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92-443: During the 1930s, automakers sought to reduce or eliminate the need to shift gears. At the time, synchronized gear shifting was still a novelty (and confined to higher gears in most cases), and shifting a manual gearbox required more effort than most drivers cared to exert. The exception here was Cadillac's break-through synchromesh fully synchronized manual transmission, designed by Cadillac engineer Earl A. Thompson and introduced in

184-417: A "3-2" downshift when going around a corner, which usually resulted in a neck-snapping jolt upon band application. From 1939 to 1950, the reverse anchor was used to lock the reverse unit ring gear from turning by engaging external teeth machined into that ring gear. From 1951 on, a cone clutch did the same thing when oil pressure was up, and a spring-loaded parking pawl was allowed to lock the same ring gear in

276-803: A "five-shilling meal" at the Swan and Royal hotel in Clitheroe , Stanley Hooker and Ernest Hives of Rolls-Royce agreed with Spencer Wilks of the Rover Car Company that Rolls-Royce would take over top secret work on the development of the jet engine. An exchange of assets followed with Rover and in the post- World War II period Rolls-Royce made significant advances in gas turbine engine design and manufacture. The Dart and Tyne turboprop engines were particularly important, enabling airlines to cut times for shorter journeys whilst jet airliners were introduced on longer services. The Dart engine

368-478: A converter clutch. Many Hydramatics did not execute the 2-3 shift very well, as the shift involved the simultaneous operation of two bands and two clutches. Accurate coordination of these components was difficult to achieve, even in new transmissions. As the transmission's seals and other elastomers aged, the hydraulic control characteristics changed and the 2-3 shift would either cause a momentary flare (sudden increase in engine speed) or tie-up (a short period where

460-690: A manual gearbox that could handle the torque of the new Rocket V8 engine. 1948 Oldsmobile Futuramic introduction . One million Hydramatics had been sold by 1949. In the early 1950s various manufacturers without the resources to develop a proprietary automatic transmission bought Hydra-Matics from GM. Users included: In 1952, Rolls-Royce acquired a license to produce the HydraMatic for Rolls-Royce and Bentley automobiles. It continued production until 1967. A massive fire that destroyed GM's Hydra-Matic plant in Livonia, Michigan on August 12, 1953, left

552-467: A market failure of the new transmission. Advertising proclaimed it "the greatest advance since the self-starter ". In 1940, the Hydra-Matic was a US$ 57.00 option ($ 1,240 in 2023 dollars ), rising to US$ 100.00 ($ 2,071 in 2023 dollars ) for 1941. In 1941, it also became an option on Cadillacs for $ 125.00 ($ 2,589 in 2023 dollars ). Almost 200,000 had been sold by the time passenger car production

644-694: A new source for Hydra-Matic production at Willow Run , Michigan. By the time the 1954 models debuted in late 1953, Hydra-Matic production had returned to normal levels and all '54 model Cadillacs, Oldsmobiles, and Pontiacs with automatic transmissions were once again equipped with Hydra-Matics . Evolving by the pressure of industrial competition from other manufacturers such as Studebaker's three-speed lock-up torque converter co-designed by Detroit Gear (a division of Borg-Warner), named DG 200/250, and Packard 's dual-range two-speed lock-up torque converter coupled Ultramatic , GM's Hydra-Matic underwent several revisions through 1955, before being gradually replaced by

736-479: A new three-speed torque converter automatic transmission called Turbo-Hydramatic in 1964 and 1965, whose design was more similar in principle to the Chrysler TorqueFlite and the '51 Borg-Warner-designed Ford Cruise-O-Matic than the fluid coupling Hydra-Matic the "Turbo" replaced. The original Hydra-Matic continued to be used in light trucks and other commercial vehicles until 1962. It

828-660: A selector quadrant similar to Chevrolet's Powerglide in that there was only one "Drive" position and a "Low", although it was a true three-speed unit. This was improved upon for all 1965 models with the "D L2 L1" or "D S L" quadrant, which allowed "dual range" flexibility as did the Dual-Range Hydramatic of 1953–1955. It was this version that replaced all Roto Hydramatic and Controlled-Coupling Hydramatic models in GM cars in that year, ending twenty-four years of four-speed automatic transmission production that obviated

920-403: A unit, as they, too, were quite heavy when compared to other contemporary units. In the end, the true Hydramatic was rendered obsolete because of its cost, both in raw materials used as well as the machining needed. The successor, Turbo Hydramatic , was a much simpler, lighter, and cheaper, if less efficient, transmission. Synchromesh Too Many Requests If you report this error to

