After recently arriving back at the Bridge Classic Cars workshop here in Suffolk, our technician Jon attended to our 1954 MG TF, which had been reported as a non-starter with a seized choke. The customer mentioned that, as the car has no fuel gauge, he checks the tank level with a piece of wood, but this had broken off inside the tank. Jon therefore needed to remove the tank. He began by draining approximately 30 litres of fuel, then removed the luggage rack, spare wheel and tank straps. The rear deck plate behind the bumper and the rear bumper per were also removed, allowing him to take off the luggage rack fully and gain access to the tank. Once the draining was complete, he disconnected the wires from the sender unit and removed the tank entirely.
On inspection, the inside of the tank was found to be in poor condition, with evidence of a stop-leak type gum having been used to seal a leak. This substance had partially blocked the tank outlet. Jon cleared the outlet and removed the fuel line from the carburettors, blowing through it from rear to front. He discovered a high water content in the system, raising concern that the carburettors would need attention.
He removed the float bowl lid, piston and suction chamber from the rear carburettor for inspection. It became clear that water had been present for some time, as the carburettors were rusted and seized, with the float bowls showing signs of corrosion and turning green from water contamination. Jon concluded that the carburettors would require a complete strip and rebuild in order to free off both the throttles and the choke.
