1964 Alvis Stalwart
Discussion
Cheers guys, I appreciate your comments as sometimes I do wonder whether I've gone a step too far! The next step will be moving the truck in under cover, at the moment they are sat in a little paddock behind mine and my Dad's units, the paddock is due to have a small aircraft hangar built on it in the next few weeks due to there being an airfield next door, so this has brought a tad more urgency to the operation.
Moving the engine over to the storage shed was a big move in itself. I'm impressed my little 2 ton Chinese engine crane actually picked it up off the floor rather than blowing the ram to pieces or folding up because it is one heavy lump. When we lowered it into the back of the Landy on a pallet the rear leaf springs went completely flat if not a bit further! We managed to drop it down onto the pallet in the shed using the engine crane but biased towards one end because the legs wouldn't stretch out wide enough at the shorter higher capacity reach. Unfortunately the storage shed is an old chicken barn with a compacted dirt floor, man handling it into position with a pallet truck and two of us was near impossible
Dad has kindly agreed to let us keep the Stolly in his unit for the time being as long as we have his huge 70s Dodge pickup in our workshop. Thankfully that starts, runs and drives so will be a lot easier than having to drag a 9 ton hulk out every time I want to use the ramp.
Next weekend I was planning to go up to Bicester Heritage again for their first Sunday Scramble of the year. A guy on the Stolly FB group called Simon keeps his Mk1 Stalwart there along with a few other post war British military vehicles so that should be good to meet up and chew the fat.
Moving the engine over to the storage shed was a big move in itself. I'm impressed my little 2 ton Chinese engine crane actually picked it up off the floor rather than blowing the ram to pieces or folding up because it is one heavy lump. When we lowered it into the back of the Landy on a pallet the rear leaf springs went completely flat if not a bit further! We managed to drop it down onto the pallet in the shed using the engine crane but biased towards one end because the legs wouldn't stretch out wide enough at the shorter higher capacity reach. Unfortunately the storage shed is an old chicken barn with a compacted dirt floor, man handling it into position with a pallet truck and two of us was near impossible
Dad has kindly agreed to let us keep the Stolly in his unit for the time being as long as we have his huge 70s Dodge pickup in our workshop. Thankfully that starts, runs and drives so will be a lot easier than having to drag a 9 ton hulk out every time I want to use the ramp.
Next weekend I was planning to go up to Bicester Heritage again for their first Sunday Scramble of the year. A guy on the Stolly FB group called Simon keeps his Mk1 Stalwart there along with a few other post war British military vehicles so that should be good to meet up and chew the fat.
Thanking you all! If you could change the weather to be a bit less s
t that'd be fab 
Cracking job, the sound of an Alfa V6 stands out as one of the all time greats. They're a lovely looking engine too, does look a bit of a squeeze in there however! What did you take it out for?
I always find on engine out jobs it takes three times longer than you expect before it goes back in due to 'whilst I'm here' syndrome. May as well change that, may as well change this. Then you see your bank balance two months down the line and have a small heart attack
t that'd be fab Cracking job, the sound of an Alfa V6 stands out as one of the all time greats. They're a lovely looking engine too, does look a bit of a squeeze in there however! What did you take it out for?
I always find on engine out jobs it takes three times longer than you expect before it goes back in due to 'whilst I'm here' syndrome. May as well change that, may as well change this. Then you see your bank balance two months down the line and have a small heart attack
Top work! That is some devotion undertaking a big job like that. I would say only Alfa could have put a brake pipe in such a place, but looking underneath some of the more modern cars I've had up on the ramp recently the access from below is awful!
There's a lot to be said for that feeling of relief when all goes well and it runs perfectly from the off. When I put the engine back in the TVR it'd just had a fresh camshaft so it needed to start and run, then instantly go to 3000rpm for 25 minutes or so for the break in. That was a bit of a nervous moment!
On the Stolly front Matt has had the week off and in preparation for pushing her into the shed made a somewhat farmer but strong bumper bar with hitch on. We are borrowing an A bar off a guy on Saturday for the job.
