Membership Services     MAGAZINE The NZRR&BC publishes a bi-monthly magazine containing a wealth of general and technical information and reports of regional and national events. Also we include from time to time, articles on different aspects of the history of the Rolls-Royce and Bentley companies, and these give members, new and old, an insight into the traditions that have become part of the ethos of the worlds that C.S. Rolls, F.H. Royce and W.O. Bentley created. Apart from current news items, recent issues of the magazine have also contained articles on the following topics among many others: A description of Bruce McIlroy's operations, including the new 4½ litre Bentley engines venture. The restoration of a Silver Dawn including the construction of its drophead coupé body from scratch, using the original Park Ward drawings. The repair of calorstats, which operate the thermostatic radiator shutters on pre-war models. A report of the Bentley Drivers' Club's Australian coast-to-coast tour, in which several of our members took part. And we will shortly be printing a fascinating series of articles by John Craig, who started at Derby as an RR apprentice in 1939 and retired as Marketing Director in the 1990's. Many of our members believe in using their cars regularly, rather then keeping them cosseted in museums, and the older the car, and the more challenging the conditions, the better they like it. And to prove the point, click here to see photos of Scott Thomson's Phantom II Continental 101RY and Michael Horman's Bentley Mark VI B358MD taken recently at Mount Cook. We look forward to reading more about this in a forthcoming issue.  In our magazine 06-2 we printed two articles which unfortunately were abbreviated during the printing process. Accordingly we reproduce them in their entirety. Click on the appropriate title for access. They are a review of Donald Eyre's 50 Years with Rolls-Royce - My Reminiscences, and John L Kennedy's Rolls-Royce and Audi in the Austrian Alpine Trials.   TECHNICAL & HISTORICAL INFORMATION We maintain an excellent technical library which includes Parts Lists and Workshop Manuals for all post-war and most pre-war models, along with some specialist tools. You can access these by contacting the Technical Liaison Officer using the email button on our home page. You will find that both the Rolls-Royce Owners' Club in the USA and the Rolls-Royce Owners' Club of Australia have excellent on-line discussion forums and message services, and as these are open to non-members of those clubs, we do not plan to duplicate them. You can access these sites through the links from this website to the RROC and RROCA. Also for a wide range of information, historical, technical and general, you can browse the RROCA's splendid on-line technical library, which, together with their photographic gallery of the various Rolls-Royce and Bentley models owned by their members, will give you much useful background information on the whole world of Rolls-Royce and Bentley.   MEETINGS We welcome new and potential members to our regular club meetings, which are organised around three Regions, based in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. We also hold a National Rally which includes the Annual General Meeting. Members are advised of these meetings through the magazine, through this website and often, also by a regional newsletter. We also take part in meetings with visiting members from overseas clubs, when they undertake tours of New Zealand, and similarly our members are always given a warm welcome when visiting clubs overseas. MEMBERSHIP Membership of the New Zealand Rolls-Royce and Bentley Club (Inc) is open to those of any age with an interest in these two distinguished marques, whether or not they are the owners of a Rolls-Royce or Bentley motorcar. National membership currently stands at around 200, (plus the families of many) with cars ranging from the 1920's to the latest models. In addition to owner members we also welcome spouses, partners, family and overseas members. For more information, contact our Membership Registrar:- Rob Carthew 85A Wharewaka Road Taupo Phone: (07) 377.4117 email: watcher@pl.net Or Click here to go to a Form you can fill out on this Website   50 YEARS WITH ROLLS-ROYCE, My Reminiscences By Donald Eyre EEng, MIMechE, AFRAeS ISBN: 1 872922 30 9 Published by the Rolls-Royce Heritage Trust Historical Series No 36 Available at the Rolls-Royce Heritage Trust, PO Box 31, Derby, England DE24 8BJ, or from Fazazz, 84 Lichfield St, Christchurch 8001 at $69.95 Soft bound 21 by 15 cm, 150 pages, numerous illustrations in black and white and colour. Now that more than 100 years have passed since the meeting between Rolls and Royce in Manchester, it is remarkable that fresh material is still available, and we can be instantly transported to the world of the Silver Ghost. Donald Eyre joined Rolls-Royce in his home town of Derby at the age of 14 years 7 months in February 1920. He had inherited a love of art and drawing from his father, who had recently died leaving no assets, and a job that would bring in an income, rather than a wageless apprenticeship, was essential for the family's survival. Donald Eyre had prepared a portfolio of his cutaway drawings, and after an unsuccessful approach to the Midland