Don,
Congratulations on your "new" 1977 roadster, but a word of warning.
Please, PLEASE take the time to replace every rubber or flex fuel line
on the car, as well as the brake hoses and other critical rubber parts.
You may need to rebuild the brake hydraulics as well.
One other thing is to remove and bypass the mechanical inertial cutoff
switch for the fuel. You will find this bolted to the firewall shelf
near the left side of the heater box. The fuel line attaches to it, it
looks like a metal valve with a round button on the top. These are
designed to trip in the event of a crash and shut off the fuel to the
carb. The problem is, these switches contain a rubber O-ring that goes
bad, then fuel squirts all over the engine bay. Bad news.
You don't really need the valve, since there is a redundant electrical
fuel pump cutoff switch under the dash on the left side.
>From your post, you have already experienced rubber deterioration, as
shown by the tire disintegration. Don't run the risk of fire or brake
failure. This happened on the last MGB sold in the US. After sitting
in museums for 17 years, the car was sold to a private owner, who
proceeded to try to drive the car home. The word is that the car caught
fire and burned to the ground.
Safety Fast,
Paul Kile
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