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).
Weight limitations for the Goshawk model and the terms of the associated guarantee.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 107\4\ scan0016 | |
| Date | 16th November 1922 | |
| To BJ. from R.{Sir Henry Royce} c. to CJ. Wor.{Arthur Wormald - General Works Manager} BY.{R.W. Bailey - Chief Engineer} c. to Da.{Bernard Day - Chassis Design} Hs.{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} EP.{G. Eric Platford - Chief Quality Engineer} X4538 R2/M16.11.22.& RE. GOSHAWK WEIGHTS. X.4538. I understood that this question was settled. The weight I gave was that the total car with everything should never exceed 4260 lbs.(38 cwts.). As we are allowing 8 cwts. for the passengers and luggage this would bring the complete car with spares to 30 cwts. I think our guarantee should cease if it exceeds 39 cwts. everything on. We certainly ought also to explain that our object in limiting the weight is to prevent the car being over-loaded so as to spoil its performance, explaining that we know through carelessness etc., bodies, spares, and luggage, and neccessary accessory fittings often put on an amount of weight quite astounding, so as to be disastrous to the economy and efficiency of the running of the car, costing the owner money quite unnecessarily in tyres, fuel, etc. and destroying the reputation of the chassis by making it slow on hills, and its acceleration poor. I think it is only necessary to explain in the guarantee, our object, for the owner to agree with us that it is to his advantage as well as our own, and that from our past reputation we should not be likely to dispute our responsibility and offend owners by disputes about weight, for the sake of the cost of a spare part, should a failure occur. In the guarantee we should also say the propotion of the load which is to fall on the front wheels. This has for its object to maintain the efficiency of the steering and contd: | ||