Railway, and an offer of a wageless position at a poster drawing firm, he approached Rolls-Royce without an appointment. Once the obstacle of the beribboned commissionaire was overcome, he was granted an interview with R. W. Harvey-Bailey. In that post-war depression he must have impressed By, for he was taken on immediately as an apprentice at 13/6 a week. Although Donald Eyre's memories would have contributed to the standard histories of Rolls-Royce, it is a pleasure to read first hand accounts of the life and the conditions under which 40 draughtsmen produced all the detailed drawings for the firm's cars and aeroplane engines. Training included a scholarship at Derby Technical College which lasted for seven years, and practical training in milling, turning, and brazing. In 1928 Eyre graduated with several honours and delivered a paper on Steering Gear to the Institute of Automobile Engineers. That same year By told him that Henry Royce wanted him to join the small design team at West Wittering. The primitive conditions that prevailed in that remote part of the south coast of England are described vividly in the book, and it is interesting to note the strict non-smoking regime imposed by Royce. The extraordinary skill of the design team are well conveyed by reading Royce's first words to the 23-year-old Donald Eyre, "Hello, are you the young man who is going to do some drawing for us? We want you to do us a diesel engine." This task was a single-cylinder test engine with variable compression ratios and valve timing, later to lead to a diesel adaptation of the V12 Condor aeroplane engine. Many of the book's illustrations are Donald Eyre's sketches and drawings, and a reproduction of his oil painting of the "Royce" memorial window in Westminster Abbey. There are also pages of the drawing register from 1945, showing the dates of completion, giving an idea of the work load for employees of Rolls-Royce at that time, and the mention of the additional work load as Air Raid Warden and the sleep deprivation convey the conditions. The later chapters of the book deal with some fairly esoteric design work, and round out a half century of work for Rolls-Royce Ltd. The turmoil that beset the Company in the early 1970s, followed by Donald Eyre's death, and the lack of his traceable descendents meant that the book had to wait until 2005 for publication. A.T.K.   Rolls-Royce & Audi in the Austrian Alpine Trials The 1912 Alpenfahrt. Although Rolls-Royce by 1912 had a policy of not being involved in competitive events, it seems likely that they were very pleased that one of their latest cars(1930E) was being entered in the Austrian Alpine Trials by James Radley, a private motorist with a lot of experience at Continental driving. Special unspecified work, costing £2.6.1 was carried out, as suggested (presumably by Radley) in connection with the Austrian Alpine Contest. Rolls-Royce were planning to open a new depot in Vienna and the resulting publicity in such a high profile competition could hardly come at a better time. There is little doubt that this was the most important motoring event, both because of its demanding alpine route over 19 mountain passes and the fact that many members of the Austrian royal family were taking part from an incredible total of 85 starters representing 28 different marques. Radley's splendid car was, according to press reports of the day, the talk of Vienna. It created a sensation with its layout and silence and the elegant brass work under the bonnet. In extolling its virtues and the impression it had made upon everyone, the Viennese motoring correspondent of the time wrote about the wag who likened the engine layout to a buffet then asked for a ham roll! But alas, the car was brand new and Radley, although a highly experienced motorist had not familiarised himself with the route as many other entrants had and was unprepared for the rigours of a pass like the Katschberg. On the first day out from Vienna, Radley, in car number 2, stopped on the Katschberg, a six kilometre mountain climb of around 25% gradient, but with a maximum gradient, for the last 20 metres only, of 27.9% about 1 in 3.58), the last hill before the overnight stop at Spittal. The car did not stall, but it was necessary to allow two passengers to dismount before continuing up the stiff gradient under its own power. This normally would not been too great a problem. The car had not broken down, but because this was an unscheduled stop on a special stage the car would be disqualified. The reason, simply, was that the car had been given a high speed (18:52) rear axle - ideally suited to the flat uncrowded roads around Huntingdon, but in combination with the 3-speed gearbox, just too high for these exceptionally steep mountain roads at high altitudes. Although he could have continued as a non combatant, Radley decided to withdraw from the contest as he would now be unable to win a prize and he set off with his passengers to tour in eastern Austria. This withdrawal did not bother Radley, but caused consternation to Rolls-Royce who were about to open the Vienna depot. The results sheets now showed the Rolls-Royce being disqualified and withdrawn on the very first day while 72 of the other entrants finished the course, 25 without loss of marks. Audi however, entered