Zenith carbs are prone to warping but can be sanded flat again I do believe. Webber carb was £120 at the time so wasn't worth faffing around, sold the worn out Zenith for rebuild.

@dag019 has saved the day and is going to come and take it :)

That is not the case. There was a new law…. The AA make it simpler reading and say the following: Unless you've registered your vehicle as off the road (Statutory Off Road Notification/SORN) or it's in the process of being transferred to a new...

All of this is clearly on the .gov site. The MoT and Road Tax use different dates and systems. I suspect Road Tax is because it runs to a Tax Year April thru March. But they want the vehicle to be 40 years for the entire calendar year.