Hi George
Your MG looks very nice!
About your problem, I think I can assure you it is not the fuel filter.
... for one thing, if the fuel line to the filter had come loose, your
car would not run at all due to total lack of fuel to the engine, and
fuel would be gushing all over the ground until you turned off the key. I
don't have any references for Midgets at hand, but I am pretty sure that
the object in your photo is the charcoal canister, which is part of the
emissions control system. Excess fuel and/or fumes from the carburetors
are routed there, which is why it has a fuel line connection. What you
need to do is identify which hose needs to be reattached, and also to
verify that the system is working as designed.
For this the first thing you need is a service manual for your car.
Haynes makes one that you can easily locate on Amazon. The factory
manual, reprinted by Benchley, is even better. Another handy reference is
the Moss Motors parts catalog, which can be downloaded from their
website, or the printed catalogs for any of the other suppliers, such as
Victoria British, Roadster Factory, etc. You will have a very hard time
making any kind of reasonable diagnosis without these essential
references.
More info on your car: the electric fuel pump will come on whenever you
turn on the ignition, and make clicking sounds until the proper fuel
pressure is achieved. If it stays on continuously more than several
seconds (with the engine off), that would indicate a leak problem in the
system. Oh, and about the choke knob -- it rotates in order to lock into
position. You are supposed to be able to pull it straight out against the
resistance of the spring, and then rotate it 90 degrees to hold it in
place. To release the choke, rotate it back, and it should return by
itself via spring pressure. Many first-time MG drivers do not seem to
understand this concept, and force it in and out in the "locked"
position. Enough of this abuse will cause it not to lock in any position.
If it does not want to return, you can check the spring tension (this is
at the carburetor linkage), or see if the choke cable is adjusted
correctly (for procedure, see the manual). At any rate, this "stuckness"
is almost certainly a problem with the user (as described above), the
spring, the cable adjustment, or a kink or loose strands in the cable
itself, rather than a problem with the carburetors.
Despite your lack of experience, I think you will find that these cars
are not very difficult to work on (and fun to learn about). Study the
manuals, and consult the list with your questions, and you'll pick it up
very quickly. Good luck!
Max
George Cahlik had this to say:
>Hello Everyone,
>Let me introduce myself. My name is George, I am 21 and I've been
>wanthing an LBC ever since my father sold his triumph when I was 4. I am
>new to cars in general, but I've always wanted to learn mechanics and
>whatnot. It wasn't until now that I could afford a car and I figured if
>I were to get a car, I'm going to get a car that I actually want rather
>than out of convinience, there is some sort of romanticism to that.
>
>Well I finally got my hands on a '74 MG Midget, it's beautiful. Has
>50,000 original miles on it, pretty much everything on it is original,
>including interior, paint, and engine, and it was taken well care of by a
>sunday driver. I suppose this could be a good and bad thing.
>
>Anyways.
>
>I anxiously awaited the arrival of my MG, and last Sunday I finally got
>it. It _ran_ perfect. I drove it easily (I wasn't going to let my dream
>die too quickly) and that evening I finally gave into pressure to teach my
>girlfriend how to drive a stick. The car, in the hands of someone
>accustomed to automatic transmissions, naturally stalled out the first
>couple of times. I also had a hard time teaching her how to shift from
>2nd to 3rd. So, generally, our ride was a little rough, but that was to
>be expected. After about 45 minutes of abuse, and a stall, I tried to
>start up the car, and it startd to run rough and backfired. Scared, I
>decided to quit the lesson and I had a horrible time trying to get home, I
>couldn't achieve the power to go above 40 mph.
>
>I couldn't figure out what was wrong. Yesterday I took a few pictures
>hoping someone could help me out. What I think happened (now keep in
>mind, I know NOTHING about mechanics aside from what I learned in physics
>classes in high school) is that the hose from the fuel filter came loose
>or broke and too much oxygen and not enough gas was getting to the engine,
>which caused it to backfire.
>
>I made a small webpage with my images of what I believe is the problem at
>this site:
>http://home.earthlink.net/~styloroc2000/midget.html
>
>I really hope someone can help me, I honestly can not afford a good import
>mechanic and I think this would be a good learning experience anyways.
>
>I would also like to know what is the proper amperage/voltage resistance
>for the fuses in the Midget. The car came with 25amp fuses (I forget the
>voltage), but the person who sold it to me gave me 30amp fuses. I know
>25 amps is safer, but what is sufficient?
>
>Thx.
>George
>
--
Max Heim
'66 MGB GHN3L76149
If you're near Mountain View, CA,
it's the red one with the silver bootlid.
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