1969 Cub Cadet Model 105 Hydrostatic Drive Garden Tractor - Part 1

I purchased this 1969 Cub Cadet garden tractor in 2011 from a good friend who had purchased it used in 1972. They put it to good use up until the time I got it. It was garage-kept throughout their ownership, so it was in fairly good overall condition, including original paint on the hood and most of the body/frame. The seat also looks like it is original to the tractor. A rear-mounted Model 1 rototiller came with the package. The seller was in her late 60's when she finally decided to part with her baby.

How Many Generators Is Too Many?

When I bought my big diesel generator last month (click here), I had no idea what it would start. I have a Generac 5000 watt generator that I'd use during power outages, as it was 120/240 volt, but I also had buried in the depths of my garage two ancient Onan generators of the 120 volt variety. These old generators worked but they weren't powerful enough to run the things in the house, thus the Generac (and more recently, the diesel Lister). Once I started tinkering with the Lister, it got me thinking more about the old Onans, so a few days ago I un-buried them, dragged them out of their cozy hole, and hoped they still ran. Both generators are rated at 2500 watts.

Here's one:

Lister Generator - Making A Camshaft Extension Safety Guard and Repairing The Air Cleaner Stud

The old Lister workshop manual I found online showed a guard for the camshaft extension that pokes out the front of the engine. I thought that was a very good piece of gear to be at the top of my list of things to do to this generator. Here's the finished product:

Lister Generator - New Electrics

When I got this old Lister generator, it was wired for 3-phase, and it didn't have much in the way of overload protection. The previous owner said the generator came off a boat, and I'm thinking it was a commercial vessel of some sort, as the generator is quite loud. The outlets on it were also on the sketchy side.

Lister Generator Hand-Start Crank Handle

It didn't take long for me to decide to attempt to make a starting handle for my new generator. I looked online and saw that the handles are still being sold in the UK, where Lister engines were originally manufactured. It would probably be $60 or $70 to have one shipped to my door so I figured it wouldn't be too terribly difficult to make a handle. And, bingo, here's a photo of the finished product:

Lister ST3A Diesel Generator

I picked up a new toy. Most folks probably wouldn't consider it a toy, but to me it's something to play with. Ok, maybe "tinker with" is more accurate than "play with". The new acquisition is a 15KVA/12KW 3-phase diesel generator. The engine is a Lister 3-cylinder air-cooled direct-injected diesel of about 21 horsepower at 1800 RPM.