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).
Progress report on repairs to Spectre No.3, detailing work on the engine, gearbox, and suspension.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 91\4\ scan0105 | |
| Date | 12th July 1935 | |
| COPY Hotel & Cafe de France, Chateauroux. 12th July, 1935. Mr. Coverley. You will no doubt be pleased to hear we are making good progress with SpectreCodename for Phantom III No.3. I had no trouble getting the damaged valve seat out and I recut the new one by hand. The cylinder liner was also a straightforward job, the liner was cracked but had not bulged at all, so it came out easily. We had a run out of the engine at 7 o'clock this evening and everything seems O.K. although Hancock reports unusual noises from the timing case. The gearbox has been a big job, the floating bushes on the 2nd and 3rd speed gears and also the 3rd motion shaft to 1st motion shaft had been seized up. Hancock reports a shortage of oil in the front half of the gearbox. To overcome this we have plugged up the hole in the diaphragm which delivers oil from the trough in the front half of the box to the rear reverse shaft bush. This trough serves no useful purpose when the gears are running in the reverse direction. The oil also builds up in the cavity which contains the constant mesh gears, and through the reverse shaft to the rear half of the box, so we have plugged up the reverse shaft. We have also drilled oil holes under the bushes on the 2nd speed driving gear as this shaft is submerged in oil and oil has a clear way in at each end, oil should be delivered to the bushes when the shaft revolves. We have also cut oil grooves in the end faces of the bushes to try and get lubrication there. The cones have been relapped and the spring loading scheme fitted to the self lock pin. As the post does not leave to-night I will finish this to-morrow. We have got the gearbox back again and ready for a run and oil flows to both halves of the box. We have got the front suspension stripped down and I am going to try and solder the joint between the two steel pots to prevent oil getting out between the flanges and frame. This joint is now spun over. | ||