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).
Failures of thick leaf rear springs following a telegram about a broken spring in Spain.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 119\2\ scan0093 | |
| Date | 16th March 1920 | |
| X.1331 To R.{Sir Henry Royce} from Hs.{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} c. to CJ. c. to Bn.{W.O. Bentley / Mr Barrington} c. to E.{Mr Elliott - Chief Engineer} c. to Da.{Bernard Day - Chassis Design} Hs{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair}5/LG16.3.20. X.2628. RE THICK LEAF REAR SPRINGS. X.1331. We have received to-day the following telegram from CJ:- "HIVES TWENTY-SIX C.W. HAS BROKEN BACK SPRING IN SPAIN PLEASE FORWARD ALL INFORMATION AS TO BUMPING TESTS OF SPLIT SPRINGS TO ROYCE IN ORDER THAT HE MAY CONSIDER WHETHER THEY ARE LIKELY TO BE A DANGER TO LIFE. JOHNSON" Attached herewith is a list of the failures on rear springs which occurred on the bump tests. We think it is first necessary to know which plate it is that has broken on the car in Spain. If it is not the bottom split platen we shall not overcome the trouble by fitting springs with the solid bottom leaf. On the bumping tests we get all the plates breaking in turn. Although the split bottom/leaf has been changed after a shorter period of running than the other leaves, this may be due to the fact that we change the bottom leaf when we find that it has a definite crack, whereas the others we do not vhange them until they actually break. If the bttom split leaf breaks completely, the car would be let down on that side. One would imagine that it would drop until the rubber buffer caught on the axle or the mudguards caught on the tyres. If any of the other plates break it would not cause any serious inconvenience except that the car would be let down slightly on that side. Contd. | ||