Thread: Building a Rolls Royce Radiator

Just like Britpart lol

I stopped watching after a couple of minutes. I suppose it's nice to see old craftsmen still doing their thing but they'll be replaced soon by a robot. And who will care? Certainly not Volkswagen/BMW or whoever owns them at the time as the bottom line is the only thing they care about.
AlanH.

Similar care and attention to detail went into the hand making of my Defender.

Got to go now, just been distracted by that flock of pigs flying by my window.

Kenley

i watched it all, brilliant

Originally Posted by ATH

I stopped watching after a couple of minutes. I suppose it's nice to see old craftsmen still doing their thing but they'll be replaced soon by a robot. And who will care? Certainly not Volkswagen/BMW or whoever owns them at the time as the bottom line is the only thing they care about.
AlanH.

BMW own them. I can't see why anything would change. They delivered 4000 ish cars World Wide last year. 4000. If you think that that figure means anything to BMW you are mistaken, as they delivered nearly 2.5 Million cars over the same period. Rolls Royce is a matter of prestige for them, and they know if they muck around too much then they will lose that. Sure, underneath it's a 7 Series, but the people who buy them don't care about that. The entire car is hand built to order. No two are the same. That's why they cost what they do.

I'm thinking of when those old craftsmen die off Johntins. I'm certain the bean counters will look long and hard at how to get this sort of thing, which is probably the same throughout the models RR produce, done cheaper and quicker.
I also wonder if there are any apprentices coming along who would take that kind of care.
Who amongst the 400 buyers will give a stuff if the radiator is done by man or machine? Very few I suspect and they would only start caring if something like a BMW badge started appearing at the back..... or worse still one with wings atop that radiator.
AlanH.

Originally Posted by ATH

I'm thinking of when those old craftsmen die off Johntins. I'm certain the bean counters will look long and hard at how to get this sort of thing, which is probably the same throughout the models RR produce, done cheaper and quicker.
I also wonder if there are any apprentices coming along who would take that kind of care.
Who amongst the 400 buyers will give a stuff if the radiator is done by man or machine? Very few I suspect and they would only start caring if something like a BMW badge started appearing at the back..... or worse still one with wings atop that radiator.
AlanH.

I hear you, Alan. I have a long association with RR ( the original one ), and I was mortified when it was broken up and sold. However, one must be realistic. There is no way RR and Bentley could continue to do the R&D needed to survive these days.

Bentley is flourishing under VW's ownership, but, in some way it's not quite right. There's something, I don't know, cynical perhaps in the approach. It's just another technical tour-de-force, like their efforts with Bugatti. There's hardly even a hat tip to their history. And some will say, "so what".

I believe BMW is doing better with RR. The old Crewe factory had to go, I know that, and the Goodwood facility is state of the art, but the old methods still prevail in the interiors, and the iconic RR touches. Sure, the hides are no longer the unique Connolly leather they once were, but that was, and I believe still is, a customer choice. Burr walnut is probably gone though, as safety takes precedence. Grrr.

The old crafts, I believe, will continue as long as there are people willing to learn. Apprenticeships are still offered. If the craft dies out, it will more likely be due to kids not being bothered. Still, RR has managed to keep up the standards for over 110 years, so I guess we should feel lucky to have seen it.

Oh, you ask who would give a stuff? Ask the Arab who bought a gold skinned Bugatti Veyron. That is the market these days, and they care very, very much indeed. For a month or two.

I truly hope those old skills do get carried forward but being a total cynic these days about virtually everything, I really can't see it happening. I did a 5 year apprenticeship over 50 years ago and took great pride in, towards the end of it, building gearboxes for pavers and graders etc. for the company. This was work usually reserved for the best tradesman in the factory.
I remember being shocked when a mate of mine, supposedly a skilled man, was given some boxes to build (purely because of his agitating and whinging about an apprentice doing it....) and used a hammer and chisel to burr up a shaft to remove slack from between shafts and gears instead of trying each to find the best fit.
His work was very bad and all because he just wouldn't slow down and try things properly, clean the parts or get things ready before he started the job. I was asked to fix what he'd stuffed (polite word for the forum) as he was married with a kid and it would cost him his piece work bonus to go back on the job and fix it but I as an apprentice wouldn't suffer.
And anyway I'd only spend the money on booze and birds according to them.......
Maybe the bonus system was the culprit trying to get the work done quicker, but knowing many of the blokes back then and suspecting companies only want to get rid of as many they can, I really can't see these old skills lasting much after the present craftsmen go.
Great pity but that's the way of the world these days.
AlanH.

PS. Younger bro is on the cusp of ordering a Bentley now his RRS Autobio is out of warranty....... I hope it lives up to his expectations.