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).
Report discussing four-link coil spring suspension, Oldsmobile gearboxes, and laminated glass.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 178\2\ img091 | |
| Date | 11th January 1940 guessed | |
| - 5 - Your item No.9. The four-link coil spring suspension which has been developed by Bob Schilling during the past year, is subject to patents issued to me provisionally in England and applied for in the United States. Some rough sketches which I will attach will give you an idea of this type of construction. The arguments for this type of construction are too long and complicated to go into here, but are important enough to demand your attention. Briefly, the purpose is to produce a high enough plane of lateral control for the rear axle so that its tramping or "sculling" tendencies are properly controlled, while at the same time obtaining the required understeer geometry for the rear axle. At the same time, this construction provides means of controlling, satisfactorily, vibration in the six degrees of freedom of the rear axle. Your description of the present Oldsmobile constructions as a lash-up might annoy me as this also was my design originally for the Cadillac, except for the fact that I heartily agree with you. What we can say for it is that it is definitely superior to the torque tube on the Buick. Your Item No.10: I wrote you yesterday about the Oldsmobile hydramatic gear box. The American public must think pretty well of them, since the trouble in G.M. has been to learn how to produce them fast enough. Although sold as a substantial extra, the American public wants them and undoubtedly the other G.M. cars will soon fit them. J.H. Hunt's suggestion that we should buy an Olds "90" car here and definitely work with G.M. to get it above criticism before shipping it to you, seems to me the only way to go after this job. The thing is important enough, I am sure, for you to get an import permit from the appropriate British Ministry so as to allow the car to be sent over as soon as it is right. Your item No.12: The Americans are not using toughened glass and it is considered highly dangerous, especially in windshields as a flying chip is liable to turn the windshield into frosted glass in an instant. New forms of laminated glasses have been developed with new forms of transparent plastic for the interlayer. These laminated (continued)...... | ||