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).
Test report on Chassis No. B.130.AH following a 2,000-mile test in Belgium.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 84\1\ scan0391 | |
| Date | 28th June 1935 | |
| Sg.{Arthur F. Sidgreaves - MD} Copy to OA Copy to Hn{F. C. Honeyman - Retail orders} Copy to LA{L. A. Archer} BENTLEY LE4/D/28.6.35. Re Chassis No. B.130.AH. Test In Belgium. As arranged, this car went to Belgium last week and covered 2,000 miles. The Tester made a report every 500 miles. There was no apparent difference as far as the rattles in the body were concerned. The movement of the front wings was very much more noticeable over there. After 1,000 miles running a small crack in the paintwork was noticed over the rear boot. A similar cracked was noticed during our Test in England and the paint was scraped off by Park Ward and they examined the metal but could not see any trace of a crack. This was repainted and we have not chipped off the paint to see whether the metal is cracked yet. The body rattles did not get any worse. The front shock absorbers commenced to rattle. The handle of the sunshine roof fell off; also the inside handles of the doors which are held in place by means of a grub screw, all worked loose. This never occurred in England. The near-side front wing which is made of 20 gauge steel was found to be cracked where it is attached to our dashboard by means of two set screws. The off-side front wing, which is aluminium, started to crack after the steel one. In view of the experience gained from this method of securing the wings we are getting Park Ward to delete this attachment as the leverage due to the wing movement at this point is very acute; also the wings were generally found to be loose where attached to the frame. The off-side rear door hinges have become very tight. These are the standard hinges and are not lubricated. After 1,500 miles, slight noise and movement of the off-side front door was noticed. The crack over the rear boot remained constant. The near-side front seat always rattled a little | ||