- Replaced fuel filter
The new filter was ordered from VB because none of the car-parts stores in the area carried the particular filter I needed (!!). What I received from VB was a Lucas (oh no!) fuel filter made almost entirely out of plastic (oh my god no!). While it is kind of cool that I can actually see fuel flowing through the filter, because it's made of plastic I'll have to change it again, sooner than later. We'll see how this works out.
To replace a fuel filter one generally relieves pressure in the lines by killing the fuel pump while it's running; this is most easily done on modern cars by pulling the fuel pump fuse on a running engine and waiting for it to stall (takes about 2-3 seconds). My '77 MG only has 4 fuses, all of which are a mystery to me, so pulling one fuse will probably not just kill the pump, but also some other things meaning that the engine could have died for a number of reasons with the lines still under pressure. Instead another solution is to directly pull off the connecting wires on the fuel pump itself, which is ridiculous on an MG because the fuel pump is directly attached to the fuel tank, and so tucked away in the back of the car far out of reach. There's something in the trunk that I thought was the fuel pump, but when I pulled the plugs off it the engine didn't stall (so I don't know what that is).
I called my friend Mike up, the previous owner of the car, and asked him for advice. He suggested to just pull the lines as the pressure isn't very significant anyway. And so I did, which is how despite using a towel and opening the line leading to the carb first, my hand was soaked in fuel (a smell that didn't leave me till much later). Then I replaced the filter and reinstalled the pipes. Took about 30 minutes of research, and 5 minutes to do the job. Done.
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