First Engine for my Nephews. Lister D, full restoration.

OK, so I finally found one, a Lister D project for Ian's boys. I will try to keep it a secret from them until christmas though.

I know very little about the engine, apart from what's on the original eBay listing, which can be found here....

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LISTER-D-STATIONARY-ENGINE-1945-/200839637285?ssPageName=ADME:B:WNA:GB:1123&nma=true&si=ku5g8sy6w6DJ9UQX7VczBLkreWs%3D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

I'm guessing she's had a bit of a hard life, being in a concrete mixer, but it's not seized & appears to be all there. Here's the pics from the ad....





So, watch this space, I'll continue the thread as & when anything happens.

Yeah great, just what I wanted a boring square lump of rusting metal that weighs a ton! Cheers bro
(I'm not lifting this one on my own!)

Ianhw77k wrote:Yeah great, just what I wanted a boring square lump of rusting metal that weighs a ton! Cheers bro
(I'm not lifting this one on my own!)

Just you wait til you see their little faces light up when they see it. I was talking to them yesterday & they said they wanted one that's "all broken" so they can fix it. I don't think they're that heavy anyway, I'm sure dad used to lift your old one on his own. Anyway, I'm happy to help & I'm sure they won't be rallying it any time soon, I've got a feeling it could take them a long time to restore this one, they've got to argue over a colour scheme yet.

Nice find Nuts and a great price, I take it you've not picked it up yet, with the tarpen in the boot this will have to sit on the back seat

Stu.

Nice find, my first D type is numbered 196040, sent to Liner Concrete in September 1945.

Pete.

No I haven't picked it up yet Stu. Thanks Pete for reminding me about Lister's being easily dated & history found just by the engine number, I reckon that'll make all the difference to the boys knowing the history of it. They were quite pleased to find out the latest Tarpen came from a castle. They've got great imaginations & they seem to take in every little detail with these things.

I'm hoping to possibly get it running for them by christmas. If it will spark & if the tank will hold fuel I will give it a go, if not then it'll just be a bit more for them to restore.

Be warned though, this resto could take a very long time. But I'll keep you all posted. If they lose interest then there's always the threat we'll sell it on to some other little boys who want it, that should be enough to keep them interested.

Only just noticed that it is a reverse rotation version as well, Winget specified those for some reason whereas other companies used the standard rotation model on their mixer's. Makes it just a little different.

Pete.

I tell you one thing though; granny isn't very happy about it. She insists I've bought it for myself & am just using the kids as an excuse.

I'm glad she doesn't know about the Tarpen I got last week!

She'll see, it's not my engine at all, obviously Ian & me will help out, but it belongs to the boys.

Foden wrote:Only just noticed that it is a reverse rotation version as well, Winget specified those for some reason whereas other companies used the standard rotation model on their mixer's. Makes it just a little different.

Pete.

Tell me Pete, how did you spot that? Was it in the spec or something physical on the engine you saw (are the carb & exhaust swapped round or something?).

You're talking to a proper Lister D novice here, it's like going back to school for me.

nutgone wrote:

Foden wrote:Only just noticed that it is a reverse rotation version as well, Winget specified those for some reason whereas other companies used the standard rotation model on their mixer's. Makes it just a little different.

Pete.

Tell me Pete, how did you spot that? Was it in the spec or something physical on the engine you saw (are the carb & exhaust swapped round or something?).

You're talking to a proper Lister D novice here, it's like going back to school for me.

Carb and exhaust reversed Matt, plus the 'R' in the spec number. That was very cheap, especially for a reverse engine, and it still has the proper mixer type exhaust which usually goes missing.
Just noticed that it is a 750 RPM model, again they are normally 700 RPM (although several other rpm ranges were available as well).
Pete.

Sounding better now, thanks Pete

OK, I'm in

You thought it was just another Lister D but just goes to show how many different types there is.

Stu.

The more I thought about it the more I fancied having another D, it'll be nice to sit behind it when it's going.

Got it home tonight, my god they are a heavy lump this one definitely needs some wheels! I'll let Matt fill you in on the rest but I will say one thing, we need a starting handle and we don't know if the reverse rotation one is any different to the normal one.

Yes the handle is different, the 'claw' is the opposite way round Ian.

Pete.

Cheers Pete, thought it might be

Wanted section here I come

Have a word with those on the forum heading for Enstone Ian, should be something there and it might be cheaper than ebay.

Pete.

Yes, I'm a bit annoyed at the lack of a starting handle, as it means we've got to immediately start spending money on it & it was never mentioned in the advert. Don't get me wrong, I still would've bought it, & the bloke was really nice, I don't think he did it deliberately, it's just one of those things.