1012-488: A variety of transmissions, the most notable of which is the Turbo Hydra-Matic from the 1960s to the 1990s. The Hydramatic used a two-element fluid coupling (not a torque converter , which has at least three elements, the pump, turbine, and stator although Roto Hydra-Matic has a fluid coupling and a fixed stator) and three planetary gearsets , providing four forward speeds plus reverse. Standard ratios for

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1104-416: A yacht, Silver Ghost . Unofficially the press and public immediately picked up and used Silver Ghost for all the 40/50 cars made until the introduction of the 40/50 Phantom in 1925. The new 40/50 was responsible for Rolls-Royce's early reputation with over 6,000 built. Its chassis was used as a basis for the first British armoured car used in both world wars . Aero-engine manufacturing began in 1914 at

1196-681: The Bentley 3½ Litre . Advertised as "the silent sports car" and very much in the Rolls-Royce mould, it was a private entry by Eddie Hall (but supported by Rolls-Royce) in the 1934, 1935 and 1936 RAC Tourist Trophy sports car races on the Ards Circuit , where it recorded the fastest average speed in each year (ahead of Lagondas and Bugattis). This helped the Sales Department as old Bentley customers had been inclined to doubt that

1288-557: The Controlled-Coupling version that succeeded it in 1956) did not have a separate park position as found in modern automatic transmissions. The driver had to shut off the engine and then place the transmission in reverse in order to lock the driveline to prevent the car from moving. Also, the original Hydramatic required periodic band adjustments as a routine maintenance item that later versions did not. Early 1940 model Oldsmobiles with Hydra-Matic Drive could be started with

1380-498: The Hawker Siddeley Trident , BAC One-Eleven , Grumman Gulfstream II and Fokker F28 Fellowship . During the late 1950s and 1960s there was a significant rationalisation of all aspects of British aerospace and this included aero-engine manufacturers. In 1966 Rolls-Royce acquired Bristol Siddeley (which had resulted from the merger of Armstrong Siddeley and Bristol Aero Engines in 1959) and incorporated it as

1472-702: The Meteor , was developed for the Cromwell tank . The Meteor's development completed in 1943 the same team at the Belper foundry restarted work on an eight-cylinder car engine widening its uses and it became the pattern for the British Army's B range of petrol engines for post war combat vehicles in particular in Alvis 's FV600 range, Daimler 's Ferret , Humber 's Hornet and Pig and Austin 's Champ . After

1564-710: The Ministry of Defence and used during World War II for the manufacture of Mosquito and Halifax aircraft. For a number of years, Rolls-Royce used the site for the manufacture of helicopter engines until the site closed in June 1993. The former Rolls-Royce factory at Watford is now known as the Leavesden Film Studios and has produced world-famous films, including the James Bond , Star Wars and Harry Potter series. The amalgamations and disappearances of

1656-664: The Rolls-Royce 10 hp , was unveiled at the Paris Salon in December 1904. Rolls-Royce Limited was formed on 15 March 1906, by which time it was apparent that new premises were required for production of cars. After considering sites in Manchester, Coventry , Bradford and Leicester , it was an offer from Derby 's council of cheap electricity that resulted in the decision to acquire a 12.7 acres (51,000 m ) site on

1748-473: The Rolls-Royce 30 hp . Initially designated the 40/50 hp, this was Rolls-Royce's first all-new model. In March 1908, Claude Johnson , Commercial Managing Director and sometimes described as the hyphen in Rolls-Royce , succeeded in persuading Royce and the other directors that Rolls-Royce should concentrate exclusively on the new model, and all the earlier models were duly discontinued. Johnson had an early example finished in silver and named, as if it were

1840-558: The Royal Aircraft Factory asked Rolls-Royce to design a new 200 hp (150 kW) engine. Despite initial reluctance, they agreed, and during 1915, developed Rolls-Royce's first aero engine, the twelve-cylinder Eagle . This was quickly followed by the smaller six-cylinder Hawk , the 190 hp (140 kW) Falcon and, just before the end of the war, the larger 675 hp (503 kW) Condor . Throughout World War I, Rolls-Royce struggled to build aero engines in

1932-524: The 1940 model year . The first Oldsmobiles so equipped were shipped in October 1939 in the Oldsmobile Series 60 and the Oldsmobile Series 70 . Oldsmobile was chosen to introduce the Hydra-Matic for two reasons: economies of scale —Oldsmobile produced more cars than Cadillac and Buick at the time, thus providing a better test base—and to protect the reputation of Cadillac and Buick in case of

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2024-493: The 1950s and 1960s left a small number of major airframe manufacturers based in only a few countries. The competition for the very large contracts to supply their engines grew intense. Expensive research and development became vital. Real profits came from the maintenance contracts which might peak a whole human generation later. By the 1980s it was said that each generation of aero engines cost around 10 times that of its parent. At this time Rolls-Royce employed 80,000 people and it

