Lister Engine Serial Numbers
Hi all, The following may be useful for roughly dating your A or B type and also types H,J,K,L,M,N,P,Q and R. Unfortunately the list cannot be treated as 100% accurate because a duplicate set of 'engine build day books' provide conflicting information as shown by the numbers in brackets. However, as a general guide the list should be helpful, and reasonably accurate form 1928 onwards. Please note these are build dates and not dates of sale. 
This early engine had many of the contemporary Lister 'L' engine parts in common, such as crankcase, crank, bearings etc. The CS label was given to the engine by Listers, and it was incorporated on the spec plates as part of the engine serial number.
(These dates were given to me by another enthusiast. I believe they are courtesy of David Edgington) 1923 34557 (34561) - 38037 (38052) 1924 38053 (38075) - 44843 (44847) 1925 44844 (44848) - 53072 (53299) 1926 53073 (53300) - 61233 (61578) 1927 61234 (61579) - 69596 (69627) 1928 69628 - 78096 - 2 208768 - 2 216464 - 2 220614 - 2 222841 - 2 225968 - 2 229736 - 2 233648 - 2 237994 - 2 242483 - 2 245465 - 2 248821 - 2 252370 - 2 254678 - 2 256490 - 2 257976 - 2 258736 - 2 260796 - 2 262275 - 2 263721 - 2 268063 - 2 272800 - 274579 (May 1950) 1951 275829 - 2 278881 - 279284 So there you have it. I've probably gone and spoilt all your fun Best wishes, jayvee ---------- Post added at 09:00 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:54 PM ---------- Hi all, So what happened after 1952?? Lister changed their numbering system (again) by introducing a very simple method with which to date any post 1952 A or B engine. Every January, until production ceased, engine serial numbers commenced with number 1, while the Spec number determined the year the engine was built.
So A2 was built in 1952, A3 = 1953, B4 = 1954, A5 = 1955, etc. Simple really. Just remember that a short serial number means a post 1952 engine. A2/B2 = 1952 A3/B3 = 1953 A4/B4 = 1954 A5/B5 = 1955 A6/B6 = 1956 A7/B7 = 1957 A8/B8 = 1958 A9/B9 = 1959 A10/B10 = 1960 A11/B11 = 1961 A12/B12 = 1962 Hoping this info also helps Best wishes, jayvee. Hi Just been given a 3hp lister petrol engine, at the moment it is buried deep into the back of a shed.
The only info I could get of it given the poor light is HP 3, RPM 450, Engine # 26988 Type was hard to see I think 51B or 51D. Shjem sami medicinskij kolpak khan. The top of the cylinder head has two oval plates, the one on the right has the spark plug in it and the one on left is blank, looks to be a valve inspection covers. The engine is tank cooled and the fuel tank what's left of it mounted on the wooden base, below the carby. Any info on this engine would be much appreciated.