Well, all was not what it seemed. When I got the carb off the car, the adjusting nut was the right way round. I think the shiny metal at the top of the jet base might have looked like the top of the adjusting nut. In any case, that wasn't the cause of the lateral movement in the jet. I took some pictures when I had the jet etc. disassembled. I think you'll see there is nothing amiss with the carb. I reassembled everything again, and the piston stuck firmly at the bottom of its travel. I recentred the jet and it was good - until I reattached the arm for the choke. Even that little bit of lateral pressure was enough to make it bind again. I slackened the lock nut slightly and recentred it with the choke arm attached and that seemed to do the trick, but it suggests there is still lateral play in the assembly. But I got it all back on and still got that nice metallic clunk when the piston went down. However, as soon as I started to adjust the mixture, the idle went rough again. There is no way to keep the mixture consistent and the flow of fuel into the carb mouth smooth. I managed to adjust the mixture eventually, but even then the engine started to die after it had been revved up and allowed to go back to idle. I think it might be time to bite the bullet and spend £150 on a recon carb from ESM. But I think I'm going to sell the car instead. Today when I went out to test drive it I got caught in a downpour – and the wipers stopped working. Maybe this car and I are not meant to be bosom buddies...
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