New member and lister D for restoration

biomed32uk wrote:john,

Looks like you have been busy with lots of success, all looks good, just a clean up needed.

Bet you will have that running before mine, and you are more than welcome for my thread, made it easy to find and i am keen to know how you go every step, as i am still learning Lister's.

I will follow you on your one now.

Geoff

Thank you Geoff,

I have moved back to my own thread to continue (read the thread name above) and am glad you didn't mind me hitching the ride as it were,

I caught on when I went to search your thread for info and couldn't find it.
It seems hillarious now, but the shock was immediate lol.

Anyway, thank you for the reply and yes I may be ahead a bit, but don't forget that I have been home a week, and will still be for a few more days, so I had time and the tools at hand.

Regards, John.

John when I was reading this thread yesterday I was think that the thread had been hijacked but I did think it was Geoff that had nicked the thread so sorry Geoff for thinking it was you at fault when it was that crazy Canadian to blame.

Stu.

stationary stu wrote:John when I was reading this thread yesterday I was think that the thread had been hijacked but I did think it was Geoff that had nicked the thread so sorry Geoff for thinking it was you at fault when it was that crazy Canadian to blame.

Stu.

Lol,

Yep, a crazy Canuck...,
It's what we Dutchmen became when we Hijacked the Queens dominion and Indian Territory, living remote in Wigwams, Tipi's and Igloos with only Indian women to keep us warm and wild animals to feed us! Sigh...., those were the days!
We had to become Pirates and Hijackers to even get over here!! Hmmm, where's me pirating outfit? still had it a few years ago! .

And in keeping on topic, all of that just to get some Listers over here lol!

In any case Stu, you made the load of guilt a bit lighter admitting it was a bit confusing with the threads.

Cheers, John.

I'm glad the penny finally dropped John, I had been wondering for some time when it would happen.

It must be the first time a thread has gone off topic whilst staying on topic.

I don't think it matters much though, the information is all there, for any prospective readers.

Maybe I should've PM'd you or something, but it was one of those things, I left it so long I felt it was too late. Oh the minefield of forum etiquette. I guess it just goes to show what a relaxed & friendly bunch we are here, other forums would've been shouting & handing out warnings by now!

nutgone wrote:I'm glad the penny finally dropped John, I had been wondering for some time when it would happen.

It must be the first time a thread has gone off topic whilst staying on topic.

I don't think it matters much though, the information is all there, for any prospective readers.

Maybe I should've PM'd you or something, but it was one of those things, I left it so long I felt it was too late. Oh the minefield of forum etiquette. I guess it just goes to show what a relaxed & friendly bunch we are here, other forums would've been shouting & handing out warnings by now!

Hello Matt,

Yes I can well imagine how involved it gets monitoring the posts. (and it was a Shilling! not a penny lol.)
As to the letter of the Law, legality or politics can be interpreted many ways and I try

Thanks for being honest and you are right on with how cool a site this is, and so with the family atmosphere between the members.
As I said before, I had that twitch in the big toe about it (turned out it wasn't Gout after all ) and made a good decision to stay here.
The site is A+1 and then some, and it is the reason I'd rather talk to cousins half a world away than locally, meaning the continent to be kind.

I do support, without prejudice, the sales end of it also by buying what I can tolerate from Stationary, I hope it makes a difference.

As for who should have done what to whom, you still never alluded to the fact that the error was wholly on my part, but only apologised for your own passivety, for that I salute you and it just shows me what I said about "cool" to be the truth!
Hats off!

You are correct about the intolerance we see from other sites, and it makes me feel older all the time as SOME of the newer generations seem to inadvertently plunge closer to the increasingly uncaring and self serving attitudes we experience today.
End of rant!

Again, to perpetuate the topic ...., My Lister "D" is becoming part of the furniture here at Lister Lodge, and I enjoy support from many of you to make my journey a good one.
Enough now of this emotional rubbish!!!!

