Chumley made up 3 stiffeners to go across the compressor plates and I thought I had it cracked, but the cam followers just didn’t want to go that extra ½mm to allow the camshaft bearing to slide out over the top. It wasn’t all of them, only number 12 and 8.

I tried screwing down the adjusters – that didn’t work either.

This was my only reference for the compressor plates and it seemed to me that this original type wouldn’t really have cut the mustard. I went back to Chumley (extra sausages in hand) and we made some alterations to the stiffeners which gained me another ¼mm – still not quite there. Then I had an idea. Unscrewing the valves from the cam followers might just make a difference because then I would be able to tip the adjuster plate to get the edge of the bearing started.

Success! I’m not sure what the stuff is clinging to the valve stems on number 1 and 12, possibly the remains of the neoprene ‘O’ rings which seal the valve guides. Most of those had long disappeared. Examining the camshaft, it was clear that something wasn’t right. Three of the bearing surfaces looked serviceable but one looked a bit odd.

The front and rear camshaft carriers have an oil feed through the casting and an adjacent hole in the bush. The oil is pumped into the hollow camshaft at the rear and is distributed to each bearing through a slot in the bush. Interestingly, the oil exit in the front casting was blocked.

Backtracking a couple of moves; I’d arranged the clamp to sit on the bottom of the cylinder head and to then screw down the compressor plates from the top. I happened to look in the Morris Six manual….

…. and noticed that the recommended procedure is to pull the plates down from underneath. I wonder if that’s the fix – read the manual?

Years ago, a friend invited me to supper and served a wild garlic leaf salad. I’ve never forgotten it. When I discovered the other day that a neighbour had it growing in her garden, I told her the story and she produced for me two pots of wild garlic butter. Potatoes sautéed in this butter is an epiphany like no other. Hamburguesas de Norfolk cubiertas con crema fresca, papas salteadas en mantequilla de ajo silvestre con guisantes y cebolletas; a bit of a mouthful – so to speak.

Chicken and leek dhansak would in Gujarati be written phonetically as Cikana anē līka dhanasaka. However, much more eloquent and stylish is the dish in the script: ચિકન અને લીક ધનસક. I crushed sea-salted crisps on the top of this one to give it a bit of crunch. It could really do with a hint of red and green – sliced tomatoes and chives perhaps?

My ‘new’ steering rack was at last delivered and included a couple of track rods. Outwardly, all looked well and removing the steady housing for a quick gander at the works, revealed a stem gear and rack with a whole lot more meat on them than mine.