New member and lister D for restoration

I'll have to take some pictures of the ball turning tool, its a simple idea and once you get the hang of using it does a good job.

Even my wife, who came with me to pick the D up, and made a comment of you seriously have not paid money for that lump of rust have you ?, has to admit it looks good, and not much mechanical does anything for her

I was wondering about whether I could make a plate up with a hook on and bolt it to the top of the head, rocker and hopper covers removed, but not sure whether the casting would take the full weight of the engine. I cant ruin the paint now, when it came out of the car using the hoist it was on its side with a ratchet strap crossed round it, with little care for marking paint (rust).

I have to even decide what trolley to make for it, I need it compact so I can store away easily. I'm on the lookout for some sturdy timber, I get around lots so could with liberating some from somewhere in my travels. Some careful sliding may do the trick, or wait until someone pops round and make then earn a cuppa

Be interested to see how that D goes, I certainly wouldn't call what you do bodgery, the finished products I see look bloody good, its called using the resources and facilities you have, Improvise, adapt and overcome. I love that Kohler you turned out, its a cracker !. the Lister A is look mighty fine as well.

I don't know what rallies or shows happen in the Essex area, that's something I have not even done before. I have a friend who exhibits his engines at the Suffolk show, so that may be a possibility, and he can show me the ropes. May even just have to go and have a look at some first.

Next job is to get the tank sorted, its primed up, but a couple of small dings still show some fine filler for them, and get the inside sealed up so it rusts no more.

Exhibiting isn't compulsory, but it's probably something one should experience a few times before making a judgement. Believe me I have considered not doing shows & can see why some people don't. Probably best to talk to your friend about that, as & when the need arises (all in good time, as long as you're enjoying the hobby, that's all that matters).

I had a sneaky peek at your Photobucket album for this engine (similar to me you don't publish all your pictures, but they are all taken for a reason). The standard really is high on this one, inside & out.

As for lifting from the top, I wouldn't trust it myself, but you know your stuff & you've probably got better insight than me as you've made many of the parts & installed them. I would highly recommend using another pair of hands, but make it someone you know & trust, there's a lot of weight there, don't want anyone or anything getting damaged. Probably best to slide it around, as Mark (Stamford24) says. Just wear gloves or something. But you know all that anyway.

(my smilies & little boxes have disappeared from the text input box, so I can't use them. But I would be smiling or have a thumbs-up right now if I could).

For compactness and relatively ease of moving around, you cant beat a 4 wheel trolley. 2 bearers lengthways and two cross members underneath with axles fixed under those. Don't skimp on the width. try to keep the wheels at least in line with the flywheel, if not outside of it and match the other side, usually about 30" overall. Stops any unsteadiness and possibility of turning over when dragging about. 4"x3" timber looks nice and sturdy although original trolley's were 4" x 2" but also barrow type. I would go for 10" dia. wheels and iron then you can skid it about. Otherwise if you have pivot steering you could use modern trailer jockey type wheels with rubber tyres.

Must say I'm a fan of barrow trolleys, mainly because they are so easy to park & manoeuvre around a packed/busy workshop. But they're not so easy to load up ramps on your own, although it can be done if you have an electric winch & drag it up the ramps, wheel end first. (or if you're feeling really strong & just push it up the ramps on your own, you'll need long ramps though, makes my back ache just thinking about it).

Can't beat a fixed 4 wheel trolley for single handed loading & as Mark says they are compact & relatively easy to handle. They are also very stable. But iron wheels are not that cheap these days, so if cost is an issue then a barrow trolley will halve the wheel bill (I can't see you skimping on this build though).

I've got to make up a trolley for the Lister A soon, I've bought some 3x2 timber (well, modern equivalent, it's actually smaller than 3x2), which may be a little small, but I want to keep the whole thing as compact as possible. If it turns out to be too small I will get some bigger stuff & use it for something else.

The original Lister plans for the barrow-type D trolley are quite easy to come by, they could at least give you some ideas if not a complete solution.