2116-404: The 1987 issue of shares to members of the public Rolls-Royce was by then one of only three enterprises outside USSR and China able to design develop and produce large gas turbine engines. At that time its engines were installed in the aircraft of more than 270 civil carriers and were used by 110 armed services and 700 operators of executive and corporate aircraft. In addition, its turbines powered

2208-639: The Avro Manchester with its unreliable Rolls-Royce Vulture engines), Vickers Wellington (twin-engine); it also transformed the American North American P-51 Mustang into a competitor for the best fighter of its time, its engine a Merlin engine built by Packard under licence. Over 160,000 Merlin engines were produced, including over 30,000 by the Ford Motor Company at Trafford Park, Manchester. During

2300-594: The Bristol Siddeley division. Bristol Siddeley, with its principal factory at Filton , near Bristol , had a strong base in military engines, including the Olympus , Viper , Pegasus (vectored thrust) and Orpheus . They were also manufacturing the Olympus 593 Mk610 to be used in Concorde in collaboration with SNECMA. They also had a turbofan project with SNECMA. According to the prospectus published for

2392-754: The Minister of Defence), Sir St. John Elstub (managing director of Imperial Metal Industries ), and Sir Charles Elworthy (former Marshal of the Royal Air Force and Chief of the Defence Staff ). The new aircraft with its three RB211 engines left USA for the first time and arrived in Paris on 1 June 1971. At Palmdale California the L-1011 received its US Federal Aviation Administration's certificate of airworthiness on 14 April 1972, nine months late. On

2484-556: The Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.133 via cp1102 cp1102, Varnish XID 547272484 Upstream caches: cp1102 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Thu, 28 Nov 2024 05:33:19 GMT Rolls-Royce Limited Rolls-Royce Limited was a British luxury car and later an aero-engine manufacturing business established in 1904 in Manchester by

2576-404: The absence of oil pressure. This worked better as the anchor would not grind on the external teeth if that ring gear were turning (that is unless the engine stalled as reverse was engaged). The reverse was obtained by applying torque from the front unit (band on, in reduction) through the fluid coupling to the rear unit sun gear. The planet carrier of this gearset was splined to the planet carrier of

2668-528: The angle drive for the transit bus application, while the ¾ ton and up pickup truck model (HM270) still tipped the scale at a solid 435 pounds. When coupled to GMC's heavy V6 powerplant of 1960–1962, the powertrain weight was not too much lighter than the weight of the entire body of a ¾ ton P-2500 model pickup truck. Even its successor, the Controlled-Coupling Hydramatic was reviled by shop mechanics having to remove or reinstall such

2760-553: The autumn of 1928. Cadillac, under Thompson, began working on a 'shiftless' transmission in 1932, and a new department within Cadillac Engineering was created, headed by Thompson and including engineers Ernest Seaholm, Ed Cole , Owen Nacker , and Oliver Kelley. During 1934, the Cadillac transmission group had developed a step-ratio gearbox that would shift automatically under full torque. This same group of engineers

2852-472: The bank would withdraw its overdraft facility on which Rolls-Royce depended at that time. Nevertheless, believing that war was likely to be short-lived the directors initially decided not to seek government work making aero engines. However, this position was quickly reversed and Rolls-Royce was persuaded by the War Office to manufacture fifty air-cooled V8 engines under licence from Renault . Meanwhile,

Hydramatic - Misplaced Pages Continue

2944-468: The colour of the Rolls-Royce radiator monogram was changed from red to black; because the red sometimes clashed with the coachwork colour selected by clients, and not as a mark of respect for the death of Royce later that year as is commonly stated. The British government built a shadow factory in Crewe in 1938 for Rolls-Royce where they could build their Merlin and Griffon aero engines. Car production

3036-511: The company to "Rolls-Royce plc", the British government sold it to the public in a share offering . Rolls-Royce plc still owns and operates Rolls-Royce's principal business, although, since 2003, it is technically a subsidiary of Rolls-Royce Holdings plc , a listed holding company . Henry Royce started an electrical and mechanical business in 1884. He made his first car, a two-cylinder Royce 10, in his Manchester factory in 1904. Henry Royce

3128-595: The core business but sold the holdings in British Aircraft Corporation (BAC) almost immediately and transferred ownership of the profitable but now financially insignificant car division to Rolls-Royce Motors Holdings Limited , which it sold to Vickers in 1980. Rolls-Royce obtained consent to drop the '1971' distinction from its company name in 1977, at which point it became known once again as "Rolls-Royce Limited". The Rolls-Royce business remained nationalised until 1987 when, after having renamed

