The stalk mounting ring breaks quite often usually due to over tightening and the new ones are not the best either. I have seen some repairs where they used a short self tapping screw after drilling a pilot hole into the column to hold it in place, not the perfect fix but a whole lot cheaper than buying the new set of stalks.

That’s a good idea that I may have to try. Today I switched up jobs and tackled my problem with both of my steering column stalks. I thought it would be a good break from the carb work. Turns out that I found anouther bodge that was done in the past. Looks like more money going to the supplier. I just got so frustrated that I had to pack my tools up. Time to read my Haynes manual and see what I need now. But after a day of rest tommorow ( cleaning and reassembling the carb ) I’ll have to mount that ( the carb) the following day while things are still fresh in my head. If that gets my Mini running well it will inject some more enthusiasm to get back to the steering column trouble. Cheers Malcolm and thanks for your help. Very much appreciated. It’s not hard to tell that you are very well versed in classic Minis. Kudos to ya Malcolm.

If you have an old mismatched wrench you can grind it so it fits and works better in tight spaces, i have a few "modified" that way from working in tight spaces over the years.

+1 malsal. Thank you for explaining the type of open ended wrench to use. I don’t have an offset set like that, so I’m glad it wasn’t a bad method. Also it’s nice to hear that it’s no big deal, and that it might be easier to put back together. Cheers Malcom. PS- I had to buy my 4 th tool box today...I really need a better method of tool keeping. That will be a job for the foul, cold day. Cheers and thanks.

You can put it back together as one piece if you wish. The lower carb mounting nut on a HS4 is easily removed / replaced with an open end wrench, i have a Snap On one that has a sharper (maybe 45 Degrees) angle that i use but have done it with normal wrenches before. I also have a thin wall combination wrench i use to snug it tight.
The benefits of installing the manifold and carb separately is it is a lot easier to work with and align up.

Greeting all. I am happy to report that I found my carb trouble ( or at least one ) , but in removing the carb I couldn’t find access to the bottom bolt that holds the card to the manifold stud. So I removed the carb and intake manifold together. My question guys and gals is this : should I reassemble in the opposite ( and test me memory ) or should I separate the carb from the manifold first? If the answer is - it doesn’t matter, then that is fine. If the answer is assemble the card and manifold together as one, that’s fine too. Now if the answer is that I should disconnect the two pieces ( carb and manifold ) and then place the manifold, then the carb, please tell me if a smallish socket wrench extension is the answer ( or whatever makes the figment of the lower nut possible.

Thanks gang, all answers are helpful. Today was a relief to find that darn carb trouble ! Cheers, Darren.