In 1963, Bill Lear (of Learjet fame) was living in Geneva, Switzerland and flying a surplus P-51. After numerous problems with the starter clutch on his Packard-built Merlin, he contacted Rolls-Royce. They instructed Lear to send them the clutch, which was quickly repaired and returned. Lear wrote: “I called my benefactor to thank him and to ask him when to expect an invoice. His reply was: ‘My dear Mr. Lear, Rolls-Royce-designed products do not fail. They may require occasional adjustment, but this is covered by our unlimited warranty. So there is no charge, sir.’ I was blown away. The engine and clutch had been manufactured under license in the U.S.A. by Packard in 1944, yet Rolls still stood behind them in 1963!”
Bill Lear's biography is amazing. He invented the suspension speaker, the 8 track tape, autopilot and of course, made the infamous Lear Jet.
Also, I knew a man who bought a new RR in England and drove it on vacation all through Europe. The engine seized in France. RR flew over a mechanic, repaired the engine. When this man called RR, their answer was, "There has never been a record of an RR engine ever failing. There is no charge on your account."
My father worked for a Rolls Royce dealer in Hollywood, Ca. One day a customer came in and complained that his new car had a strange vibration. Everyone in the shop drove the car, no one could feel a vibration. They called the factory, who in turn told them that someone would be there in the morning. The man from the factory showed up early the next morning. Took the car for a road test, came back and told the service manager that the car had an engine vibration. The factory rep. made a phone call back to the UK. He hung up the phone and told the service manager every one needs to take a 1 hour lunch break (at 10:00 AM) everyone was sent away, some hid to see what was going to happen. The factory rep. opened his briefcase took out a brick, started the car. Placed the brick on the throttle. The engine was running at wide open throttle for about 45 minutes then failed. when everyone returned from lunch the rep. told the service manager that the car had a defective engine and a replacement would be there tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteForgot about it its been so many years, my grandpa's friend had a Silver cloud, the engine gave up the ghost, this is up in northern NH where we lived, their local mechanic talked to RR, paid him to remove the engine, sent a crate, shipped it someplace, came back in a week like brand new, never received a bill for any of it, RR sent the mechanic a check before he wrote any invoice. Not too shabby.
ReplyDeleteBuddy has a marine version Merlin, its in a vintage lake race boat, its all beautiful burnished aluminum ally and fire engine red enamel, sound the engine produces is incredible. They don't time out like the aircraft versions, though they get tired running them WOT. They still can get parts, his is an after WWII vintage, there is a group of owners around the lake region. Wonderful craftsmanship the various makers put into them.
ReplyDeleteThose RR Merlin guys where master foundry men. Masters like no one else.
ReplyDeleteFriend of a friend took his Rolls to England (from Texas), because what better to drive around England in? (60s IIRC). While there the Rolls had a breakdown out on the road. He figures no problem since he's so close to the factory. Calls them up and explains. They direct him to his dealer even though he told them the dealer was in Texas and he was currently in England. The dealer is responsible for the warranty they said. A little put out he calls the dealer who gets the specifics of where he and the car are at. Next day a service team arrives on site flown in from the dealer. Gets the car repaired and he's on his way.
ReplyDeleteAfter his return to Texas he was surprised to not have received an invoice for the work. He calls the dealer, explains that they had flown a service team and parts from Texas to England and he was looking for the bill. "Just a minute please" said the lady at the dealer. She comes back on the line "There is no bill sir. We have no record of a Rolls Royce ever breaking down."
I had the policy confirmed by a Rolls Regional manager one day who had stopped in the shoe store I was managing when I related the story. "True" he said.
Why "...the infamous Lear Jet. "?
ReplyDeleteRolls-Royces do not "break down", you ignorant peasant. They malfunction.
ReplyDeleteActually, they "fail to proceed". Steve_in_Ottawa
DeleteBack in the day before internet, the father of a friend of mine was restoring an Aston Martin DB5 (the same model as the James Bond one,) and had ordered a replacement oil pump for the engine. When he went to install it he noted it did not fit correctly, so not being pressed for time, he sent a letter to the factory in the UK explaining what happened - and as usual, he sent the serial number of the car. Around a month later, there was a knock on his door, it was the General Manager and the Lead Mechanic from the local Rolls Royce dealership - they explained they were contacted by Aston Martin to install the replacement oil pump for their customer, AND for the mechanic to assist in the rebuild and tuning of the engine at no cost to their customer.
ReplyDeleteBecause Aston Martin does not provide incorrect parts.
From what I heard, the Rolls ROyce mechanic and the rest of those at the dealer were quite interested in the progress of the restoration and remained in touch throughout.
Bill Lear was my grandfather's next door neighbor in Wichita for many years. Never met him though.
ReplyDeleteThat engine is what Cthulhu would look like in a Steampunk novel.
ReplyDeleteMore than a century before, a farmer had a new Case threshing machine that would not work right. The local dealer had no luck and sent a telegram to the Case plant. Two expert factory mechanics arrived the next day with no success. The next morning J.I. Case himself arrived, took off his suit coat and went to work. In midafternoon, he asked the farmer for a couple gallons of kerosene. Case doused the machine with it and torched it rather than have it besmirch his company's reputation. The following morning at the depot, a brand-new threshing machine was unloaded for the farmer - no charge.
ReplyDeleteMy wife looked over my shoulder and asked, "what is that!"
ReplyDeleteShe said it looked like a steam punk engine.
Packard made RR Merlins under license during WW2. A Packard Merlin was smoother & nicer than the RR Merlin which shows that the US style of mass production using quality parts was superior to the UK hand fit everything because nothing quite fits style. Packard also paid a substantial fee to RR for every engine they produced. There is plenty of evidence that the Allison 1710 was a better engine, especially if you are paying for the maintenance. Back then "American made" was a reliable endorsement of excellence.
ReplyDeletetrue, Packard reengineered the entire engine in house in less than three months, this with slide rules and good minds, no computers
DeleteYou guys would enjoy "Not Much of an Engineer", written by this guy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanley_Hooker
ReplyDelete