3220-424: The corporation and the three divisions that used this transmission scrambling for other sources of automatic transmissions to complete that year's model year production. As a result, Oldsmobiles and Cadillacs during the downtime were assembled with Buick's Dynaflow transmission, while Pontiacs used Chevrolet 's Powerglide , both two-speed torque-converter units. Non-GM makes that bought Hydra-Matics from

3312-549: The corporation, including Ford Motor Co.'s Lincoln division and independent automakers Hudson, Kaiser, and Nash ended up looking for other sources of automatic transmissions as well, with Lincoln using the Borg-Warner-designed Ford-O-Matic transmission, while other automakers also switched to automatics from Borg-Warner during the downtime. About nine weeks after the Livonia fire, GM opened up

3404-451: The day the chairman of Lockeed said "...we know that in airline service it (RB211) will prove itself to be one of the leading power plants in aviation history". The first airliner was delivered to Eastern Air Lines on 5 April 1972 but it had been beaten in the race to production by McDonnell Douglas 's DC-10 . Rolls-Royce Motors Limited was incorporated on 25 April 1971, two and a half months after Rolls-Royce fell into receivership. Under

3496-437: The day. Controlled-Coupling Hydra-Matic was substantially smoother than the original Hydra-Matic , but also more complex and expensive to produce, just as efficient as the original HydraMatic because all HydraMatic transmissions, including Roto Hydra-Matic and Tempest Torque , use the split-torque design. In 1961, The model 375 Roto Hydramatic was produced. The Roto is a four range three speed unit. The Roto eliminated

3588-461: The development and manufacturing of engines for military and commercial aircraft. In the late 1960s, Rolls-Royce was adversely affected by the mismanaged development of its advanced RB211 jet engine and consequent cost over-runs, though it ultimately proved a great success. In 1971, the owners were obliged to liquidate their business. The useful portions were bought by a new government-owned company named "Rolls-Royce (1971) Limited", which continued

3680-428: The engine caused the transmission oil pressure to rapidly dissipate. If the selector lever was in reverse or moved to reverse after the engine stopped, two mechanical parts combined to provide a parking brake. The reverse unit ring gear was held stationary by the reverse anchor. The driveshaft could still turn to cause the reverse unit sun gear and attached rear unit ring gear to rotate at a very high speed, were it not for

3772-505: The engine output as a torque converter does. (In this way, it was less sophisticated than the 1924 Vulcan (Vulcan-Werke Hamburg und Stettin) prototype, which had a torque converter.) It incorporated a parking pawl which was engaged when the shift selector was placed in reverse with the engine off. There was no separate Park position as found with modern transmissions. The result, dubbed " Hydra-Matic Drive ", went into production in May 1939 for

Hydramatic - Misplaced Pages Continue

3864-405: The fact that the rear unit ring gear band was now applied by a heavy spring. Usually, bands are applied by a servo and released by spring pressure, but in this case, the band was held off by the servo and applied by spring pressure (actually, when the engine was running, the band was applied by a combination of spring pressure assisted by oil pressure). With the engine off, this brake band acting on

3956-507: The first car being completed on January 17, 1921, that being a Silver Ghost with a documented chassis price of US$ 11,750 ($ 200,715 in 2023 dollars ). When the factory closed in 1931, 2,944 total vehicles had been produced. It was located at the former American Wire Wheel factory on Hendee Street, with the administration offices at 54 Waltham Ave. Springfield was the earlier location for the Duryea Motor Wagon Company ,

4048-410: The forward gear assembly went back into reduction, and the rear gear assembly locked. Due to the manner in which the rear gear assembly was arranged, the coupling went from handling 100 percent of the engine torque to about 40 percent, with the balance being handled solely by the gear train. This greatly reduced slippage, which was audible by the substantial reduction that occurred in the engine RPM when

4140-593: The front fluid coupling that was used in the Controlled coupling Hydramatic and the connection between the engine and transmission was made by using the small fluid coupling that is used also to control the front planetary gear set' (in which the "dump and fill" shifting principle was retained from the older controlled coupling Hydramatic). The Roto was adopted for all Oldsmobiles as well as Pontiac's full-sized Catalina, Ventura, and Grand Prix models, while all Cadillacs and Pontiac's Bonneville and Star Chief models retained

4232-719: The government's request. The first model, the Rolls-Royce Eagle, entered production in 1915. Two Eagles powered Alcock and Brown 's first non-stop trans-Atlantic crossing by aeroplane mounted on their converted Vickers Vimy bomber. In 1921, Rolls-Royce opened a new factory in Springfield, Massachusetts in the United States to help meet a three-year backlog demand where a further 1,703 "Springfield Ghosts" and 1,241 Phantoms were built. This factory, called Rolls-Royce of America, Inc., operated for 10 years, with

