No news is bad news!
After numerous hours tinkering and 2 more different carburetors and rebuilds later I’ve still got the same problem. It just won’t idle. I’ve been persevering and using it (starting it in gear to prevent damage to the gearbox as with no idle i can’t disengage the centrifugal clutch) Then last weekend it started to run a bit rough and lose power after about 10 mins of cutting. As i drove it back to the barn it finally stalled about 100yds away. I left it to cool down and made a cuppa and went back to it after an hour or so and it seemed fine, so i continued to cut the grass only for the same problem to come back after about 10 mins. I was once told that the little condensers in the distributor can cause this so I swapped that out, then after only 5 mins cutting on Sunday. A very different noise almost metallic and total lose of power, now it will only just run with a lot of throttle. I’m thinking something more sinister might have let go inside the engine. Piston ring perhaps? I think i’ve got the bite the bullet and rebuild the engine, not in the middle of the summer when the grass is growing !!
