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).
Recurring petrol pump failures due to vapour lock, particularly in hot climates and mountainous terrain.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 27a\1\ Scan296 | |
| Date | 13th August 1935 | |
| To: "Hs{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair}/Rm{William Robotham - Chief Engineer}", DERBY. PARIS Sr21/Dn13.8.35 re Petrol Pumps. I tried to get you on the telephone this morning but as you were not there, I spoke to Grylls, who will be able to give you a report on our troubles. When I was last in DERBY, I "went flat out" on petrol pumps, explaining our troubles in this direction, and insisted that something would have to be done about it. However, we are still battling with the same troubles, and needless to say we are still receiving complaints from people who are using their cars for mountain work, or down in the south of France. Finally, last Saturday we received a SOS from a customer down south for a new petrol pump. As the matter was naturally urgent, and as I have my Bentley trials car N° B-1-CW, on the Riviera with Mr Faroux for some ten or twelve days, I told our Cannes Agent to connect up with Faroux, whose address I gave him, and take the spare petrol pump which we always carry on our Demonstrators. I was, however, very upset when I received the following telegram from Mr Faroux, but at all events we now know definitely that our cars suffer from vapour lock to the extent that it can prevent both pumps from functioning, although we have have of course been aware of the fact that our cars suffer from this trouble for the last two years. We had, however, not had direct experience of both pumps failing. "But my dear friend we are all having "our holidays poisoned not because of "the petrol pump but owing to the "vapour lock. Impossible to get up "the slightest pass. I am handing "over the spare pump to the New York "Garage Cannes but this will not in "any way get over your customers' troubles". (Sgd) FAROUX. Do you not think it is about time we get down to this problem, and solve it by shifting the petrol pump and if necessary the petrol filter, or isolating them in some manner so that they do not get so hot. In this respect I carried out a rather interesting experiment on a Phantom II car (187-TA) which we had just delivered to the customer, and which was going away to be used mainly on mountain work. As I know the customer very well, and was somewhat scared about his particular itinerary, I explained the position to him. We | ||