The woman and the car : $b a chatty little handbook for all women who motor or who want to motorLevitt, Dorothy
History
The woman and the car : $b a chatty little handbook for all women who motor or who want to motor
Levitt, Dorothy
Women automobile drivers; Women automobile drivers -- History
With the car illustrated, it is necessary to pump a charge of oil into
the engine about every twenty miles. This is an easy matter and it is
not necessary to stop the car to do it. Before starting out each day you
should allow the “used” oil to run out of the base chamber. This is done
by lifting a small rod you will find on the left-hand side of the
commutator. If you pull this up it releases the oil, which you will see
running out. When it is all out do not forget to press the rod into
place again, as failure to do this would mean serious trouble, as the
fresh oil, when pumped into the engine, would simply run right through
on to the ground. After this stale oil has been released, two charges
should be pumped into the engine before starting. This is done by
turning the pointer on the pump handle to “Reservoir,” then pull up
slowly, turn the pointer to “Moteur” and press gently down. To lubricate
the gear, fill from “Reservoir” as before, turn the pointer to
“Vitesse” and press down in the same manner.
Apart from filling the various grease-caps occasionally, on the
steering, &c., and greasing the wheel bearings, this is all that is
necessary in the way of lubrication. The wheels, however, only require
greasing about every 400 miles.
Your next duty would be to test the brake. Get into the habit of doing
this every time you go out. It is no trouble to run the car a few yards
to ascertain whether the brakes grip or not. If all motorists, no matter
how expert, were to spend a few moments in taking this precaution, there
would undoubtedly be fewer accidents. We often read that “the
steering-gear went wrong,” but I am right in saying that, in many cases,
the accidents are caused by the failure of the brakes when applied
suddenly on an emergency. The brakes may be in a satisfactory condition
when you lock up the car after a day’s run, but when the car is
stationary there is the slight possibility of a little oil dripping on
to them during the night, rendering them practically useless. If there
[Illustration:
_Photo. H. W. Nicholls._
PULL UP THIS SMALL ROD TO ENABLE THE “USED” OIL TO RUN OUT OF THE
BASE-CHAMBER]
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.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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