A beer and a cheer to you Matt, and the rest of you vagrants!
Back to work!

Regards John.

Ok ok can we stop with who posted what where blah blah as I'll be getting it in the neck soon for not doing my job correctly.

Stu.

Only joking John the thread was still on topic and you were just sharing your experiences.

Not done too much to it this week, just been cleaning all of the small bits and pieces up, studs, nuts, bolts etc although the engine has seen its first paint, I primed the crank bearing housing and the carb body. Too cold to consider painting anything else up, gives me plenty of time to prep the crankcase up though, filled some of the deeper pits in.

Crank assembly is now clean, and the bearings cleaned up a treat.

The fuel tank looks to be sound by some miracle and I coaxed the cap off, back on the shelf to be dealt with later.

Does anyone have any tips for getting the top of the float chamber off, theres not a great deal to get hold of and I dont want to put 'graunch' marks in it, I was almost thinking of making a clamp of some sorts to grip the top.

Other than that I managed to buy another D on ebay, the bug seems to have bitten, something to keep this one company. Thats tomorrows job to go and rescue it.

There will be a little bolt on the top of the float chamber cover, off centre, opposite the tickler. This is a pinch bolt which pulls the threads together once the lid is on & stops it shaking loose. make sure this is undone (it's a 1/8 whitworth spanner size) before you grapple with the lid, there's a chance it could be helping it grip.

I just used a large pair of parrot nose or pump pliers (think they might be known as multiplier pliers or a pump wrench) on mine. Just something that grips without pushing too hard inwards.

Also, in the centre of the lid should be a hexagon to put a spanner round. Might be worth just trying this first, maybe with a good cranked ring spanner, if you've got one. (if it hasn't been rounded off).

Sounds like Geoff has been bitten, another D on it's way At least you'll know what your doing with this one

When trying to grip something like this I put a cloth into the jaws and this should help stop it biting into the metal, but keep checking just in case it's to tight and does start to mark it.

Stu.

Stu, the bugs bitten all right, although management have said no more, have to work on that one, have to sneak them in with the lunch box...

The D I picked up yesterday is in quite good condition, and looks like it would run, petrol tank needs a good clean but the biggest problem is the mags borked, the HT side of the coil is open circuit. Its an SR1, long shot but does anyome have a coil for one they are willing to sell ?, or recomend a rewinding service, be interesting just to get this one to run as is.

Back to the topic of 199778 and I have been filling some minor pits in the face of the block and thats about it, yesterday was spent on the rescue of the other D.

Regards for now..

If it's the later SR1, rather than the RS1 mag (both fitted to Lister D types) then I believe the coil from a Wico A series mag will fit in there (& they are a better made coil as well).

there was an eBay seller doing re-wound coils for Lucas SR1 magnetos for £70. My local bloke has them for £75. Personally I would trust my bloke above all others as he uses a special vacuum encapsulation technique, ensuring the special oven baked varnish penetrates right to the centre of the coil. Beware of cheap imitations, as they say.

A 2nd hand coil will be cheaper, though it's a bit of a lottery.

Not happy to gamble on ebay 'untested' being cynical means 'I have tested it and it dont work, but I'm not going to let you know that'. Rather put good money to something I know works, found a site called magneto repairs.com, in Stroud, Gloucestershire - gets very good reviews from the motorcycle forums i ended up in, been very quick to respond to me, quoted me £80, more than I paid for the engine but not doing ot for whats it salebable worth is - a labour of love.

Now all I've got to do is get the damned thing out, the two grubs screw won't shift - more patience needed. (it is an SR1)

I've not tackled the float chamber lid again yet, I have tried some pump pliers, holding it in the vice, holding in the lathe chuck, a boa wrench. I'm almost looking at making a tool up, piece of flat bar with a hole in to clear the hex on the lid, and pin to locate in where the locking screw goes, just to get some careful purchase on it. I've put it back on the shelf, enough things in bits at the moment and petrols the last thing it needs at the moment.

