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).
Petrol pump failure and testing on a Phantom III vehicle in France.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 92\3\ scan0221 | |
| Date | 24th April 1937 | |
| 300a HOTEL DE FRANCE, CHATEAUROUX, Indre. France. Rm{William Robotham - Chief Engineer}/GWH{George W. Hancock - Head Chateauroux}/IMW{Ivan M. Waller - Head of Chateauroux}/4/JAB. 24th April 1937. To. Rm.{William Robotham - Chief Engineer} (Struck through) c. Rm{William Robotham - Chief Engineer}/Gry.{Shadwell Grylls} c. Rm{William Robotham - Chief Engineer}/GWH.{George W. Hancock - Head Chateauroux} (Struck through) 35-EX. PHANTOM III. Petrol Pumps. Replying to your memo.Rm{William Robotham - Chief Engineer}/Gry.{Shadwell Grylls}5/R.22.4.37, you will by now have received our daily report of 22nd April which refers to complete failure of pumps to deliver petrol after a halt for filling up. The car accelerated to about 55 MPH. and then failed completely, and came to a standstill with the pumps working hard but delivering no petrol. The bonnet was opened and the delivery pipe from the top single unit was shaken. The pumps immediately started to deliver normally. We cannot say if the effect of shaking the pipe was a coincidence or if it really had anything to do with the recovery. We shall give this further investigation. Directly the car was driven off the delivery of the single and double units was tested by means of the change-over switch and was found to be normal, i.e. full speed on the double unit and 70-80 MPH. on the single unit. We understand that a Phantom III with petrol pumps in the frame has recently crossed the Sahara without any petrol pump failure. 35-EX. with the three pump scheme has given trouble with air temperatures of 15°c. We have on GWH{George W. Hancock - Head Chateauroux}'s instructions tried to reproduce difficult starting when hot, but have had no trouble in this respect, although last summer with 32-EX, the engine was almost impossible to start on several occasions. We are wondering if the deletion of the hydraulic tappets has helped us in this respect. Our slow running is certainly exceptionally good but deteriorates with reduced tappet clearance. You will see that it will be difficult for us to get any comparative tests on starting with 2 or 3 pump units in operation, as we are not experiencing difficulty with the three, but we will try. ------------------- Rm{William Robotham - Chief Engineer}/GWH{George W. Hancock - Head Chateauroux}/IMW.{Ivan M. Waller - Head of Chateauroux} Ivan M.{Mr Moon / Mr Moore} Waller. | ||