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Home » Empire » Corona » 1960 #4Y 519612 W
1960 Empire Corona Serial # 4Y 519612 W 1960 Empire Corona typewriter, Serial # 4Y 519612 W William OLLIVIER's 1960 Empire Corona typewriter. 2025-05-14 From the Virtual Typewriter Collection of William OLLIVIER: 1960 Empire Corona Serial # 4Y 519612 W eBay purchase from a charity shop in the UK (Barnardo's).
This is a rebadged Smith Corona Skyriter, assembled in Great Britain, and sold under the brand Empire.
Quite musty but mostly functional. Bell wasn't ringing: tweaked the right margin stop. Carriage lever broken off (screw broken inside the bracket), replaced with a #5/40 screw and nut.

1960 Empire Corona #4Y 519612 W

Status: My Collection
Hunter: William OLLIVIER (guneeyoufix)
Created: 04-21-2025 at 01:31PM
Last Edit: 05-14-2025 at 11:13AM


Description:

eBay purchase from a charity shop in the UK (Barnardo's).
This is a rebadged Smith Corona Skyriter, assembled in Great Britain, and sold under the brand Empire.
Quite musty but mostly functional. Bell wasn't ringing: tweaked the right margin stop. Carriage lever broken off (screw broken inside the bracket), replaced with a #5/40 screw and nut.

Typeface Specimen:

Photos:

Serial number (only visible after removing the bottom shell)
Serial number (only visible after removing the bottom shell)




The carriage return lever bracket (with screw whole)
The carriage return lever bracket (with screw whole)

Carriage return lever with its spring, the felt washer, and the broken tip of the screw that I removed from the bracket.
Carriage return lever with its spring, the felt washer, and the broken tip of the screw that I removed from the bracket.


Bottom shell
Bottom shell

Case screw hole (left)
Case screw hole (left)




Screw hole for the margin rail and back plate
Screw hole for the margin rail and back plate

The carriage return lever re-attached. The screw is a Philips head, instead of slotted, but I'll still take that as a win.
The carriage return lever re-attached. The screw is a Philips head, instead of slotted, but I'll still take that as a win.

The carriage return lever re-attached. I used a nut on the inside of the bracket to lock the screw.
The carriage return lever re-attached. I used a nut on the inside of the bracket to lock the screw.

The hardware I used to re-attach the CR lever. Size is UNC #5 (40 tpi), screw length is 1/2 inch, which is about perfect.
The hardware I used to re-attach the CR lever. Size is UNC #5 (40 tpi), screw length is 1/2 inch, which is about perfect.

This spring (foreground) was hooked onto  the chassis and the carriage rail, providing some tension to bring the carriage back down from shift, but not much at all. This spring was the same size and shape as the escapement spring, but with a much lighter tension.
I swapped the 2 springs to give a lighter space bar and action at the trip point.
This spring (foreground) was hooked onto the chassis and the carriage rail, providing some tension to bring the carriage back down from shift, but not much at all. This spring was the same size and shape as the escapement spring, but with a much lighter tension. I swapped the 2 springs to give a lighter space bar and action at the trip point.

Hunter: William OLLIVIER (guneeyoufix)

William OLLIVIER's Typewriter Galleries [ My Collection ] [ My Sightings ]

Status: Typewriter Hunter
Points: 629

Software engineer by day, and typewriter newbie by night.
I got my first typewriter when I was a child, one of the kid's plastic ones, but was not satisfied.
I moved on the first real one, a portable Silver-Reed Silverette S, which I still own today, and use once in a while.



RESEARCH NOTE: When researching the Empire Corona on a computer with lots of screen real estate, you may find that launching the Empire Serial Number page and the Empire Corona By Model/Year/Serial page in new browser windows can give you interesting perspectives on changes throughout the model series.