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).
Standardising the speedometer and electrical accessories for the Goshawk 11 model.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 45\3\ Scan230 | |
| Date | 1st January 1922 | |
| To C. from Hs.{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} c. to E.{Mr Elliott - Chief Engineer} c. to Ds. c. to BY.{R.W. Bailey - Chief Engineer} c. to EP.{G. Eric Platford - Chief Quality Engineer} c. to Wor.{Arthur Wormald - General Works Manager} X4077 Hs{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair}3/LG9.1.22. ACCESSORIES FOR GOSHAWK 11. X4067 X4077 We should like to make it clear that the fitting of different makes of accessories to Goshawk 11. car will be quite a different proposition to the 40/50. On the 40/50 there is not much difficulty in fitting any make of speedometer because of the external drive. In the case of Goshawk 11. speedometer, it is driven from gears inside the gear box. Unless we standardise one make of speedometer and insist that the makers shall supply speedometers which are all calibrated the same, we shall be in no end of trouble. To alter the speedometer ratio on the Goshawk means taking the gear box off the engine and dismantling the gear box completely and fitting new hardened gears. This will be quite an expensive job, in fact, we may find that to alter the speedometer ratio will cost more than the speedometer itself. Therefore, we wish to make it clear to the Sales Dept. it will be essential for the works to know when the gear box is being built, exactly what speedometer will be used. It will be quite impracticable for us to make gear ratios for all makes of speedometer. On the 40/50 chassis, we use the standard 12-volt 2-wire system. On Goshawk 11. we are going to use the 12-volt single-wire system. This means that the electrical accessories for the Goshawk will all have to be special. We do not know of any other makers who use the 12-volt single-wire system. The lamps will have to be fitted with special bulb holders and the bulbs will be different to the usual English standard. This means that we cannot fit any make of lamps to the Goshawk chassis. Unless we standardise certain lamps there is a great risk that customers will choose lamps which are not suitable but which will be bodged up by the makers in order to suit our system of wiring. If this is done, there is a risk of the owner of the car being very dissatisfied with his electrical system. We think it would be a great pity, if we go to the trouble of making R-R electrical equipment throughout the car, if we do not insist that the lamps used on the car shall only be those standardised by us. Hs.{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} | ||