The original valve was solid brass, should polish nicely if you are into that sort of thing. I'd guess the cost of the brass was one of the reasons it was eliminated (many other things got 'cheaper' as well as S-T tried to stay alive as well as after Leyland took over). The frame bracket was a 'fork' rather than a closed hole like for the clutch slave; and I think may have been deleted on the later frames. There is a nut on the bottom of the valve that clamps it into the bracket; with the nut loosened it should just slide right out. Because of the fork, no need to completely remove either of the nuts (the bottommost nut locks the compression fitting for the fuel line from the tank).
Cleaning the sediment bowl is something I do as part of my annual "tune-up", the tap is a convenient way to keep fuel from draining all over the floor while the bowl is off. But parking on a hill with only a little fuel in the tank works as well.
I'll try to get a better photo of that area to post, but can't do it just now.