I jacked the front up last night and dug a load of the dirt and muck out of the bottom of the hull with a shovel the diesel/water/sludge was then drained through the drain bung at the rear into a bucket. Nasty stuff, but has cleaned the floor suprisingly well!
There's a lot to be said for that feeling of relief when all goes well and it runs perfectly from the off. When I put the engine back in the TVR it'd just had a fresh camshaft so it needed to start and run, then instantly go to 3000rpm for 25 minutes or so for the break in. That was a bit of a nervous moment!
On the Stolly front Matt has had the week off and in preparation for pushing her into the shed made a somewhat farmer but strong bumper bar with hitch on. We are borrowing an A bar off a guy on Saturday for the job.
I jacked the front up last night and dug a load of the dirt and muck out of the bottom of the hull with a shovel
the diesel/water/sludge was then drained through the drain bung at the rear into a bucket. Nasty stuff, but has cleaned the floor suprisingly well!Well we've all worked bloody hard today. First thing we took a ride over to a mate of a mate's yard a mile up the road to pick up a military A bar for pushing her in the unit with. I knew he had a few toys, what I didn't realise was that he has around 5 tanks, Alvis Saracen, Gama Goat, Unimog, the list goes on!
We spent a bit too much time nosing round there needless to say but back to the task in hand.
Bedford all ready for service complete with home made hitch.
We pulled her over to the hosepipe first and hooked up the pressure washer. Unfortunately due to a fence in the way Matt and I actually pushed her by hand the last 6 feet. My back is still whinging at me for it now!
During the initial excavation process we unearthed a couple of Roman settlements and some interesting pottery.
A good few doses of neat TFR and several hours of pressure washing later... It's like a new one! We had to jack each end up so the water flowed out the drain holes at either end. It was pretty much a constant stream of brown, but very satisfying seeing how well a lot of the components have survived underneath the grease and dirt.
Finally it was time to push her into her new home. Unfortunately when we measured it, the door wasn't wide enough! The unit had an alarm fitted in a previous life and limited how far the sliding door could open, so with the light fading we removed the alarm and cut the stop block out from the door track. This gained us another 8 inches or so which was just enough to fit the beast in.
The Bedford was proving a bit of a pain to push it back due to the A bar being so short, when any steering lock was applied it acted like a lorry trailer jack knifing and they were extremely close to hitting each other's cab. Thankfully my Dad's big 70s ex USAF Dodge Power Wagon has a NATO hitch on the rear, so in 4WD low range it pushed her in beautifully, with a lovely amount of fine control through having an automatic gearbox.
It has scratched the paint in places, but we're in!
We spent a bit too much time nosing round there needless to say but back to the task in hand.
Bedford all ready for service complete with home made hitch.
We pulled her over to the hosepipe first and hooked up the pressure washer. Unfortunately due to a fence in the way Matt and I actually pushed her by hand the last 6 feet. My back is still whinging at me for it now!
During the initial excavation process we unearthed a couple of Roman settlements and some interesting pottery.
A good few doses of neat TFR and several hours of pressure washing later... It's like a new one! We had to jack each end up so the water flowed out the drain holes at either end. It was pretty much a constant stream of brown, but very satisfying seeing how well a lot of the components have survived underneath the grease and dirt.
Finally it was time to push her into her new home. Unfortunately when we measured it, the door wasn't wide enough! The unit had an alarm fitted in a previous life and limited how far the sliding door could open, so with the light fading we removed the alarm and cut the stop block out from the door track. This gained us another 8 inches or so which was just enough to fit the beast in.
The Bedford was proving a bit of a pain to push it back due to the A bar being so short, when any steering lock was applied it acted like a lorry trailer jack knifing and they were extremely close to hitting each other's cab. Thankfully my Dad's big 70s ex USAF Dodge Power Wagon has a NATO hitch on the rear, so in 4WD low range it pushed her in beautifully, with a lovely amount of fine control through having an automatic gearbox.