4324-540: The location where the first American gasoline-powered vehicle was built. Bodies for American assembly were supplied by Brewster & Co. in Long Island City, New York . After the First World War, Rolls-Royce successfully avoided attempts to encourage British car manufacturers to merge. Faced with falling sales of the 40/50 Silver Ghost in short-lived but deep postwar slumps Rolls-Royce introduced

4416-466: The naval vessels of 25 different nations. Over 175 industrial customers operated Rolls-Royce gas turbines for power generation, gas and oil pumping and other industrial purposes. Its single most important customer was the United Kingdom's government. In the preceding five years about 70 per cent of production went outside the United Kingdom. Leavesden Aerodrome , Watford was originally owned by

4508-520: The need for a torque converter. Despite the name, the Turbo-Hydramatic has no mechanical or design related to the original Hydra-Matic , or the Controlled-Coupling Hydramatic. Hydra-Matic was a complex design that was expensive to produce. Despite some early problems, it was reliable and so rugged it was widely used in drag racing during the 1960s. It was not as smooth as some competitors' transmissions (notably Buick's Dynaflow ), but

4600-419: The new Crewe Bentley could out-perform its famous predecessors. Immediately after World War II (when fully-tooled pressed-steel cars were produced in the factory, rather than chassis sent to a coachbuilder for a custom-built body ) until 2002, standard Bentley and Rolls-Royce cars were usually nearly identical – Bentleys were badge engineered ; only the radiator grille and minor details differed. In 1933,

4692-436: The older four-speed Controlled-Coupling Hydra-Matic unit. Controlled Coupling HydraMatic and Roto HydraMatic both have the "Split Torque feature" whereby, in high gear, the torque is divided 40% through the fluid coupling and 60% through mechanical connection, which made these transmissions more efficient than any other automatics before the lock-up torque converter was used. Hydramatic transmissions were ultimately replaced by

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4784-487: The original Hydra-Matic were 3.82:1, 2.63:1, 1.45:1, and 1.00:1 in automotive applications, and 4.08:1, 2.63:1, 1.55:1, and 1.00:1 in light truck and other commercial applications. The Controlled-Coupling Hydra-Matic used 3.97:1, 2.55:1, 1.55:1, and 1.00:1. Roto Hydramatic 375 ; a three-speed, four-range automatic has a 3.56:1, 2.93:1, 1.56:1, and 1.00:1. Roto Hydramatic 240 ; a three-speed, four-range automatic has ratios of 3.64:1, 3.03:1, 1.57:1, and 1.00:1 The Hydramatic

4876-528: The ownership of the receiver, it began to trade in April 1971 – manufacturing motor cars, diesel and petrol engines, coachwork and other items previously made by Rolls-Royce's motor car and diesel divisions and Mulliner Park Ward. It continued to take on precision engineering work on sub-contracts. In June 1971, it acquired all the business and assets used by the motor car and diesel divisions of Rolls-Royce and Mulliner Park Ward. Rolls-Royce Motors' permitted uses of

4968-611: The partnership of Charles Rolls and Henry Royce . Building on Royce's good reputation established with his cranes , they quickly developed a reputation for superior engineering by manufacturing the "best car in the world" The business was incorporated as "Rolls-Royce Limited" in 1906, and a new factory in Derby was opened in 1908. The First World War brought the company into manufacturing aero-engines. Joint development of jet engines began in 1940, and they entered production in 1944. Rolls-Royce has since built an enduring reputation for

5060-634: The plant to be shut down. The continuing support of the trade creditors was also achieved by the receiver in spite of threats to demand immediate payments in full and to withdraw supplies. The first asset sold was British Aircraft Corporation bought equally by Vickers and GEC. The receiver floated Rolls-Royce Motors in 1973. The new owner, Rolls-Royce (1971) Limited, had among its board members Lord Cole (a former chairman of Unilever), Sir Arnold Weinstock (managing director of GEC), Hugh Conway (managing director Rolls-Royce Gas Turbines), Dr Stanley Hooker (Rolls-Royce Bristol), Sir William Cook (an adviser to

5152-424: The pump's displacement and therefore the volume of oil being delivered. The rear pump was an unregulated gear pump driven from the transmission output shaft, which meant it was capable of pressurizing the transmission if the vehicle was in motion. This feature made it possible to push-start a vehicle with a dead battery if the vehicle could be accelerated to at least 15–20 mph (24–32 km/h). At higher speeds,

5244-580: The quantities required by the War Office . However, with the exception of Brazil Straker in Bristol, Rolls-Royce resisted pressure to license production to other manufacturers, fearing that the engines' much admired quality and reliability would risk being compromised. Instead the Derby factory was extended to enable Rolls-Royce to increase its own production rates. By the late 1920s, aero engines made up most of Rolls-Royce's business. Henry Royce's last design

