Newbie here

Hi all.

I'm currently in shall we say negotiations on a Lister d engine .I have no idea as yet as to what I'm letting myself in for with this hobby or if I will be allowed to buy anything ever again when the wife finds out what I'm buying

Good starter engine, and a lot of information available here and on the Lister D facebook pages. Enjoy it.
Cockie.

Welcome aboard, my second engine was a Lister D

Hello and welcome to the forum!

Hi and a very warm welcome to the forum.

Good luck with negotiations for your first project.

Hi

The seller is looking for £175 but seems a little high to me and doesn't come with starting handle and there is a plate missing for the chain .it is however on a trolley so not to sure what to offer him as yet any suggestions please .

Welcome sir

If it's the one on ebay, location Tamworth, then I think you can see the starting handle under the trolley wheel. Pics 1 and 5.
I suppose it also depends how far you will have to travel.

No problem with travel .just asked seller if that was the handle as spotted it too earlier but apparently it's for another engine. Do you think the price is about right for first engine ???

Kind regards

Crank

I'm always wary of "ran OK last year, but not been run" type statements, why hasn't the seller run it to check it's OK?.

For £175 I'd want a decent runner that was all there and possibly on a trolley of some sort. My opinion.

Welcome along.

To get a rough idea of what to expect for your money, perhaps have a look in the 'Sold Listings' section of eBay?  That should show you the engines that have actually sold recently, and give you an idea of both condition and price.  

As you won't be able to collect your engine until lockdown has ended (police are stopping motorists, turning them around and fining them for making non-essential journeys at the moment), that should give you plenty of time for some window shopping and research.

As your a newbie, I think the first thing you should learn is what to look for when buying.  If you're after a Lister D (which I think is a good first engine), then I'd suggest you think about reading the following two books before you look for an engine:    

https://www.stationaryengineparts.com/Lister-D-Stationary-Engine-Restoration-Book-Lister-D-Engine-Rebuild-Guide.html  

https://www.stationaryengineparts.com/the-lister-d-story-1346-0.html  

The restoration one contains a 'buying guide' (the prices will be out of date now, but the general advice should still be good)  and it should give you plenty of info on servicing and repair too.  The 'D Story' gives the history of the engine, and lists the spec changes made over the years.  Both books contain plenty of photos so should teach you what to look for.  And if buying those two books, and reading them, doesn't end up saving you more than they cost you during your buying, servicing and running of a Lister D, then I'll be very surprised!   Hope these suggestions are useful and best of luck whatever you decide to do.