OK, so this is better than I thought. I had an inkling that this was a good find, but I had to confirm it before I got too hopeful in my previous posts...
This is a *brand new* 16/2 Lister, still on what appears to be the original packing dolley. Never run, except maybe at the factory. Kept in a generator shop, very dusty but otherwise well-oiled and turns smoothly. Wow. I think this has been in this shop for several decades, waiting for me to buy it. After 20 hours on the road, I'm back home with it, and in the next few weeks I'll try to find the time to get it started after some preliminary dis-assembly to ensure no surface rust on the innards. Darn this day job! I'd start on this tomorrow if I knew I could get it done in one day, but this will probaby be a three-day project so I'll bide my time for a few more weeks.
The serial number is different than I reported, but the build plate is in the pictures. Now the big question is: I do keep perhaps the last remaining factory-new 16/2 in it's pristine condition, or do I use it for my project? I'm torn. I think I'll use it, but it's always hard to put into production something like this that has been kept "in the wrapper" for so long and that may be the last of it's kind.
http://www.loligo.com/listeroid/new-16-2/pictures/More pictures later after I clean it up a bit with some light degreasing and dusting.
So... how did I find it? I obtained a Lister CD (the engine, not the shiny round disc kind) at an estate sale a while back, and I've been on the hunt for various parts (gaskets, filters, etc) to restore it for a "project" engine. Lots of calling around and turning over rocks finally put me in touch with a gentleman at Lister-Petter who was kind enough to point me in the direction of some people who might know things about those long-discontinued engines. I mentioned that I was working on building a generator assembly for a 12/2 using an Indian clone, and I lamented the lack of a "real" Lister to use in my project. He paused for a moment, and said: "You know... I think I recall seeing one a number of years back in a warehouse in Phoenix... it's been a long time, though, and it's probably gone. It had been sitting there for a number of years when I saw it last, and that was a LONG time ago." So he gave me the name of the generator shop, and I hunted down the number and cold-called them. After a few "Uh... I dunno" answers, I got forwarded to the shop foreman who knew the engine. "Yep, been sitting here for as long as anyone can remember. Ordinarily, it wouldn't be for sale since it belongs to the owner of the business, but he died a few weeks back and I think his son is starting to look at selling some of the weird engines that have been sitting here forever. Let me ask." A week or so later, I called back and they were indeed interested in selling the engine, so presto-chango, it's now in a truck out front after a lot of driving. Persistence + luck = success.
JT