5336-456: The range of diesel engines included: In 1907, Charles Rolls, whose interests had turned increasingly to flying, tried unsuccessfully to persuade Royce and the other directors to design an aero engine. When World War I broke out in August 1914, Rolls-Royce (and many others) were taken by surprise. As a manufacturer of luxury cars, Rolls-Royce was immediately vulnerable, and Claude Johnson thought

5428-407: The rear pump provided all the oil volume that was needed to operate the transmission and the front pump's slide was nearly centered, causing that pump to produce little output. In first gear, power flow was through the forward planetary gear assembly (either 1.45:1 or 1.55:1 reduction, depending on the model), then the fluid coupling , followed by the rear gear assembly (2.63:1 reduction) and through

5520-415: The rear unit ring gear had a tremendous mechanical advantage. Since the rear unit ring gear with its attached reverse unit sun gear and the reverse unit ring gear were both locked to the transmission case, the planet carriers and driveshaft could not turn. As such, it provided an effective driveshaft mounted parking brake to be used alone or supplementing the hand brake. The first-generation Hydramatic (not

5612-489: The recognition Rolls-Royce had no resources left and it voluntarily entered receivership 4 February 1971. There were said to have been acrimonious telephone conversations between US president Richard Nixon and the British prime minister Edward Heath but these were subsequently denied. Responding to questions as to how the situation could have arisen the chief executive advised that in their calculations they were guided by

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5704-664: The remaining capital of Park Ward Limited which, since 1936, in conjunction with Rolls-Royce had been building short production runs of all-metal saloon bodies on Bentley chassis. In 1959, Rolls-Royce bought coachbuilder H J Mulliner and the two businesses were put together as H J Mulliner Park Ward. Luxury cars did not fit with the new mood of post-war austerity. After starting design and development of what became their C series diesel engine range in 1948, Rolls-Royce began to produce diesel engines in 1951. By 1955, it provided diesel engines for automotive, railway, industrial, earth-moving and marine use. Sentinel (Shrewsbury) Limited

5796-409: The reverse gear assembly (normally locked) to the output shaft. That is, the input torus of the fluid coupling ran at a slower speed than the engine, due to the reduction of the forward gear assembly. This produced an exceptionally smooth startup because of the relatively large amount of slippage initially produced in the fluid coupling. This slippage quickly diminished as engine RPM increased. When

5888-429: The reverse unit. The rear unit ring gear hub had a small gear machined on its end which served as the reverse unit sun gear. Because the rear unit band was not applied for reverse, the rear unit and reverse unit compounded causing the combined planet carriers to rotate opposite to the input torque and at a further reduced speed. The output shaft was machined onto the rear unit and reverse unit planet carriers. Shutting off

5980-500: The sale. However the government would not fix a purchase price for the assets until the situation became clearer because without a continuing business many of them might be worthless. In the meantime the government would use the assets to continue the activities of the aero-engine, marine and industrial gas turbine and small engine divisions that were important to national defence, the collective programmes with other countries and to many air forces and civil airlines. A new company (1971)

6072-437: The secondary coupling. It was a later version of GM's "dual-range Hydra-Matic", first introduced in some 1952 models. The dual range feature allowed the driver to hold the transmission in third gear until the maximum allowable upshift points, for improved performance in traffic or in mountain driving. The new, dual coupling transmission also incorporated a separate park position, falling in line with other automatic transmissions of

6164-413: The shift occurred. The shift from third to fourth gear locked the forward gear assembly, producing 1.00:1 transmission. The fluid coupling now only handled about 25 percent of the engine torque, reducing slippage to a negligible amount. The result was a remarkably efficient level of power transfer at highway speeds, something that torque converter equipped automatics could not achieve without the benefit of

6256-578: The small sports/racing car maker and potential rival, after the latter's finances failed to weather the onset of the Great Depression . Rolls-Royce stopped production of the new Bentley 8 Litre , which was threatening sales of their current Phantom, disposed of remaining Bentley assets and using just the Bentley name and its repute. After two years of development Rolls-Royce introduced a new and quite different ultra-civilised medium-size Bentley,

6348-561: The smaller, affordable Twenty in 1922, effectively ending the one-model policy followed since 1908. The new 40/50 hp Phantom replaced the Silver Ghost in 1925. The Phantom III, introduced in 1936, was the last large pre-war model. A strictly limited production of Phantoms for heads of state recommenced in 1950 and continued until the Phantom VI ended production in the late 1980s. In 1931, Rolls-Royce acquired Bentley ,