It has scratched the paint in places, but we're in!
Thanks so much chaps, I'm glad it's of interest and a bit different, not to sound arsey but I do get a bit tired of the 'shiny and leased' threads on here sometimes
I can assure you being old and British it won't take much use to self preserve and cover itself in oil and crap again!
It'll be a few years yet but I'd quite like to have a proper unveiling when we do get it moving again, get some PH members along for beers and Stalwarting, have a go behind the wheel and so on.
Possibly in the future Rick, the Dodge has been a bit of a slow burner as Dad bought it as a running truck but unfortunately the previous owner was a complete prat. I've been slowly undoing all of his bodges over the past year or so when I get a minute to spare. The engine was removed to replace a rear crank seal that was pissing out faster than you could pour it in, there were a few headaches along the way with that. I removed the headlight bulkhead panel and found absolutely terminal rust in the bottom of it where it bolts through the chassis, previous owner had simply lathered waxoyl all over it as thick as possible to try and hide it! It took some major weldathon surgery to put that right, including fabricating two new stepped inner wings. I won't say they're the prettiest effort as bodywork isn't really my 'thing' but they certainly won't fall off. Next step is getting the rear lights working properly as he's tapped into the connections for the trailer socket to get power, and chock blocked/insulation taped his way right around the whole lot. I'm still scratching my head now looking at the wiring diagram.
I can assure you being old and British it won't take much use to self preserve and cover itself in oil and crap again!
It'll be a few years yet but I'd quite like to have a proper unveiling when we do get it moving again, get some PH members along for beers and Stalwarting, have a go behind the wheel and so on.
Possibly in the future Rick, the Dodge has been a bit of a slow burner as Dad bought it as a running truck but unfortunately the previous owner was a complete prat. I've been slowly undoing all of his bodges over the past year or so when I get a minute to spare. The engine was removed to replace a rear crank seal that was pissing out faster than you could pour it in, there were a few headaches along the way with that. I removed the headlight bulkhead panel and found absolutely terminal rust in the bottom of it where it bolts through the chassis, previous owner had simply lathered waxoyl all over it as thick as possible to try and hide it! It took some major weldathon surgery to put that right, including fabricating two new stepped inner wings. I won't say they're the prettiest effort as bodywork isn't really my 'thing' but they certainly won't fall off. Next step is getting the rear lights working properly as he's tapped into the connections for the trailer socket to get power, and chock blocked/insulation taped his way right around the whole lot. I'm still scratching my head now looking at the wiring diagram.
Fantastic, it should be a good laugh. You never know we might even be able to take a trip along a river somewhere! At least you can get pissed whilst sailing.
That'll be proper mvm! You'll have to get the dusters and microfibre cloths out for that interior. As long as the dress doesn't get caught up on the pick axe handle as your dear lady gets out I'm sure it'll be fine
Removed driveshafts this evening so that we can start looking at removing wheel stations in the near future. A couple we couldn't get the sliding drive coupling to budge (now there's a familiar tune). Even with the oxyacetylene in them we weren't having much joy, thankfully one was at the end with the buggered bevel box so we simply cut through the male splined shaft coming out from it and disconnected it that way, I'll push the remains out the coupling at work with their rather handy 100 tonne hydraulic press.
The front left also refused to budge so instead we took the bevel gear block out of the front bevel box. Unfortunately another kick in the knackers as it was a horrible stinking black oily/water mess inside! Some of the gear teeth were in perfectly serviceable condition, others that have sat in pockets of water were very pitted and rough. Once you get to that stage I suppose there's no level of hardening left and it'd eat itself very quickly, not to mention make a horrible noise in the process. A phone call to Richard I think to see what bevel stuff he has left, hopefully enough to keep us moving forward.
