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).
Bench tests and the suitability of Lucas and Klaxon windscreen wipers for fitting behind the scuttle rail.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 167\5\ img054 | |
| Date | 3rd March 1933 | |
| TO HS{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair}/WST. FROM EV.{Ivan Evernden - coachwork} COPY TO HN.{F. C. Honeyman - Retail orders} E.{Mr Elliott - Chief Engineer} X6115 EV{Ivan Evernden - coachwork}1/3.3.33. WINDSCREEN WIPERS. We are very interested to note that you are going to do some bench tests on the Lucas and Klaxon windscreen wipers. The only wiper that we can use as a general rule these days is one fitted behind the scuttle rail. As the tops of all of our screens, whether fixed or opening, are curved it is obvious that we cannot have a straight coupling bar between the two blades. What is more, the body of the motor projected back from the top of the screen is too much to be tolerated. The Klaxon wiper was made by them largely as a result of our getting Messrs Park Ward & Co. to build up such a wiper for the scuttle rail using a standard Klaxon motor. Messrs Lucas have left us the latest edition of their attempt at a similar job, but we are sorry to say that we cannot get it into any of our bodies as it cut the scuttle rail in two, and calls for a depth of scuttle rail of over an inch more than we are able to give without badly obscuring the instrument board. The chain used for the drive between the motor shaft and the two blade spindles is cycle chain .500 x .187. The wiper has not been made for our work but with a view to getting it adopted on mass produced cheap cars. | ||