12/2 comparisons

[snail]

     I bought a Powerline 12/2 a while ago, and in general I'm pretty happy with it. I didn't pull the (plain) mains or pistons on the initial cleanup but everything appears fine so far.You know what it's like though, that voice that haunts you saying "should've done the proper job...", well now I may have the chance to right the wrong.I now have a backup for the listeroid in the form of a genuine 10/2 Lister of around 1940 vintage. As the Dursley product is going to get a thorough going over before taking over from the indian version, strikes me that I have an opportunity for a pretty detailed comparison.
     Stop me if this has been done before, but I'm sure some of you guys will have some questions that I may be able to answer. One thing that springs to mind is the balance factor.A friend of mine has been itching to get the crank and flywheels onto his dynamic balancer since he first saw the listeroid.As well as the odd pro stock crank that passes over his machine, he has done a number of vintage jobs such as model T's and a straight 8 Hudson (from memory). The owners report a much better feel to the motors and even possibly a power increase which they attribute to the motor not "fighting itself" due to crank flexing etc. I'm not qualified to judge this, but I would imagine their bearings will last longer if everything is balanced. Even if we don't improve things we can at least accurately measure  the balance factor and compare rod weights etc.
    I'm certainly up to measuring the actual compression ratios, and have access to some pretty good measuring gear. I know that the motor is around 65 years old, but I'm sure we can draw some conclusions about how good Mr Lister was.Metallurgy is a bit beyond me, but I know where there is a hardness tester and someone who knows how to use it.What else would you guys like to know?
     I'm not out to dethrone anyones deities here, and feel free to question my measurements, but I (we) have to give it a try, dont we? BTW,they don't call me snail for nuthin', this may take some time!

Cheers,

Brian

[GuyFawkes]

As long as you remember you're comparing a Lister with 66 years use with a new clone ... lol

[snail]

     Whats up Guy,frightened I might find something we don't like? . Don't worry, if the crank's knackered, I won't hold it against the factory. If the flywheels are completely different weights (or porous!) I'll let you know!
     This  is an ex Government unit that was used to fill water tankers for road building in western Queensland, presumably from the nearest waterhole. I'm guessing that it only had intermittent use and probably spent much of it's life running below a decent temperature.On the other hand it probably did receive a bit of maintenance and genuine parts.
     It appears to have copper base gaskets fitted . Was that standard? I'll certainly have more questions once I get round to pulling it apart.

Cheers,

Brian