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).
The manufacturing challenges, materials, and alternative designs for car step boards.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 84\1\ scan0141 | |
| Date | 7th June 1933 | |
| EV{Ivan Evernden - coachwork}5/7.6.33. cont. With respect to the manufacture of these step boards by ourselves it has occurred to us that we cannot make them as pressings complete as they are about 6ft-6ins. long, which we believe would be too long for our press. The outer skin would be more easily made as a rolling with grooves to take the rubber strip rolled in so as t save the cost of the Stainless Steel rubber carrying stips. This latter depends on Derby being able to cement or vulcanise the rubber strip into position, which we doubt very much if it can be done satisfactorily. We are then left with either a wooden frame or a sheet metal frame to give the strength to take the load of being stepped upon and a thin wooden lining to prevent local indentations due to a concentrated load. We are reviewing both of these possibilities. As the step boards look as though they will always be responsible for about 30lbs weight, not counting the four step irons, one is inclined to wonder whether we should not go to separate wings with no steps. We know that we should have great difficulty in dealing with the mud which must fall from the trailing edge of the front wing in preventing its being driven onto the body, but the advantage might be outweighed by the advantage of reduced weight. Such wings are used on the S.S. Standard. They are offered as an alternative by Alvis on the Van den Plas open body. We can discuss this on Friday when the question of the design of the Open Sports Bentley is to be discussed we | ||