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).
Bentley clutch complaints and potential solutions.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 85\2\ scan0309 | |
| Date | 4th December 1936 | |
| 212 Rm{William Robotham - Chief Engineer}/GWH.{George W. Hancock - Head Chateauroux} from Rm.{William Robotham - Chief Engineer} Rm{William Robotham - Chief Engineer}10/R.4.12.36. BENTLEY CLUTCH COMPLAINTS. Thanks for your note of December 3rd. I recommended to C. twelve months ago, as you will see from the attached copy memo, that if a customer came in with a burnt out clutch, if he had had the car only a short time, it would pay to make a complete changeover and fit a Borg & Beck rather than have a dissatisfied owner. Of course, the difficulty is to decide when a customer is a chronic clutch destroyer. In the case of my Father-in-Law, his clutch was re-lined at 3,000 miles, and at 7,000 miles he was again in trouble; since having a Borg & Beck clutch he has done 15,000 miles without the slightest trouble. We could give you some heavy clutch springs to try, but, frankly, I do not think they would do very much good, and they would certainly make the car less comfortable to drive. The present trouble is not due to clutch springs being too weak, but to the owner insisting on revving up his engine when starting, and also changing gear without adjusting his engine speed; in each case the clutch has a certain amount of energy to absorb, and this will not vary greatly with the clutch springs fitted. I will discuss the matter with you next time you come to Derby. Rm.{William Robotham - Chief Engineer} | ||