how does one make the choke more effective. i've pulled the wire thing accross the carb at tight as it'll go and it didn't do anything. then i tried moving the arm thing it goes through towards the engine as this moved the accelerator more. it made a nasty noise when i tried starting after this so i put it back to normal.

it's on a 1.4, the best i can get is pulling it out as i turn the key and it chugs into life then gets up to about 800revs then dies almost straight away. the choke feels very light to pull out where as the 1.7's is chunkier and works.

any hints?

you probably need to adjust the bit that makes the choke 'pull' the accellerator cable - it often mal-adjusts itself over time due to a shocking design

is this a screw thread that can be adjusted with a screwdriver? if so i tried it today and half the thread snapped off.... and i can't get the nut to move.

is this the right bit and if so any remedies?

you have to unscrew the nut, then screw in the screw with a screwdriver, then tighten the nut. if you've snapped it off, try padding the end of that screw out with some tape or something