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).
Evaluation of competitor cars for the 'Peregrine' project, focusing on gearbox noise and a potential test car purchase.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 1\8\ B001_X100 Engine Chassis-page010 | |
| Date | 4th November 1931 | |
| 84027 To Sg.{Arthur F. Sidgreaves - MD} From Hs.{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} c. to Wor.{Arthur Wormald - General Works Manager} Hs.{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair}6/MJ.4.11.31. K4012. "PEREGRINE". You will remember it was arranged that we should look around Olympia to see if there was a car we should like to buy which would represent something in the 'Peregrine' class. The cars which we tried, Talbot, M.G., Isis, etc., are not very interesting. The most promising car we tried was the 19 HP. Chrysler. It is a little larger in size than the 'Peregrine' but we think this is an advantage because by the time we have 'Peregrine' completed one would expect the performance of cars to have increased slightly. The interesting feature on the Chrysler car was that they had an exceptionally quiet side shaft and third speed which they obtained with no complications or frills. They were using straight gears, not even helical. We firmly hold the view that there is a tremendous lot in the design of the gearbox in order to obtain silence. Our method is to rely on superlative workmanship, which naturally costs a lot of money and yet we still fall short of the results obtained on the cheaper car. We are in definite trouble with gear noise on the synchro-mesh gearbox, our silence is nothing like as good as it ought to be. We have Wor{Arthur Wormald - General Works Manager}'s. agreement, and we are proceeding with trying out a box made out in cast iron which is used universally on cars with known quiet gearboxes. The advantage in cast iron is that it is less resonant. We are also trying various pitch in gears. We have been in touch with a local agent here and trying to fix up an arrangement that if we purchase a car he would take it back after a certain time at a fixed depreciation. At the moment they have made an offer that we could have a car and use it for three months and they would take it back at £120 less than we paid for it. One has to realise that depreciation on U.S.A. cars is very great, and we know that on the last Chrysler car we bought we lost a considerable amount of money. This is a point which could be discussed with you on your next visit to Derby. Hs.{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} | ||