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).
Letter discussing valve leakage, vacuum-feed systems, alternative engine-drive schemes, and chassis lubrication.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 27\1\ Scan043 | |
| Date | 2nd February 1929 guessed | |
| - 9 - We fear that valve leakage in the accumulator would prevent the device working at all in a car driven only on short runs. Bijur replies that valve leakage does not take place to any extent if the system is protected from dirt by the felt filter. He may be right but we should rather see the energy of the system stored mechanically in a spring. We also fear that the intermittent vacuum of the vacuum -feed may soon be a thing of the past (although fuel pumping systems are under criticism just now from lack of fuel storage.) In this case he would connect the intake manifold with the vacuum diaphragm and work the device with a smaller discharge at each closing of the throttle. He has many alternative schemes, some involving an additional engine-drive (like Duesenberg) which we think undesirable. (It is fair to say though that Duesenberg uses his big- reduction engine drive for several jobs, indicating need of changing engine oil, refilling batteries etc.) Some sort of protection against unsuspected emptying of the oil tank appears necessary, Some makers arrange this by using engine oil and arranging that at each filling of the crankcase some of the fresh oil spills over into a reservoir for the chassis lubrication. I hope you will have patience with this enormous reply and accept it in the spirit in which it is offered. Yours very truly, ROLLS ROYCE OF AMERICA, INC. Maurice Olley r/ | ||