I'll stick some pics on of the other D, but I just want to get it going at the moment with a fixed mag and a service.

I know a guy who sells tested old coils from mags for £50, so your local bloke doing it brand new & guaranteed for £80, when you know it'll last for ever, isn't so bad after all.

Like you say, it's a labour of love, not a business venture. All hobbies cost money, don't they?

Dunno quite what to say about the float chamber lid....

Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and get your wallet out, I think we've all bought an engine for a lot less then it's going to cost us to repair it but that's the hobby, and there's a lot more hobbies out there that cost a lot more then ours and at the end of the day you'll have something to show for it and it will always gain value over the years you keep it.

Sorry to hear about the float top, it's just a case of keep trying.

Stu.

Well I have bitten the bullet Stu, the wallets come out and I sent the coil for rewind, I have also started another thread for this engine with some pics of it. Don't want to get too bogged down with this one, it's more of a toy come work in progress one. Also put a question in there re the SR1 mag.

Anyway, made some progress with this one, I have filled all the pits in the block with knifing filler, and rubbed it down, just got the foot to finish rubbing in and then it can be primed up. The pits are now filled in the face, and I decided to up turn it and give the underneath a coat of paint, no one will see it but I know its been done.

I also made up a couple of small trolleys to move them round on, half hour with some thick ply and castors, job done, much easier and no hernia for me !!

Looking good, I'll check out your other post.

Stu.

Hello Biomed,

Nice job on the foot, very smooth and undetectable, you sure you've never done this before?

And the detail (even if for self knowledge only) just marks you as a man I'd be friends with were I to live out there in the UK lol.
I love tiny details and the knowledge that things are done right, even though no-one will see all of the work invested.
Those engines have a soul and I can feel them being thankful!

And you had another baby boy Lister to boot!
You my friend, have surely been bitten without a doubt, and maybe even more then I lol.

I am having a cash shortage situation going on this week due to the 10 day break I had earlier and as such need to catch up with the spending money, but I have been eyeing up a few more engines also, one of which is a '40's Lister, the other ones just don't seem to want to materialize at the moment as family is being miserable about the man parting with them (before I went to look they had no idea they were even there!), but they are there waiting for adoption.
The gent with the nice Lister wants too much for it, so I'll wait to pounce when the time is right. He can't sell it because it's twice the money of a higer priced one!

Nice to see you at it, and I hope to get back on mine soon too.

Regards and happy Listering,
John.

Glad you are back Smitty, safe and sound, sounds like a busy trip, but the boss wanting you to be happy and drink beer, well you can't argue with that

Perhaps I refurbished Listers in a previous life - who knows....

Yep another baby arrived, got this for a good price, just as well considering the mags kaput, so this ones side tracking me a little as this will run.

As you rightly say it's all in the detail, little things add up to set the job apart. I have a saying at work that I press on to others learning, the job is either 100% right or 100% wrong, no sort of, probably, should be OK, it'll do. 100% right, the job goes, 100% wrong - go back and do again until 100% right.

I've rubbed the crankcase down again, run some more filler in the bits I've missed and hopefully will get chance to rub that down, what I would really like is to get a coat of paint over it at the weekend, I'm away from home next week on a course (VMWare server for any IT fans) so wont get chance to do much. Can't really take Lister bits to a hotel to get on with them.

Lets hope you can liberate the other ones you are looking at, they deserve a good loving home.

Well, as it sits, I'm on dead slow for a bit other than some work on a few parts for now.

I'm waiting on the money mill to start spitting out again, and then I may get lucky with the engines in waiting

The week spent on the Miami trip put a serious dent in the engine money section of the wallet, Especially with two drivers along who like to do the pub thing and brag on drinking ability!!
I just couldn't let my Dutch drinking heritage be threatened by a few mere Canadian wannabe's, so I had to defend the hounor and pay the Piper!! Victory isn't always a winner

The choices are tough..., A lister "A" for cheap but on hold through family interference as with a second engine there.
A John Deere hit and miss for too much, and a Novo upright for 400 CDN but not old enough (nice display though!)

