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 reporting repeated failures of steering boxes and suggesting the part is proving to be very weak.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 38\1\ Scan100 | |
| Date | 4th December 1922 | |
| COPY. Br1/H4.12.22. N-W. BY.{R.W. Bailey - Chief Engineer} C. to Wor.{Arthur Wormald - General Works Manager} Technical - re Steering Boxes. With reference to the above, I wrote to you last June pointing out that two cars, viz., 56-RE and 8 X, had had accidents in which the front wheels had taken a blow, and the steering boxes had broken across. We sent you the broken boxes and you informed us, as per your memo BY/Mtn2/24.7.22, that you were recommending a change in material for this particular part. Since then we have had three others, all during the last fortnight, in like circumstances - chassis 90BW, 60AE and 53CW, which had skids in which the front wheel hit a bank or a kerb, and the steering boxes broke. In view of the frequency of this trouble, I think it only right to place the facts before you that this appears to be proving itself a very weak part. We are forwarding to you all the broken boxes for your examination. In each case so far we have, of course, made a charge for the renewal of the steering box, as the cars had been involved in accidents, but two or three of the customers have expressed surprise that the steering box should break in view of the slight blow which the road wheel has sustained. If you require any more information on the matter, per haps you will be good enough to let me know. Br.{T. E. Bellringer - Repair Manager} [STAMP: RECEIVED DEC 12 1922] | ||