The story so far.......( as of the 22nd of March, 98 )I got the engine in August '98 via a local engine collector, Devon Amber.( click here to visit Devons web site ) After chiselling the head nuts off, the head came off and I was relieved to see the bore looking good with no ridge and even a few hone marks still visible. Into the machine shop with the head for a sand blast, re-face and valve job. The injector was replaced with a spare I had given to me and the pump was well siezed but after some patient effort it came apart and now looks like new after a major clean-out. I got the head back and re-assembled it with some good second hand springs I had given to me as well as the rebuilt spare injector and the new studs I made. I cleaned up the threads on the head studs with a die nut and on with the head. Connect everything up and crank it over, plenty of compression but wont start. Down to the the local garage for a can of Aerostart, one squirt and away she goes. It runs smoothly and has no knocks or any other audible worries. I adjusted the govenor to give it a lower idle and that's about it. Next came the paint job thanks to my brother in law who has far more skill with a spray gun than me. I chose a slightly lighter colour than the original paint ( Solver Jetstream Green ) for no other reason than I just liked it. I polished the flywheels and gave them a coat of two pack clear, West System 300 epoxy, to prevent rusting. The frame it sits on is made from Australian timbers, Jarrah and Kauri. It now looks and runs great. I have plans to start taking it to rallies and shows etc. but whenever they're on I always seem to be working. Some Lister HistoryR. A. Lister and Co. started as a simple machine shop with a handful of employees producing a variety of farm and agricultural equipment. The company itself came into being in 1867 by Ashton Lister, though it was not until the early 1900's, that Lister started marketing their first engines. These engines were, in fact, American built Stover verticals, but by 1909, Lister had developed and was building their own design. Listers first appeared in Australia at about this time with the introduction of machine driven shearing systems. These were 3 and 5 HP parafin burning water cooled engines. After several other engine models had been produced and proven over the years, Lister, in 1929, introduced the first of their "Cold Start" diesels. Most all diesel designs had required the user to 'preheat' the combustion chamber, usually with some type of torch, before actually starting the engine. This was due to their lower running compression. Lister engines used an ingenious valve device in the head which allowed the user to literally change the compression of the engine by a small hand wheel on the side of the head. With the valve closed ( high compression), starting the engine is as easy as a gasoline engine, hence the name "Cold Start". Once running, the valve is opened to lower the compression to a normal value.
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