Well, we got it home. I don't know why Ian's saying he would like one so much, this is supposed to be for the boys. We went halves on the purchase in the end, that's just how skint I am. Also, it means I don't have to actually give it to the boys, it's their project, but in the case of any argument either Daddy or Uncle Matt can take over & have the final say (I think there's going to be arguments all round when it comes to colour scheme. Maybe we should each pick a colour & post up a poll on here if we can't all agree?)

So, the engine:
All the usual bits are corroded & stuck, namely the carb mixture screw, the carb inlet thingy, which should bounce up & down, the throttle/governor linkage & the float chamber tickler (OK, now I'm just being picky).
There's a snapped exhaust stud & a few other bits & bobs which I can see will need sorting.

I would like to get the carb off & all freed up. I would also like to get the governor apart & make sure that's free. I would also like to get the mag off, clean it up & see if it works.

Then I would like to see if she'll run, before we take her apart for the full nut & bolt rebuild. & believe me, this one really does need the full works. I might not bother to remove the flywheel, as I believe you can get to most of it without, but the rest will certainly need full restoration.

It was dark when we got back, & we were in a hurry to get it hidden away before the kids got back from their swimming practise, so I only got a choice few shots. Here they are....









I've started a new Photobucket album, as always, which can be found here....

http://photobucket.com/nephewslisterd

But don't expect to find any more than these 4 pics for a little while. I will see what I can do to get her running before christmas. If it's a no-go then so be it, but it would be nice to know she runs before stripping her down.
I've also got to pick my moments to work on her, as I don't want the boys to spot her & spoil the surprise.

BTW, thanks Pete for filling me in on those details. I just hope the starting handle isn't too hard to come by.

Well it looked in decent condition in those ebay pics and I thought that an 'oily rag' restoration was on the cards, however it looks rough in your photos so I agree that a total strip down is needed! Personally I would take the flywheel off as you can't get to check the main bearing ball races otherwise and they are usually full of congealed oil I'm afraid. There are a few differences with the reverse rotation engines, the mag direction obviously, plus the carb butterfly, starter dog, and the oil trough in the sump, and the valve positions are reversed. The inlet valve has a thicker head than the exhaust valve by the way. Plenty of D type knowledge on here.

Pete.

It looks to have stood out in the rain for a while which is a shame. I would say that mag needs to be looked at and fingers crossed it's not seized. As for the carb a good soak should help resolve alot of problems there.

Stu.

To be fair I've probably shown you the worst bits in my pictures, & she'd probably run fine without doing a complete strip down, but for how long? That's the thing.

I think it will be good for the boys to learn how engines actually work anyway. I've tried to explain it to the eldest one before, but he was more interested in turning the handle (that was on my little JAP).

What better way to learn how an engine works than take one apart & make it work? I suppose a cut-away engine is pretty good for teaching, but I haven't got one of those.

Thanks again for all the info Pete.

Nuts how old are the boys again? Maybe there just a bit to young to pick up everything so you maybe have to just learn them the very basics.

Stu.

They're 5 & 6, so probably just about there. Especially the 6 year old, he's very bright & seems to take EVERYTHING in (embarrassingly so sometimes), the other one is pretty bright too, he worked out basic electric circuits by himself not so long ago.

I think, like all kids, they are easily distracted. With my JAP it was too much to have a handle there which they could wind as fast as they liked (it's a permanent handle with a spring to stop it engaging with the dog), they didn't want to know about valves & couldn't see the piston, as the engine was together.

I think, if they are too young, then they're getting very close to the age now, so this project is probably quite well timed.

But MY GOD! These things are HEAVY!!! I'm sure they're heavier than a Wolseley WDII. Ian & me were lifting one of those when we were 14, & our Douglas, which is supposed to be 2.5 cwt. Maybe it was an awkward shape, but I honestly wasn't expecting it to weigh that much.

Lister D weighs 298 lbs and a large part of that is in the flywheel.

Pete.

Foden wrote:Lister D weighs 298 lbs and a large part of that is in the flywheel.

Pete.

Blimey! I've just been working that out in cwt, stones & Kilos, it's a lot! & is heavier than the complete Douglas generating set we have, & that's a flat twin, in a tubular frame with 2 generators & a large fuel tank!

This one's definitely going on wheels. We do have a pair of cast iron wheels with axles. Might make up a Lister style trolley for it, although I think Ian would like a 4 wheel trolley.

When I took my first D type to a rally in 1995 it was only on a couple of wooden skids so a mate gave me a hand to load it on my trailer. I arrived at the rally and asked the Steward if he could give me a hand out with it, he did no more than lean over the trailer and lift it over the side on his own, didn't even bother dropping the tailgate! Nowadays he is on two sticks and a mobility scooter because of a back injury, not due to THAT event I hasten to add! Wheel's are the way to go.

Pete.