6440-549: The southern edge of that city. The new factory was largely designed by Royce, and production began in early 1908, with a formal opening on 9 July 1908 by Sir John Montagu . The investment in the new company required further capital to be raised, and on 6 December 1906, £100,000 of new shares were offered to the public . In 1907, Rolls-Royce bought out C.S. Rolls & Co. The non-motor car interests of Royce Ltd. continued to operate separately. During 1906 Royce had been developing an improved six-cylinder model with more power than

6532-456: The substantially redesigned Controlled-Coupling HydraMatic (also called Jetaway , by Oldsmobile, and StratoFlight , and later Super Hydra-Matic , by Pontiac, or 315 HydraMatic , by Cadillac, or Dual-coupling Hydra-Matic ) in 1956. The Controlled-Coupling Hydra-Matic incorporated a secondary fluid coupling and a pair of sprag clutch in place of the former friction clutch and brake bands, shifting in part by alternately draining and filling

6624-407: The success of their estimates in the launching of their Spey engine. Had the government simply nationalised Rolls-Royce it would have been unable to avoid the obligations to Lockheed. The situation was handled in the usual manner with the assets being sold for cash, in this case to the government, leaving the massive liabilities to be dealt with by Rolls-Royce Limited using the funds realised by

6716-521: The transmission is in two gears simultaneously), the latter often contributing to the failure of the front band. Much of the difficulty in staging a "clean" 2-3 or 3-2 shift in any cast-iron Hydramatic was the changing elasticity of the governing springs in the valve bodies. Even ambient temperature would affect this variable, so that a Hydramatic that would shift perfectly on a summer's day would usually exhibit 2-3 "flare" when cold. Another long-standing driver complaint would be "flare" when trying to get

6808-654: The transmission selector lever in any position. The car would then start to move unless the transmission lever had been left in N, neutral. The all cast-iron Hydramatic was the heaviest automatic transmission ever produced for automobiles. The heaviest of them all was the Truck Hydra-Matic version offered by GM Truck and Coach Division in its line of light- and medium-duty trucks and conventional buses, as well as with its transverse-mounted gas L6 engined transit buses produced until 1963. That particular version weighed in at an incredible 655 pounds when equipped with

6900-401: The transmission upshifted to second gear, the forward gear assembly locked and the input torus now ran at engine speed. This had the desirable effect of "tightening" the coupling and reducing slippage, but also produced a somewhat abrupt shift. It was not at all uncommon for the vehicle to lurch forward during the 1-2 shift, especially when the throttle was wide open. Upon shifting to third,

6992-558: The two forward gears. Oldsmobile offered the AST from 1937 to 1939, while Buick offered it only in 1938. The HydraMatic was designed to combine the hydraulic operation of a planetary gearbox (allowing much shifting to be automated) with a fluid coupling instead of a friction clutch, eliminating the need for de-clutching. The transmission would have four forward speeds (3.82:1, 2.63:1, 1.45:1, and 1.00:1) plus reverse, with all acceleration provided by gearing; its fluid coupling did not multiply

7084-468: The war most Rolls-Royce flight testing of engines was carried out from Hucknall Aerodrome . The Merlin crossed over into military land-vehicle use as the Meteor powering the Centurion tank among others. Many Meteor engines used engine blocks and parts that failed requirements for high performance engines, but were suitable for use in the derated 480 kW (640 hp) Meteor. In December 1942, over

7176-479: The war, in 1946, Rolls-Royce and Bentley car production moved to Crewe where they began to assemble complete Rolls-Royce and Bentley cars with body pressings made by the Pressed Steel Company (see W. A. Robotham ). Previously they had built only the chassis, leaving the bodies to specialist coach-builders. In 1939, Rolls-Royce brought one of the specialist coachbuilders completely in-house by buying

7268-603: Was Britain's 14th largest company in terms of manpower. It was generally known that problems had recently arisen requiring government support of the RB211 programme as one outcome of intense financial competition with Pratt & Whitney and General Electric for the original RB211 contract. In the new year of 1971 financial problems caused largely by development of this new RB211 turbofan engine designed and developed for Lockheed Aircraft Corporation 's new L-1011 TriStar led, after several government-provided cash subsidies, to

7360-435: Was bought in 1956. Sentinel made machine tools and industrial locomotives. Rolls-Royce took over Sentinel's Shrewsbury factory for diesel engine production and all its diesel work was transferred there. West Riding manufacturer of diesel shunting locomotives, Thomas Hill (Rotherham) Limited , was added to the group in 1963. In 1973, when Shrewsbury activities were put under the umbrella of new owner, Rolls-Royce Motors,

7452-405: Was fitted with two pumps to pressurize its hydraulic control system and provide lubrication of internal components. The front pump was a variable displacement vane unit driven from the fluid coupling housing, which meant oil pressure would be available immediately upon starting the engine. Relatively constant pressure was maintained by moving a slide inside the pump, which had the effect of changing

