Morning Rob ! 
A quick word to say thank you very much for getting my car running nicely again on Saturday, for sorting out the untidy and incorrectly heater hoses and for the good advice. Thanks to this, I can now prioritise what needs doing....which appears to be cylinder head in next 12 months and muchos welding next year. 

The car runs so much better now. There is almost no smoke on start up or whilst running, no clatter and the engine seems to be running a lot quieter.

I did the 130 miles back to Northampton at a nice sedate pace with no movement in the temp guage at all and with no idling issues.....lovely. 

Please also thank The Maniac New Zealander , as I was really impressed to see some of his work...which was REALLY exceptional.......and for the insight into how much graft goes into each job.......what a skilful bloke. 

Thanks again, Ill definitely be back...... 
All the best to all at Amazon Cars, it was great to meet you. 
Stuart
Northampton.

• Check & set the valve clearances (#1 exhaust was a tad tight, but otherwise not bad)
  
• Compression check: absolutely fine
• Fit our HT lead set (the existing leads were at least twice as long as they needed to be)
• This, I rather suspect, was the cause the of the erratic misfire in cold weather: could it have been the damp?)
• Check the needle fitted: correct
• Run up the engine again: much improved, and Stuart reckoned it was much quieter (that #1 exhaust valve?)
• With time in hand, we decided to fit the proper heater hoses, and a decent engine breather hose: all of which tidied up the engine bay.