| Date | 18th November 1935 | |
| C O P Y. Park Ward & Co. Ltd., 473, High Road, Willesden, LONDON, N.W.10. 18th November, 1935. CF/MO. The Earl of Rothes, 39, Elm Park Gardens, S.W.10. (Private) Dear Lord Rothes, Mr. Roberts and I had a long interview with Mr. Sidgreaves the other day about, inter alia, all metal bodies and Bentley coachwork in general. We impressed on him our anxiety irrespective of cost to give every possible satisfaction to owners of existing Bentleys although we felt ourselves that nothing would suit the chassis so well as the all-metal body. I think he now appreciates the point and if pressed strongly enough by Derby will probably give it his blessing. They are obviously still nervous of the rust question and in order that a proper comparison may be made, we are building a steel body for them with aluminium panels. We are investigating the method of attaching these panels to the steel framework and when this body will have completed its tests it will be very interesting to effect a comparison with the steel body now in France. We feel ourselves that "there is nothing like steel" but we will be just as interested in the experiment as Rolls-Royce themselves. We would very much like to be afforded the opportunity of constructing a steel body on the Rolls-Royce chassis and hope you will persuade Rm.{William Robotham - Chief Engineer} to use his influence with the powers to let us have a Phantom III for that purpose. I think the result would be a revelation to them all. We would be prepared to put it through at cost price (about £700). So far as the 25 Rolls-Royce is concerned, I propose to have one built here at our own expense on one of our stock chassis for trials purposes and I think it would be in their own interests to let us do a Phantom III for them. | ||