Hi. I'm cleaning up a '38 RD7 and ran into this netting in the fuel system. It's not falling apart so it must be somewhat diesel proof. But need someone on here to identify the material if they could. And do I need it there again? Or was it even there to begin with and someone threw it in? Thanks!

6b3447 is the original filter number I think. 4 needed. Dosen't seem like that netting is original.
9G6325-up s/n uses six 6B3447 sock type elements.
In this setup there are 6 filters.