CHOKE(ing) on the Wiring and Two Notes on the Fuel Filter

So I FINALLY got the darn "CHOKE" lever to work.  I thought I had fixed it previously, but when I installed it, I quickly realized how wrong I was!  The choke lever consists of a knob that sticks out of the dash.  A long, thin wire runs through the dash, out the firewall and connects to butterfly valve that controls the amount of air that enters into the carburetor.  A second tube-like wire is wrapped around the thin wire to protect it.  It should act like a coat hangar that is run through a garden hose and the hose is in a stabilized position:  the coat hangar moves freely through the hose.  Well, my choke cable was somehow stuck to the outer protective tube and the entire tube moved when the lever was pulled.  Hell, everything moved EXCEPT the butterfly valve!

I ended up using the combination of heat and penetrating oil followed by some gentle tapping with a hammer along the length of the tube, which was then followed up with using my hands to gently flex the tube and wire until I could feel it moving inside the protective tube.  Yes, I massaged the heck out of that fellow!  And now it works.

I then moved along and installed the Blackout Light Switch, the Push-Pull Switch, and the Ignition Switch.  I also went ahead and adjusted the oil gauge and squared him up.  For some reason that one was really bugging me.  I also bolted in place the Master Cylinder inspection cover (circular plate below the steering column in the picture below) and the transmission cover.

Things are just falling into place now!

With all of those loose ends shored up and it only being 2:00AM in the morning (yep, I was obviously in a giddy mood), I was looking for something else to tinker with that didn't involve the grinder.  I started rummaging through some parts boxes and found my air cleaner brackets, but they need to be cleaned and painted prior to installing, so that was a no-go. 

At this point, the fuel filter that has been sitting on my work bench for who knows how many weeks (5 or 6?) caught my eye.  I'd like to thank Jeff for showing me the innards of his fuel filter last week.  He has now, unprecedentedly contributed to a jeep repair, now.  Although I have studied the manual diagrams, I have never actually seen the original insides of the filter and how exactly they fit together.  Now my brain finally processed the information and I thought of a somewhat logical plan.  However, I was a bit reluctant to implement it out of fear of bending or breaking the delicate brass filter. In the end, it worked...but I have also been soaking the life out of it for 5 weeks with penetrating oil!

The pictures below are "recreated"; the actually event happened really fast and I didn't have my camera at the ready!  Like my children's favorite Animaniacs song (You got me.  I confess, its mine.), Wakkos Two Note Song, "Its just a squeezy on the pulley."  The puller actually worked!

All I did was attach my small puller to the base of the internal filter.  I used an old, broken nut to sit at the top of the bolt shaft for the puller to push against.  I was amazed at how easily the filter slid upwards.  I couldn't move it with my hands.

All that was in there was the brass filter, a spring (which was almost immovable until a good rubbing with steal wool got the crud off the shaft) and then lots of old, nasty fuel residue/varnish that needs to be thoroughly cleaned.

Next time you see this delight, it should be clean!  I'm leaning towards not painting it since it looks like there is still a lot of original OD on the exterior.  That will depend on how well I can clean it, though.