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 from Cadillac Motor Car Company regarding the dispatch and technical specifications of a steering gear.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 170\2\ img073 | |
| Date | 30th August 1932 | |
| O.S. Files CADILLAC MOTOR CAR COMPANY DETROIT, MICHIGAN CADILLAC AND LA{L. A. Archer} SALLE MOTOR CARS August 30, 1932. Mr. E.{Mr Elliott - Chief Engineer} W. Hives, Rolls Royce, Limited, Derby, England. . Dear Hs.{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair}: The steering gear is now dispatched. Will leave Montreal Friday, September 2nd by C.P.R. steamer for Liverpool. I attach two prints showing our standard gear, which in all respects except length and mounting flange is similar to the one sent you. I do not have prints of your gear which was made, to your sketch, at Saginaw Steering Gear division at Saginaw, Michigan. A trunnion mounting has been provided on the box. This division also makes the Marles gear (an improved version of the original Marles) used by Buick. I do not know whether you will like this gear. As a matter of fact, your letter arrived just when Briggs was hounding the life out of us, because our steerings at the Proving Ground had all proved sticky when hot and none too good when cold. If your letter had arrived a few weeks later I think I should have taken a chance on sending you the latest type Marles gear instead of what you asked for. But, not knowing enough about it at the time I thought it best to send you something that was as good as we knew how to do in our standard hourglass worm. We have been feeling our gears on a rig, lifting 160# on a 10" arm, and I am prepared to say that most of them just lately are not only inefficient but rough. Few of them will not stick when hot. Saginaw have been partially convinced that machining inaccuracies are the root of the trouble, but probably only wholesale rejection of their deliveries will produce real improvement. Your gear is above standard. I noticed that although it feels rough with 1600 # ins. it does not feel correspondingly worse with 3200# ins. | ||