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).
Sourcing of Stromberg carburettors for the Phantom III chassis, arguing for domestic manufacture over importation.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 20\9\ Scan104 | |
| Date | 23th January 1936 | |
| X1033 Copy from Wor.{Arthur Wormald - General Works Manager} [Text crossed out: To: Mr: Hs.{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} Mr. HY.{Tom Haldenby - Plant Engineer} Mr. SMM. Mr. SC.] WCR5/T23.1.36. Stromberg Carburetter for Phantom lll Chassis. Referring to your Roy{Sir Henry Royce}5/MGE22.1.36, in which you suggest that we buy, for various reasons, 50 carburetters for the above chassis from America, and you say that E.{Mr Elliott - Chief Engineer} and the Experimental Department are in agreement with this proposal. I am not in agreement with this recommendation and decide that the Carburetters for this chassis must be made in England. We have discussed this matter from time to time and our latest discussion was at the conference on December 5th, 1935, when it was agreed that it was to our advantage to have the Stromberg carburetter made in this country, and it was also decided that the time had then arrived for the question of manufacture to be investigated without further delay. In your note of yesterday you say that the final design for this carburetter is not yet completed, but surely 90% of the carburetter we are going to use is known to be suitable for Phantom lll. Can we therefore start in stages, can we proceed to manufacture or get ready for manufacture 90% of the carburetter in this country? We must agitate the Zenith Company to lead the way, to utilise all their brains and all our brains and energies towards getting the carburetter by the time we are producing chassis. In short, it means resolution and determination to utilise every possible avenue to get these carburetters in time. Our factory can be at the disposal of the Zenith Company to do anything necessary to meet the abnormal situation. We can make patterns, we can make castings, we can do machining, but it wants an arrangement making with the Zenith Company to lead and say precisely what is wanted to get these carburetters in time. If as you say the float chamber portion of this carburetter is an extremely complicated pressure die casting and can only at present be obtained in America, then that is one of the problems we have got to tackle. If it cannot be made in this country, and at present until I know more about it I refuse to believe it cannot, we must bow to the inevitable and have a certain number of these die castings made in America. contd: | ||