The 10/2's history...
I learned of the this Lister Twin while conversing with a visitor to one of our engine shows in Vista, California back in June of 1995. I had mentioned that I was on the look out for a larger diesel engine, something along the lines of a large horizontal single cylinder. The next day, the visitor returned to tell me that he might know of an engine that could possibly be purchased and that he would send me some pictures of it. After the show, I returned home some 300 miles to the north in San Luis Obispo county. Several days later, I was sent several polaroid photos of the engine setting amongst the weeds in the back of the owners property.
These pictures were my first views of the Lister Twin and were the first time I'd ever heard of the Lister name. I later found out that the Lister company was in England.
So, with a borrowed trailer, I retraced my steps back down to San Diego county to have a look at the lump of iron. According to the owner, the engine had been purchased by his father in 1950/51 along with a large centrifugal water pump and piping in order to irrigate their property. Soon after, the Korean War broke out and the son had to fulfill his military obligation. Due to this and other circumstances, the irrigating system was never installed and the engine sat unused until I came along to look at it 45 years later. I was told it was unused, but had no proof of this until I completed the purchase and got it home.
After opening the engine up to check it's condition and deciding what needed to be done, I was astonished to find an emaculate crankcase and little or no carbon in the heads or cylinders, most likely from the test firing done at the factory in 1950 and possibly one run when it was delivered. Amazingly, too, was the perfect condition the fuel system was in, save for the original fuel filter that had been open to the elements and was completely rusted out. The only real "problem" that I found was that with the years of setting unused, several of the water jacket gaskets had dried out and cracked and required replacing.
An eventual clean up, painting and application of a new decal set resulted in the Lister 10/2 Twin that you see on my site.
