Lister Junior (Model A) (900cc, 3.5hp @ 650rpm) s/n 245665 was brought back to Dursley at the end of June 2021. Supplied to Hawkes & Son, Taunton, on 1st February 1939 (thanks to Doreen Edgington for this info). Here are just a few images of the steps taken to get it running again.
The engine was bought from near Taunton, the owner saying that he had “got it running” even though the governor was seized, which caused it to run at high speed. That was perhaps not a good idea, as he clearly had no idea of the internal condition. Still, it had a good magneto and although severely rusted externally it appeared to be all there.
The engine weighs almost 200kg, so it was loaded into my small trailer by a fork-lift. There was no way to get it out of the trailer in one piece, so dismantling into more manageable pieces (each of around 30kg) was commenced. Although the whole engine was covered in rust, the crank turned and a good spark was obtained from the magneto.
Removing the flywheels was difficult. Being cast iron, heating was not an option. The gib keys were first removed with a special puller, but with considerable force and after lengthy soaking with PlusGas, oil etc. The crankshaft was rusty and pitted, and a home-made puller only just managed to break them free after a day or so………
With the flywheels off (another 60kg lighter!) we were left with the main engine block, which was easily lifted onto the trusty old “Workmate” whereupon further cleaning and dismantling could be accomplished. The crankcase was full of filthy black sludge and chunks of carbonised oil. It took a long time, much paraffin and many rags to clean out. However, it was a relief to find that the main bearings, big end and little end bearings were all good with no sign of deterioration. The cast bearings bore the “Lister Bearing Metal” stamp and are presumably original. The middle piston ring was found to be broken, and new rings were ordered.
Interestingly, the flywheels each carry the serial number of the engine and are also marked ‘1’ and ‘2’; the heads of the gib keys are also marked ‘1’ and ‘2’ which indicates that some care was taken at the factory to make sure that the keys were individually fitted. No. 1 carries the timing mark and is fitted to the spark plug side of the engine. No. 2 is fitted to the governor side, and a grubscrew is used to hold the flywheel at the correct distance from the sliding governor ring during assembly. The flywheels had a lot of rust pitting and were sent away for cleaning by sandblasting.
I have never shifted so much rust…… ever! Lots of filing and sanding revealed decent component surfaces, and almost all fastenings could be reused. The valve springs cleaned up well, but the exhaust valve seat had to be re-cut due to significant pitting caused by corrosion. An acquaintance at an engineering works kindly did this in a few moments, but it would not have been easy without the proper tools.
The governor sleeve was seized onto the crankshaft, and it took some time to free this (the brass quadrant had also been displaced, so the sleeve HAD to be moved) using heat, oil and careful prising with various wedges.
Lots more sanding, rust treatment with “Kurust”, a coat of red oxide primer and a couple of coats of mid-Brunswick Green and things are coming together nicely.
The re-ground valves and new piston rings give excellent compression with little or no leakage. The cleaned flywheels have been primed, painted and fitted and after some experimentation with setting the carburettor jet and “strangler” the engine started and ran quite well. Just need to make up a respectable trolley with four wheels, fix the fuel tank in place, apply the “Lister” transfers and that’s another small project completed. Video of the first run here