The only problem with Barrow trolley's is the space the handles take up, unless of course you make removable handles. For sheer compactness you cant beat a 4 wheeler.

Time for an update with the D project, I have now made the governor rods, painted them and fitted them on, decided to go for black on them and looks quite good with the green.

Since the photo I have also gone round the edge of the head gasket with an artists brush and painted the edge in.

It was a nice sunny Sunday so dragged her out and let it catch some rays, good for firming the paint up.



So the other evening I was looking at it, and its at the stage that I could not resist a drop of petrol into the float bowl to see what would happen. So timed it up, filled it with oil,  put the petrol in, a few winds and off she went quite nicely for about 30 seconds, so its a runner. Well pleased with that.  , not sure when she last ran but quite a moment for all those few seconds.

The plug that came with it is an old champion one, which can be dismantled, should there be any form of sealing washer where the inner electrode/ceramic insulator sit down into the main body of the plug. I would like to keep a period looking plug in it.

I have also got some 3 x 2 mahogany to make a trolley, just got to work out the final design of it now, £20 for 8' did not seem too bad a deal to me.

The kit for coating the inside of the fuel tank showed up today, clean, prime etch and then seal. Thats a KBS one, then I can get on with spraying the tank.

The picture below is of the ball turning tool for the lathe, works well with a bit of practice - excuse the state of the lathe its had a bloody good clean down since.

That spark plug is definitely one to keep, but first get your multimeter out & check continuity between the terminal & the centre electrode, Champion plugs are renowned for corroding inside & this will cause you problems as well as strain on the mag. There is a way to repair it if the connection is lost or high resistance, but I haven't got round to writing a thread on it yet.

There should be a copper washer inside there somewhere, some even had 2. But often the washer is well & truly stuck in there & won't come out. I use my home made easing oil as it tends to dissolve carbon pretty well, but I've heard oven cleaner is also good at this.

It's a simple copper washer, but it's not flat, it's kind of domed.

Love the engine, I like the idea of breaking up the green with a few black bits, I did the same on my A-Type (although I may have over-done that).

I have gone a little quiet for this week, suddenly and unexpectedly my mum passed away last weekend which has tipped my world upside down and broken it apart.

I was wondering what to name this engine once its done, in Mums honor she will be called Maisie and dedicated to her, she was always asking how my lump of rusty iron was getting on.

The most I managed to start last week was the petrol tank sealing process by cleaning it out. More soon once normal service is resumed here, but at the moment we are closed.

Really sorry to here your news. A shock or prewarned, its never easy. Take care and take it one step at a time. Life can wait.

that is one very very well done interally and luster lister D
that i one smooth shiny D indead
could be almost better than when it was made paint wise is a defo yes
kev

Well, its been an awful few weeks here, and not too much done with the Lister, what i have done is to complete the fuel tank, KBS gold sealer on the inside and spray/lacquer the outside.



I am still after a twist style fuel cap for one of these, cant seem to find one anywhere and I'll be making it soon i reckon.

I have made a start at a trolley, out of mahogany, basic frame is made and I am now doing the axles / wheels for it.

Well some more progress with the engine, and it's now mounted onto the new trolley, and is looking very complete, got the exhaust to finish off and a few detail bits.

Is there a good starting point as to where to adjust the governor rods to?, there is quite a range of adjustment on the threaded rod and there must surely be a good rule of thumb as to how to set it up, the book I have is not very clear on it.

Anyway picture of her below....

Looks great!

To set the governor linkage you need the pushrod to be fully in and the small roller touching it.  Then adjust the vertical rod until the carb crank is just above the horizontal position.  You shouldn't be far out then, but you can 'fine tune' it when warmed up.

Pete.

Nice one Pete thanks very much, had some time yesterday morning and she got her first real run, which went pretty well. There is a video below which is not brilliant but until I can get a better one it will show it running.

All i need to sort is where the float bowl joins to the carb, despite new fibre washers it still drips petrol but that's a minor issue.