7544-745: Was halted for wartime production in February 1942. During the war, the Hydramatic was used in a variety of military vehicles, including the M5 Stuart tank (where two of them were mated to twin Cadillac V8 engines) and the M24 Chaffee light tank. The extensive wartime service greatly improved the postwar engineering of the transmission, later advertised as "battle-tested". Starting in 1948 Hydramatic became optional for Pontiacs (and

7636-535: Was in 70% of them that year), although Buick and Chevrolet chose to develop their own automatic transmissions, called Dynaflow and Powerglide . All Oldsmobiles installed with the Hydramatic had at the bottom edge of the front fender directly behind the front wheel a badge that said "Futuramic" which identified an Oldsmobile approach to simplified driving, and the presence of an automatic transmission. V8 Oldsmobiles were automatic-only in 1949 as Oldsmobile lacked

7728-555: Was incorporated that May to purchase substantially the whole of the undertakings and assets of the four divisions of Rolls-Royce connected with gas turbine engines. The original company, Rolls-Royce Limited, was placed in liquidation on 4 October 1971. Asking their own government for support Lockheed warned that a switch to either Pratt & Whitney or General Electric engines would delay production by an extra six months and might force Lockheed into bankruptcy. The receiver negotiated with Lockheed which consented to waive damages allowing

7820-673: Was introduced to Charles Rolls at the Midland Hotel, Manchester on 4 May of that year. Rolls was proprietor of an early motor car dealership, C.S. Rolls & Co. in Fulham . In spite of his preference for three- or four-cylinder cars, Rolls was impressed with the Royce 10, and in a subsequent agreement on 23 December 1904 agreed to take all the cars Royce could make. There would be four models: All would be badged as Rolls-Royces and be sold exclusively by Rolls. The first Rolls-Royce car,

7912-536: Was made standard in 1969. Cast-iron Hydra-Matic production ceased at Willow Run after the 1962 model year, and Controlled-Coupling Hydramatic ceased in early 1964, allowing retooling time for the Turbo Hydra-Matic 400, which debuted in the 1964 Cadillac models in mid-year, with Pontiac Division's Star Chief and Bonneville models being the last to use the Controlled-Coupling Hydramatic (Model HM315) of any GM car. 1964 Turbo-Hydramatic production used

8004-429: Was more efficient, especially at highway speeds. The Hydra-Matic paved the way for widespread acceptance of automatic shifting. A 3-speed light-duty version of the Turbo Hydra-Matic , called the Turbo-Hydramatic 180 was produced by GM's Hydra-Matic division from 1981 to 1998 for use in a wide variety of small cars and trucks. Hydramatic is a trade name for GM's automatic transmission division, which produces

8096-658: Was moved there in 1946 for space to construct bodies and to leave space for aero engines at Derby. The site was bought from the government in 1973. It is now Bentley Crewe . In 1940, a contract was signed with the Packard Motor Car Company in Detroit, Michigan, for the production of Merlin aero-engines for World War II in the USA. Production focused on aero engines but a variant of the Merlin engine, known as

8188-453: Was subsequently replaced in that role by Chevrolet Division's Powerglide (where it was dubbed "Pow-R-Flow") in the GMC light truck line, and later, in 1966, with the Turbo Hydra-Matic (THM) in GMC light trucks, whose simplified design was much less costly to manufacture. Chevrolet Division's light truck line used the less-than-adequate Powerglide all through the 1960s until Turbo-Hydramatic

8280-658: Was the Merlin aero engine, which was first flown in prototype form in 1935, although he had died in 1933. This was developed from the R engine, which had powered a record-breaking Supermarine S.6B seaplane to almost 400 mph (640 km/h) in the 1931 Schneider Trophy . The Merlin was a powerful supercharged V12 engine and was fitted into many World War II aircraft: the British Hawker Hurricane , Supermarine Spitfire , de Havilland Mosquito (twin-engine), Avro Lancaster (four-engine) (a development of

8372-521: Was then moved into the General Motors Research Laboratory , building pilot transmission units during 1935–36 which were then handed to Oldsmobile for testing. The Automatic Safety Transmission (AST) was a tangent outgrowth of this work. The AST was a semi-automatic transmission using planetary gears and conventional friction clutch , requiring the driver to use the clutch to shift into or out of gear, but not between

8464-665: Was used in Armstrong Whitworth AW.660 Argosy , Avro 748 , Fokker F27 Friendship , Handley Page Herald and Vickers Viscount aircraft, whilst the more powerful Tyne powered the Breguet Atlantique , Transall C-160 , Short Belfast , and Vickers Vanguard , and the SR.N4 hovercraft . Many of these turboprops are still in service. Amongst the jet engines of this period was the RB163 Spey , which powers

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