New Year Comments

ROVER REPLIES

Sir,

I would like to take up a point mentioned in “Showtime Soliloquy.” In this you say that Rovers now disclaim as of not particular merit the F-head first used in the Rover 60 in 1948.

Certainly the high surface/volume ratio of this head would not be suitable for the new Rover 2000 which is a short-stroke engine and can accommodate valves of adequate size within its bore diameter. For such engine proportions the most suitable design is the piston cavity combustion chamber. However, for a longstroke engine, as in the Rover 3-litre and the Rover 95 and 110, the F-head is advantageous as larger size valves can be used and a compact combustion chamber obtained together with good squish turbulence.

One further comment on your comprehensive article on the R.A.C. Rally needs mentioning. As you indicated, the Rover team had no works service during the rally. The 2000 seen “lurking around” was in fact no more than an interested Rover dealer having a look!

Solihull. M. S. Alford, Public Relations Officer, The Rover Company Limited. 

LONG LIFE OILS

Sir,

The following observations may be of interest in respect of long life lubrication properties of oil. In the Rolls-Royce “Spey” engine (which will power the Hawker Siddeley Trident) the oil tank is sealed in unit with the engine for its 4,000 hours’ life which may well extend to 15,000 hours’ life. All this from a basically 2-bearing shaft at a constant 12,200 r.p.m. and a heat range far in excess of that experienced by any internal combustion power unit.

In conclusion I can but reflect on the constant stream of technical data which issues from the Rolls-Royce Aero-Engine Division, in sharp contrast to the “Silence is Golden” attitude of the ” carriage-works.”

East Dulwich. J. Dickenson-Standing