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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 from an accumulator manufacturer discussing the performance of different spark plugs in Bentley cars.

Identifier  ExFiles\Box 162\3\  img075
Date  3rd April 1937
  
Works, Dagenham Dock, Essex
PHONE SLOANE 7164. 5 LINES PRIVATE BRANCH EXCHANGE
TELEGRAMS DAGENITE, SOWEST, LONDON.

Manufacturers of Accumulators for over 50 years.

PETO & RADFORD
Proprietors - Pritchett & Gold and E.P.S. Company Ltd.
50 GROSVENOR GARDENS,
LONDON, S.W.1.

YOUR REF________
OUR REF M/5.
3rd april, 1937.

H.E. West, Esq.,
Messrs. Rolls-Royce, Ltd.,
DERBY.

Dear Mr. West,

With reference to the plugs that you gave me when I visited Derby early in February and which were at that time put into my car, you asked me to let you know how they behaved and I think I can tell you something about them now.

Perhaps the best way is to give the history of plugs as far as I know them in Bentley cars. The first Bentley I had, a 3½ litre, in March 1935, had plugs in it which fairly soon gave trouble. K.L.G. gave me a new set of 850 which were then quite a new thing but which I believe you shortly afterwards adopted as standard. These did very well and were perfectly all right when I sold the car about 7,000 miles later.

I got the 4¼ car in April 1936 and in it were the 850 plugs which by that time had become standard. They never gave any trouble up till the time of my visit to Derby when the car had done about 11,000 miles. After the ones you gave me were put in, the car never seemed to go so well, the slow running was not so good and the ignition sometimes hesitated when getting away and finally they started misfiring until I got down to about 3½ to 4 cylinders. About ten days ago I took them out and put back the 850 which were in previously. Immediately the car went very much better and certainly is much nicer to drive.

On the above evidence it would appear that the ones you gave me were nothing like as good. Would you like me to send them back to you?

Yours sincerely,

G.R.N. Minchin
  
  


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