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).
Design flaws, rattles, and friction issues with a bumper bar assembly.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 118\3\ scan0215 | |
| Date | 26th August 1936 | |
| C O P Y. To Rm.{William Robotham - Chief Engineer} G.W.H Paris. Copy to F.J.H. 26.8.36. Bumper Bar. Many thanks for getting interested in the weights question. Troubles are galore with rattles and still we do not seem to get any further. I endeavoured to propound the action of the bumper spring leaves in my report on the Bentley. The action is the cross two levers are fighting all the time against the movement of the front main leaf weights attached; consequently it is impossible to maintain the tightness of the two end bolts holding the front leaf and weight to the cross flat leaves. I see in E's remarkable report on 6-B-IV that he noticed the bolts came loose and was under the impression that spring washers were fitted under the nuts. He is not apparently away that in service it is a practice to turn back one castellation of the nut from choc-a-bloc and split pin up. This is to allow the frictional movement of the two cross leaves. I maintain that the design is all wrong. The geometry would be better if there was one thick cross leaf to carry the front leaf and weights, and a thinner leaf on the top to obtain the necessary friction - thus : Hs{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair}/G.W.Hancock. | ||