Well some good news at least... re the broken bleeder valve... I think it can be fixed without resorting to ironmongery! I thought I would share this in case anyone else ever has the same weird engine and does the same thing to it!
Here it is in all its broken glory (part # 025121082)
[img:641:479]
http://i-luv.info/P1010270.JPG[/img]
Basically the small hose on the right was previously clamped onto a plastic tube which stuck out from below the the knurled screw thingy. The pipe snapped off leaving a stub which has a support under it.
THE FIX: I will melt, saw or file through the support, where it joins the stub, to remove the right-hand half of it, to make some space under the bottom of the stub. Then I can shove the hose over the stub and clamp it on. Might need a slightly wider hose, but the old one is knackered so I am going to have to do something about that anyway...
Oh yeah, and by blowing into it with hands over the rad hose openings, I now also know that the connection from the lower rad hose to the small hose is ALWAYS open. The knurled screw thingy only controls whether the upper hose is also connected to these.
cheers
Vince
PS... it
is discontinued... but BusDepot.com sell a replacement for... OMG... $175