Page:Dorothy Levitt - The Woman and the Car.pdf/77

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The Woman and the Car


is oil on the brakes, however, it can easily be burnt off by running the car a little way and applying the brakes several times—the friction will gradually burn it off. The brakes sometimes slacken and need adjustment—an easy operation. Types of brakes may vary slightly with different types of cars On my single-cylinder car the brake is very simple. To adjust, you will find a small handle underneath the frame towards the back of the car, on the off-side. Half a turn one way or the other if the brake is too slack or too fierce usually suffices. It can be adjusted one way or the other in about a second or two.

We now come to the various levers and their different functions. There are six levers, the change-speed, or gear-lever, on the left-hand side of the steering-column, under the steering-wheel; the ignition-lever and the air-lever, both to be found under the steering-wheel on the right-hand side of the steering-column; the hand-throttle, underneath the steering-wheel; in centre of column, on a small ratchet, the hand-brake lever and the first-speed

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