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 to a Mr. Nutt regarding an investigation into a 'booming' or noisy car, discussing the roles of the chassis and body.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 3\1\ 01-page123 | |
| Date | 7th October 1924 | |
| C O P Y. 14, Conduit Street London, W.1. 7th October, 1924. EJB/H71024. Dear Mr. Nutt, Booming - Phillippi. With reference to your letter of the 3rd, the original chassis, as a chassis, is, so far as we are able to ascertain, quite normal. You state that the opinions of our experts are ludicrous. We feel you are under a misapprehension, so set out the facts below:- 1. We supplied a normal chassis and you fitted one of the types of your bodies which we consider are specially resonant. The combination resulted in a noisy car. 2. Your experts, with ours, endeavoured to ascertain the cause, and your experts, by using the "Noofinder" were of opinion that the axle was the cause. Our experts had no knowledge of the "Noofinder", but agreed to alter the back axle, as being the possible cause. 3. The back axle was changed for one which we knew to be particularly silent. The result was that the same noise continued, and therefore the cause of the noise was not the back axle, and the "Noofinder" had not given useful information. 4. We then concluded that possibly the body when combined with an entirely different chassis might become more silent. We therefore had the body fitted to another chassis. This combination was more successful. From the above you will see that we have arrived at exactly the same point as we arrived at in similar cases of complaint, namely, that unfortunately certain bodies, when combined with certain chassis, create noisy cars. It seems that owing to some designs of bodies being peculiarly resonant, we have to make extensive and expensive experiments and selections to find chassis which will combine with these resonant bodies to give satisfactory results. You will agree with us that in the past there have been numerous instances where you have supplied these specially resonant bodies, and we in consequence have been put to considerable trouble and expense to help you to make the car satisfactory. As you are doubtless aware, there are many things | ||