The Lister "D" of the 40's is way expensive and show ready (do I really want that?)

It's the Lister "A" I want, but can't have at the moment, aaarrrghh!!

So, I remain wanting and may end up with the withdrawal syndrome if nothing else

Cheers Geoff, John.

You need a couple of cheapies to keep you busy at times like this. maybe a 1930s or 40s Briggs, or Wisconsin. Maybe even a Kohler like mine, there's plenty of them about over there & they're all mechanically similar to anything else.

I like to have a few things on the go, it keeps your hand in & gives you something to do. When the Listers or the parts you want turn up, you just put it down & go back to them.

nutgone wrote:You need a couple of cheapies to keep you busy at times like this. maybe a 1930s or 40s Briggs, or Wisconsin. Maybe even a Kohler like mine, there's plenty of them about over there & they're all mechanically similar to anything else.

I like to have a few things on the go, it keeps your hand in & gives you something to do. When the Listers or the parts you want turn up, you just put it down & go back to them.

It's good advice Nut,

I am new to this particular "old engine" section, and am starting to collect some interesting things, I have two Brigg's (three with the 10/4000W genny I just cleaned up) one upright 8hp rebuilt new in original paint, and another 10hp vertical made to work again and powering a riding mower and a (Deere/Sears/unknown) snow blower.

The blower was a bit of a challenge but runs fine, and still needs a touch on the drive section.

I am so hoping for the Lister "A" to come home as that was my original dream engine to have years ago.
I may go for the Novo upright depending on the paycheck this Friday, it's a bit over the top but I need a fix, and this one is complete and running, a late 30's with rad and tank on the side and top.
I like it enough to dismantle and restore to factory issue.

Anyway, Geoff is generous, but I should not take the hospitality too far

Smitty wrote:
Anyway, Geoff is generous, but I should not take the hospitality too far

You got me there, I thought it was your thread! Happens to the best of us I suppose.

Anyones welcome on my thread, I'm generous....

Following the distraction of playing around with the other D, and the excitement of getting it started some time today with this one, it's not top coat painting weather so I got another couple of coats over the block, that's looking pretty good now, must take a pic of that.

So I decided to attack the timing gear assy this afternoon. The taper pins holing the started dog were not shifting, I had to drill them out with a small drill. Do these taper pins have a standard size system, I seem to remember they do, or I just work out the taper and turn them up, odd as they are different sizes, the one hearest the casting is smaller.

The woodruff key holding the gear on is also mashed, it looks like the gear has been forced on and the key almost sliced along it length. I'm pretty sure ths engine not been apart so how it got like is anyones guess. 5/32 x 5/8 by my reckoning.

Other that that its apart, cleaned up and some of it painted. By the time the warm(er) weather arrives I will have plenty primed up and ready, then have a fun lets spray lots session - I just love spraying, stand still long enough and you'll be sprayed...

While you have the timing case in pieces check that all the oil return holes and grooves are clear as they are often clogged with old oil etc. The taper pins are different, goodness knows why, but they should be obtainable online if they are past renovating.

Pete.

Looking good. I always brush paint. My excuse is "that's how they did it back in the day", but that doesn't really enter into it TBH, if we did everything how they did back in the day we'd still need to change oils every 5 minutes. If you've got the equipment & know how to use it, good for you. Not sure which is easier, I always thought brush painting was easy, but a recent thread on another forum seemed to show quite a few people who said they didn't know how to brush paint. In the building trade we always used to say "if you can p*ss, you can paint", but to that I always say "have you seen the state of most gents toilets?"

Is this one getting the special green paint? Or are you going for something a little more traditional?
(I only ask out of sheer curiosity, I really have no opinions on other people's choice of paint colours, & even if I did I've learned to keep them to myself by now Very much live & let live on those subjects these days).