I **Think** the top end of a Lister could be made oil-free except for a smear in the pushrod cups.
Sealed needle bearings in each rocker arm and a roller tappet for the lashcaps would solve oiling there....
The pushrods *could* be made nearly oil free by sealed ball joints, but the .018 backlash will be noisy.
Surely somebody makes a booted valve stems with 'lifetime' lubrication, or ceramics and voodoo alloys that make their own lube, to make that part of it oil free so......
Now, dang IT! I have to have this one running.....and can't shut it down to try it, but that would be a great project. Build a 'custom' head with the ports polished and three angle valve seats and some custom machined valve train parts and mounts to make it oil-free.....and make it look like a top fuel dragster engine....everthing milled and sealed smooth with 'racing' parts milled from barstock....
....but wait a minute. If there's no oil on the floor that means I don't have an excuse to never sweep up the oil dry.....that's more work. I think I'll squirt oil for now....
....and check ebay for Lister heads.
