more news... all good so far!

took the car to the garage today, they took off the rocker cover, and found two off the tappets (cam followers) were pushed all the way out and that was what was rattling!

managed to find a company that still supplies the tappets ( only 1 out of 6 major stores have them now! so they are getting very very rare), and they are getting fitted on now. i decided to replace all of them, which makes more sense as the others could go at any time if two already had.

total cost.. £60 hours labour just cheking what the probelm was, £80 for 8 cam followers, and another £60 for the fitting. total bang on £200, which is a LOT better than losing a car

the car should be done within a couple of hours, so ill get back to you all to let you know if that was the only problem. the only thing im worried about is the backfiring and the wierd noise just before the revs dropped. im hoping its related to the cam followers, but i dont really know...