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).
Policy on charging owners for main and big end bearing replacements, with proposed service intervals and comparisons to competitors.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 146\3\ scan0269 | |
| Date | 23th December 1936 | |
| To "Hd{Mr Hayward/Mr Huddy}" "Rm{William Robotham - Chief Engineer}" -3- quickest route. You will observe that we do not want to be held up for material. Concerning the question as to who should pay for the fitting of new main and big end bearings, we consider that we cannot ask an owner to pay for new big end bearings until a car has covered about 60.000 kilometres when the second R.20 engine clean (chargeable to owner) needs carrying out. Concerning the main bearings we do not think that an owner can be charged for new mains until a car has covered 80.000 kilometres. For your information we know for a fact with regard to the type 57Touring Model Bugatti which is a faster car than ours, that the connecting rod bearings rarely need attention before 60.000 or 70.000 kilometres and as for the main bearings it would seem that they rarely give any trouble at all. With regard to the Delahaye car which is also a faster car than ours, we recently had occasion to trade in one of these cars which had been driven to the limit for 75.000 kms and the owner was prepared to accept a small figure for this car owing to the fact that he admitted that we would have to have the engine overhauled, apart from one decarbonize the owner said he had never had the engine touched. Referring again to main bearings, the best method would be to attend to them when a car is ready for an R.20. We think the ideal arrangements for all concerned would be the following- 1) 32.000 to 35.000 kms- Carry out first R.20 chargeable to owner, change existing white metal big end bearings for the R.R.56 type. Remove caps of main bearings and examine bearings if in a reliable condition, reduce liners if necessary and carry out an oil test. If mains were found to be in an unreliable condition then they would have to be changed. 2) 64.000 to 70.000 kms- Carry out 2nd R.20, examine main bearings and if they were not changed during the first R.20 then new ones should be fitted. If it is agreed to, that an owner cannot be charged for new mains before 80.000 kms, then it would have to be decided on what basis an owner could be charged if the work was carried out at 64.000 to 70.000 kms because the 3rd R.20 would in the usual way be carried out when a car has covered about 95.000 kms. | ||