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 to G.W. Hancock in France concerning the testing of flexible road springs and strengthened pivots.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 82\3\ scan0286 | |
| Date | 14th May 1935 | |
| X200a G.W. Hancock, Esq., Hotel de France, Chateauroux, Indre, France. Hs{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair}/Rm.{William Robotham - Chief Engineer}19/KW.14.5.35. On the 15th August, 1934, you reported on road springs with an initial camber of 2.93. Presumably you still have these more flexible road springs in France, and we should like you to try them again on 5-B-IV. They will be weak for 5-B-IV, but if you take the buffers off it will give the effect of more initial camber which you have asked for, and at the same time should enable you to do the test. The point is, that having now established that springs shackled at the rear are O.K. for steering shocks, etc., you will have adequate axle control with these flexible springs, and if as you say they do not affect the steering or road holding, they would be very useful for a certain class of customer. If, as a result of these tests, you would like to try more flexible front springs, we will get some made up and sent out to you. We have examined some of the 4º lean pivots which we have at Derby, and the attached sketch shows that they are weaker than the standard pivot, which has probably been the cause of the failure. At the same time we are taking the precaution of thickening up the standard pivot. We are putting in hand 2 more 4º pivots, strengthened, which we shall send out to you, as it is useful to have this axle in France for confirmatory tests of steering, and we may still desire to standardise it if you confirm that it gives better all round results. Hs{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair}/Rm.{William Robotham - Chief Engineer} | ||