So i wondered if i could put together something to put in the WOK, if i can get some help to find those golden numbers, ball park figures in old posts here... I mean how did the guys do it if they didnt have some spec to go off ?

That would be brilliant! Happy to add your experiences to the WoK!

A kind soul on this forum, who's name temporarily escapes me, sent me a copy of the 6/1 manual... which I've been meaning to scan and upload for ages... I *will* get around to it one day, promise! That might have useful info like head bolt torque settings. I assume they're the same on the 6/1 vs 12/2, you just have to do twice as many for the bigger engine!

It was so long ago now, I don't remember.

I do remember loading all of the ones I'd collected (about a dozen ish) on the back of the truck and trundling them up to a guy called Mark in Derby, who was building the stillages and loading them into the container. After that, I don't really recall what happened... I believe it got there eventually!

Just to give you an idea of how poor the market is now, a 12/2 in running (smoky) order sold this last weekend for £557.19 (maybe US$650). 10 years ago you'd have just barely got a 6/1 for that price, and 10 years before that you'd maybe have got a rusty nail at best.

Problem is, there's almost none up for sale at any one time these days. A quick search shows 5 engines for sale on eBay UK: The most expensive is a "show queen" paint job/trailer for £1230, the cheapest is an 8/1 that looks complete but is described as "parts only" for a little over £400.

The £1,230 one has been hanging around for months. Not sure about the others as I'm no longer buying/selling them - I'm keeping my 1950 engine which currently has a Chinesium ST type head on it. I have a 3-phase alternator I want to use in its place, but it needs gearing up to spin at 3600, and the car starter motor/flex plate I currently have mounted on the ST head pulley doesn't really turn it fast enough to reliably get it going.

Anyway... long story short: The market is, currently at least, gone for these old engines. I hope it comes back, because they're fantastic to listen to and use, but realistically, if you want off-grid or backup power these days, you buy solar panels/a wind turbine, some inverters and batteries, and you're done.

Hi - I have an SR2 without the correct wall mounted switchgear box.  I want to be able to start it automatically from the house (getting old).  I don't require the original startomatic function (there's never a time when something isn't turned on) but need to be able to start the generator when my batteries get low.   I have worked out that if you feed the positive battery connection to the starter contactor it turns the engine via the generator.  It will start if the fuel control solenoid has been energised .  Do i need anything more than a push button to momentarily operate the starter contactor and a latching switch to operate the fuel control solenoid?

If your engine will turn over without decompression - then that sounds about right. I'd use automotive (truck, if you're on 24v, car if you're on 12v) relays, have switches as you describe. That way you can presumably shut it off by simply switching off the fuel solenoid.

The CS Start-o-matic had a mechanically linked fuel rack/decompression lever arm, operated by a solenoid. I don't know if the ST does the same? But, if the fuel solenoid definitely pushes the rack shut when de-energised, then you should be good to go fully remote... just don't forget to change the oil & check the fuel levels occasionally!

Dursleys doesn't have any bearing but only bushes... and mains are babbitt.

You can buy the crankshaft bushings: https://www.stationaryengineparts.com/lister-cs-crankshaft-bearing-parts

They describe them as "white metal" - is that babbitt? At least you don't need to pour it in place...

Big ends are standard split bearings. I'm guessing the little end is a bronze bushing, but that appears to be unobtanium.

Sounds like it may be something they identified and changed along the way in earlier years of production. The earliest CS I have been into was a 1952. I'm not sure what year exactly Lister went from the 4 digit part numbers to the hyphonated 5-6-7 digit part numbers, I feel like it was mid to late 40's to the 5 digit and then they kept adding another digit every decade or so.

The hyphenated style was quite late (1970s? Maybe even 1980s). The straight incrementing number survived until 1952, when they went to the No|Type|Rotation|Year style (but no hyphens).

I guess it did work......Just could not see it in the preview.
Success then!!
Cheers
Hugh

Yeah... it doesn't actually upload until you hit Post... so it won't show in the preview...

BTW, do you have a Dutch surname? I suspect it is the same as mine.

Nope! Mine's about as British as they come - Vickers (originating from being servants to the Vicar; more recently known for tanks, guns and aircraft...)

I'm not sure what happened with the LEF Gallery. I used to upload the photos there and link them to my forum posts but that stopped working a few years ago, or I forgot how to do it. The above method seems to work as long as the files aren't massive.

Which LEF gallery are you talking about?

The original LEF gallery was an entirely separate website run by one of the members - it's long since died and gone away.

I run Coppermine on the same server as LEF. It's a bit old and pants, but still remains about the best option I can find... It may be that which requires a "global password", which - if I remember where to find it/what it is - I'd be happy to pass on.

I've looked into other options more recently, but never found one that meets all of the requirements. I even started writing one myself, which would integrate directly into the forum; but work and some other projects mean I've not looked at it in quite some time. I might have another go with Claude Code (an AI) to help me, as I was starting to get bogged down in the weeds with my system.

Anyway; in the meantime; there's a couple of options:
 - Attach the images to the posts. Beware your EXIF data can do funny things to the rotation (see any of Sirpedrosa's posts, he seems to have particular angst with it)
- Upload it into Coppermine (https://listerengine.com/coppermine), then pick the appropriate display size & copy the link, paste it into your message with {img} tags. (use square brackets, not sqirrly ones like I did there). Or use the Img button - the tiny pic of the Mona Lisa, far left hand side of the button bar just above the emoji list, at the top of the message box.