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MG MGA - Pre bent vacuum line

When was the last time you had to change one of these? What a pain. They are pre-bent from Moss, pretty pricey and they take nimble fingers, small hands and the patience of Job... all of which I lack. Seems simple but caused me a lot of grief. Not that I need it now mind you but are there any tricks to make this job easier?
David Holmes

I have one of those still in the bag, but I think it is not bent properly.

The rear carburetor has a male to male threaded adapter fitting underneath. The pipe has a female threaded nut and "olive" compression fitting (both ends as original). Screw the small end onto the carburetor first while the pipe is free to self-align, then bend the pipe to suite starting from the carb end. The pipe has to run from carb under the heat shield then back up on the inboard side of the heat shield.

The fuel trap bulb stands on end, carb end down. Bracket for the bulb is "L" shape, originally attached to the second manifold stud from the back. This will be much easier done if you can fit it up first on the engine stand before installation in the car. Even then it is generally easier to install if you attach the bulb bracket to the rear manifold stud (non-original location).

Pipe from top of bulb then drops down to run horizontally across the back of the head, attaching with a "P" clip to the rear head bolt. From there it bends around running below the heater valve to connect to the distributor. Distributor in correct position has the vacuum unit pointing nearly straight up (very close to the heater valve).

If the distributor is turned 30 degrees or more to the right the pipe may not reach, and you may not be able to set timing correctly. Then you need to re-orient the distributor drive gear more anti-clockwise (and do try not to drop it into the sump in the process).
Barney Gaylord

Thanks Barney, I didn't know that the pipe went behind the heat sheild. It's installed now and I'm not about to change it. It is much easier to install when the engine is out that's absolutely true. The car runs great right now.
David Holmes

This thread was discussed on 03/09/2008

MG MGA index

This thread is from the archive. The Live MG MGA BBS is active now.