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 from Wilcox-Rich regarding hydraulic lash adjusters and a proposal for collaboration.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 174\2\ img255 | |
| Date | 6th July 1938 | |
| WILCOX-RICH DIVISION OF EATON MANUFACTURING COMPANY 9771 FRENCH ROAD DETROIT, MICHIGAN PRODUCTS RICH VALVES VALVE SEAT RINGS VALVE STEM GUIDES VALVE-O-MATIC HYDRAULIC LIFTERS PLANTS SAGINAW MARSHALL BATTLE CREEK July 6, 1938 Dict. 7-5-38 Mr. W. A.{Mr Adams} Robotham Rolls-Royce, Ltd. Derby, England Dear Mr. Robotham: We certainly appreciate your letter of June 21st and now understand why you were not satisfied with the hydraulic type lash adjuster when all your test work was apparently done with the eccentric type and this also explains the reference to the effect of oil viscosity. We are glad to hear you do not feel that our type lash adjuster should have the same difficulty. The question of being noisy on the engine standing with valves open, consequently squeezing out the oil in that particular unit, is, we believe, answered by the following. With a properly designed and fitted application, after the original break-in there is always a supply of oil available to the unit. The instant the open valve is returned to the seat this oil is drawn into the cylinder so that by the time the engine has turned over sufficiently to create a start this particular unit is loaded and operating in a normal manner. Since your last visit we have made quite a few different types of application and, as you undoubtedly know, have been in production on the Lincoln-Zephyr as well as continuing with the Cadillac line -- in fact, on their redesigned 16-cylinder engine they discarded the eccentric type and have adopted our zero-lash. We have also made some interesting applications in the commercial field -- they being standard equipment on certain models manufactured by the White Motor Company in both bus and truck engines. We feel quite confident we can work out a good application for your engine if you will give us the opportunity of studying your drawings and layouts, and would greatly appreciate the opportunity to make a definite recommendation. If you could send us the following data we would be glad to go over it and submit proposals: Assembly layout, showing valve train; Details of (and weights, if possible): Valves, Valve springs (weight & loads) Retainers and keys Valve guides Rocker arm assembly and details Pushrod Tappet Camshaft with timing diagram Cam contour layout | ||