I’ve never particularly liked the big Lister’s, never really had an interest in them, thought they were heavy, ugly and often seen running badly without a load.
So why is there now an example in my collection?
Back in August 2023 I got a call from a friend asking if I was interested in an L type, not really, it had been offered to a couple of folks who had turned it down but as the property where it resided had been sold it had to be moved within the week, so I said I’d have a look and go from there.
I had seen the engine many years before and knew it hadn’t been restored but couldn’t remember much else.
Upon getting to see it, it turned out to be actually in decent original condition, still on its wooden base with fuel tank and exhaust and everything correct.
It is fitted with an unusual inverted intake carburettor, (more of that later), it had decent compression and the owner assured me that it was running fine when last used.
A reasonable figure was agreed and I went back with tractor and trailer to collect it, thinking that it would sell on okay and that would be the end of it.
The next few days were spent going over it closer, draining the oil and removing the strainer gauze and pipework for a thorough clean, inside the crankcase looked fairly clean.
Inside the crankcase.
A good clean and re-gap of the points resulted in a decent spark and the fuel tank was flushed out and the pump checked.
The engine as it arrived.
A short test run revealed that it seemed to run well, with no smoke and it ran surprisingly steady, this was when things began to go badly as I began to quite like it!
Unfortunately, the original skids, although looking fine from above were badly rotten underneath from several years of sitting on the ground outside whilst being used to drive a saw bench, it’s last use. So unsure what to do about this I put a sheet over it and left it.
Forward a few months and I noticed a large trolley sat in a friends’ field, he had rescued it from a deceased estate and upon realising that it was a proper portable Lister trolley, a quick measure up revealed it to be for an L type.
A deal was done and once home a good clean and linseed oil, the wheels removed, cleaned and re-greased had the trolley looking good.
Thoughts went to cooling, I was lucky enough to get hold of a nice riveted galvanized tank about the right size and then found a small gear pump from an old crop sprayer, so I planned on making it screen cooled.
Talking to Lee Say and watching his videos soon put me off this idea, the amount of piping, threading, bending, getting a belt pulley behind the flywheel etc all seemed like a lot of hassle.
Then an original wooden tank box turned up on eBay with an enthusiast in Suffolk, a few weeks later a 50-gallon tank was found on a farm, again in Suffolk that had been removed from a Lister CS lighting plant. A 3-way tap was found at Woodford jumble and things were starting to look good for an assembly.
In the workshop, and the original skids which were badly rotten underneath.
The engine was lifted from its skids, and once it had a good clean and a coat of waxoil underneath it was lowered onto the trolley, in a somewhat buttock-clenching moment of it dangling mid-air from a Chinese-made engine crane!
Once on the trolley things looked good.
Hoses were cut and fitted, the 3way tap unseized and lapped in and various bits of 1″ steel pipe cut and threaded to suit.
Some lengths of 3/8″ rod were cut and threaded for the water tank tie downs and the fuel tank screwed in place.
After some final touches and another coat of linseed oil on the trolley and the engine it began to look like it had always been a portable model.
Looking good out in the sunshine.
An email to the ever-helpful Doreen Edgington revealed that the engine was supplied new to Sharman & Ladbury (agricultural engineers and later Ford dealers) of Melton Mowbray on 13 September 1922.
It is fitted with the inverted intake carburettor, which was mainly used on Bruston Startomatic sets, as these carbs have a kind of automatic choke arrangement, but they were also apparently supplied for applications where the risk of back-fire needed to be avoided, for example in a workshop environment.
It is unknown if Sharman & Ladbury used the engine themselves or if they sold it on to a customer.
Some years back the engine was removed from a farm at Wysall near Melton Mowbray where it is believed to have been used to drive barn machinery. It went through the hands of an enthusiast onto the next owner who used it to drive a saw bench for firewood. This was where I bought it.
The engine has since had a couple of good long runs and another oil change and seems to be all good, apart from the huge amount of water needed to fill the tank!
So from a disliking of L types, to now it being a definite keeper, it just shows us engine men just can’t say no to another engine.
Thanks to TFM Supplies of Boston for rubber hose and clips. Glen Farrow Ltd Spalding for iron pipe fittings and to Witham oil, Lincoln for their Classic 30 engine oil.
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Country: GB