Decision to drop the Maybach gearbox and focus on developing an alternative easy-change third gear.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 6\2\ 02-page093 | |
| Date | 1st May 1930 | |
| Y52 3 HS. {Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} E. {Mr Elliott - Chief Engineer} from Hs. {Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} re Easy Change Third Gear. Sg {Arthur F. Sidgreaves - MD} 13/EHO.5.30 Copy to Mr. Ht. PH. Thanks for El/M:9.5.30. I note that the Maybach gear box has been definitely dropped. Such being the case will Hs. {Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} please see that we do not buy the gearbox from Maybach at a cost of £50 which we agreed to do when I was last at Derby. With regard to other schemes, I am afraid I do not agree that there is no hurry for us to have an easy change because our cars are chiefly driven by chauffeurs as a very large number of owners drive themselves, and apart from that I think it is an advantage even for a chauffeur, but the main point is, I think, that fashion is more or less going to demand it. I feel, therefore, very strongly that we ought to have an easy change third scheme which we can offer before we come to the epicyclic gear which, I am sure, is some years off the possibilities of production, and in one of R's recent memos he agreed this point of view and said: "For an immediate alternative we have the free wheel side shaft which is not bad for our good gears. Get this tested and available to offer." This is one of the two alternatives mentioned in your memo. and as a certain amount of development work has already been done at Derby with this on a S5, this seems to be the one which we should push on with, and I should be glad if Ht. will now try to develop it for a 40/50. Sg. {Arthur F. Sidgreaves - MD} | ||
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).