three cars which all finished, two without loss of points. Fiat and Opel each had a team of three finish without loss of points and shared the team prize. The 1913 Alpenfahrt Rolls-Royce were almost the first to enter the 1913 contest when it was announced in March of that year. A team of three cars was supplemented by an individual entry by Radley, keen to prove that his failure of the previous year was an aberration. The new depot in Vienna was now open and Rolls-Royce advertisements still referred to 'The Best Car in the World' - success this year was an imperative. This time there was much more careful preparation. The three new cars in the Rolls-Royce team including Hancock, Hives, Parsons, Sinclair and Warwick set off from Conduit Street in early May, travelling via Boulogne, Amiens, Paris, Nancy, Ulm and Munich before heading south to test the cars on the actual route, particularly the Katschberg Pass, scene of Radley's debacle the previous year, and the Loibl Pass, the other pass most respected by the competitors for its steepness and its demanding hairpins. James Radley was also competing, with a car to identical specifications to the team cars, save that he had fitted a new Lucas lighting system instead of the archaic acetylene lights. He built the car body himself at his Portholme works. The 1913 contest was longer and more arduous than the previous year - the most severe that had ever been held, with a total distance of 2650 km and no less than 19 major Alpine Passes plus many minor passes. There were fewer entries as many of the works teams threatened to boycott the event as they wished it to be held every two years, not annually. Dr Porsche's Austro-Daimler team was one of the notable omissions. After some last minute team entries from Hansa, Fiat and Fischer there was a total of 47 cars participating; still well down on the previous year. Four Rolls-Royce cars were entered, and led throughout the contest and finished first at the end of each day. The man who finished first on every one of the days was, in fact, James Radley, back again after his misadventure the previous year, to prove that both he and the Rolls-Royce were a formidable combination. The Rolls-Royce works team cars performed well enough that this was the last time ever that Rolls-Royce took part in such a contest (although Radley, with substantial support from Rolls-Royce, competed as a private entrant in 1914). Finishing first was not really surprising, nor was it important, as this was not a race and the Rolls-Royce teams started first, anyway. More important was not to lose any points, but two of the team cars lost points on the second day: Hives lost three points in the intermediate category - either for stalling or for taking more than five minutes to start the car; Sinclair lost two points in the major category, for reasons unspecified. The final results confirm that Sinclair was not penalised in any way for the collision with the Minerva, so although there is evidence to show that this may have been a deliberate attempt by Minerva to penalise the Rolls-Royce team, it had no bearing on the final result. A total of nine cars finished point free. Amongst these was just one Rolls-Royce, that of Friese. Even Radley (not part of the Rolls-Royce three car team) lost four minor category points. Audi had entered four cars which all finished, three without loss of points and one with only minor category points, enabling them to win the team prize. The 1914 Alpenfahrt The 1914 contest was even more severe than the previous year. James Radley was back again in a further improved Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost, supported in the background by Rolls-Royce, even though they were not entering a works team. The total distance this year had been increased to 2932 km and more additional mountain passes had also been included. Radley was once again the leader on all days except one, when he had travelled so fast that the marshals were not on hand to direct him to make a turning and he travelled about 60 km before dis-covering that he was on the wrong road. Radley's performance was flawless and for the first time in the three years in which he took part, he lost no points. In all, there were 16 cars which finished point free, including all five of the Audi cars. The team prize was shared between Audi and Hansa. Performance Summary. When looking at the results over the three years 1912 to 1914, a comparison of the Rolls-Royce & Audi results is as follows:- Marque Entered Finished Point Free Rolls-Royce 6 5 2 Audi 12 12 10 The Audi record was remarkable and although 70 cars in all finished point free in the three years of 1912 to 1914, none were as good as Audi, and the Rolls-Royce record looks somewhat pedestrian by comparison! It is also worth noting that in each of the four years 1911 to 1914, Dr Horch, the founder of Audi, competed and finished in all of those years, two without loss of any points and one with only minor category points lost - an achievement which only the well known Dr Porsche who competed Austro Daimler cars on three of those years could come close to! Perhaps, in the light of what happened 85 years later, when Audi (VW/Audi) bought the Rolls-Royce company, the subsequent history of Rolls-Royce was inevitable! ©2003 John L Kennedy