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).
Condition of various vehicle components after testing, including the bonnet, radiator, and steering system.
| Identifier | WestWitteringFiles\N\2October1925-December1925\ Scan295 | |
| Date | 1st September 1970 guessed | |
| - 6 - It would be advantageous if more margin was allowed for the settling down of the bonnet. The O.S. has remained O.K. The bolts holding bonnet strips on N.S. & O.S. have again worked loose. These have continually worked loose & several have been lost. We have fully reported what we believe is the cause of this. The N.S.R. bonnet fastener, through not staying in its position, the top portion became loose & was lost. Engine guards. These have remained in good condition & have kept the engine clean. We consider these to be quite satisfactory. Radiator. The radiator generally is in good condition. We have had no water leaks. The side plates are loose at the bottom edge, through chattering at point where plates are held by the cheese-headed screws. N.S. strip of radiator which supports bonnet is almost cut through at the bottom by the action of the strip of brass fastened to bonnet. The centre bracket holding the bonnet has become worn, due to chattering. The N.S. drain pipe has become loose & rattles, due to the soldered band being insufficiently tight round the tube. It is causing wear of the pipe at this point. ~~The radiator.~~ Radiator suspension, shutter & controls. The radiator shutters remain in a good condition. The bearings of vanes appear to be still O.K. It has operated satisfactorily & controls & brackets are in very good condition. There has been very little wear in radiator suspensions. We have reported that operation of the shutters has been satisfactorily regulated by the notches on the quadrant. We have had on one or two occasions to regulate the shutters frequently, due to the varying direction of the wind. In some instances, the temp. of the water has quickly risen, whilst in others vice versa. This we find to be the only drawback to the hand-controlled shutters. Dashboard brackets. These have remained O.K. throughout the test, & we have had no trouble with the bolts working loose. Steering column & box. Steering "B" type 0.720" lead steering worm & nut F.73465/6 with steel core for white metal threads. The steering column & box have remained in good condition. The anchorage of box & support to column are still good. All bolts have remained secure throughout the test. We have not noticed any oil leaks from rocker shaft bearing, & no oil has been added to the gearbox. The pendulum lever has remained secure on the rocker shaft. We are of the opinion that the steering column should be better supported. The steering column is whipping the whole time that one is driving over moderate rough roads. The steering generally, over all conditions of roads, is a vast improvement over previous steerings. There are still shocks when driving on rough roads, which are at times violent even at moderate speeds. We are of the opinion that there has been a big improvement in oscillations of the steering wheel. | ||