That'll be proper mvm! You'll have to get the dusters and microfibre cloths out for that interior. As long as the dress doesn't get caught up on the pick axe handle as your dear lady gets out I'm sure it'll be fine
Removed driveshafts this evening so that we can start looking at removing wheel stations in the near future. A couple we couldn't get the sliding drive coupling to budge (now there's a familiar tune). Even with the oxyacetylene in them we weren't having much joy, thankfully one was at the end with the buggered bevel box so we simply cut through the male splined shaft coming out from it and disconnected it that way, I'll push the remains out the coupling at work with their rather handy 100 tonne hydraulic press.
The front left also refused to budge so instead we took the bevel gear block out of the front bevel box. Unfortunately another kick in the knackers as it was a horrible stinking black oily/water mess inside! Some of the gear teeth were in perfectly serviceable condition, others that have sat in pockets of water were very pitted and rough. Once you get to that stage I suppose there's no level of hardening left and it'd eat itself very quickly, not to mention make a horrible noise in the process. A phone call to Richard I think to see what bevel stuff he has left, hopefully enough to keep us moving forward.
Small steps as of recently, I've booked a day to go and see Richard to get some more parts for her in early Feb. Removed a couple of floor plates from the cab along with both seats and the remains of the heater. Tonight we had a bash at stripping some of the centre hub down. It's fair to say that the previous owner got their money out of the brake pads!
In the mud that came off the wishbones there were actual shells
Made up a tool to get the square pivot pin sealing plugs out the wishbone ends, surprisingly these came out easily with no persuasion whatsoever.
The steering arm didn't put up much of a fight, simply a big bottle jack underneath and give it a big tap with the sledgehammer and it popped.
We had a go at heating up the castings and getting the top pivot pin out. It is designed to be removed by slide hammer so we tried making one with a bolt welded onto a track pin off a tank. No joy there, even with a big hammer from the other side it wouldn't shift. For now we've left the grease gallery at the top filled with decent penetrating oil so we'll give it time to work its magic and see what happens. The suspension is incredibly creaky and hasn't seen any grease in a long time, so even just throwing a bit of oil about the place and jacking it up and down can only help.
In the mud that came off the wishbones there were actual shells
Made up a tool to get the square pivot pin sealing plugs out the wishbone ends, surprisingly these came out easily with no persuasion whatsoever.
The steering arm didn't put up much of a fight, simply a big bottle jack underneath and give it a big tap with the sledgehammer and it popped.
We had a go at heating up the castings and getting the top pivot pin out. It is designed to be removed by slide hammer so we tried making one with a bolt welded onto a track pin off a tank. No joy there, even with a big hammer from the other side it wouldn't shift. For now we've left the grease gallery at the top filled with decent penetrating oil so we'll give it time to work its magic and see what happens. The suspension is incredibly creaky and hasn't seen any grease in a long time, so even just throwing a bit of oil about the place and jacking it up and down can only help.
Possibly the most American thing I've ever seen but this is worth a watch, one way to make a Stolly look small!
https://youtu.be/30ew1Ehcq7o
https://youtu.be/30ew1Ehcq7o
That's right, we spent quite a lot of time down Portsmouth when I was younger and I remember seeing them there too, from what I recall there was a pair of Chieftain tanks nearby. Up in the loft somewhere Dad has some of those 'After the Battle' magazines with features on Pounds scrapyard in the 70s/80s, WW2 tanks piled on top of each other and all sorts of rare stuff. It's not worth thinking about how much it'd be worth now!
Very good
I had the drop sides leaning up in a gap between two vans on the farm and helpfully two 'do what you likeys' decided to help themselves to them today and drove away with them on the back of a Transit tipper. By a minor miracle my 6'4" brother happened to be there at the time so he followed them back to their camp having taken photos and politely asked for them back. They duly obliged!
I had the drop sides leaning up in a gap between two vans on the farm and helpfully two 'do what you likeys' decided to help themselves to them today and drove away with them on the back of a Transit tipper. By a minor miracle my 6'4" brother happened to be there at the time so he followed them back to their camp having taken photos and politely asked for them back. They duly obliged!
Cracking, that's Simon's one. He's expanding his track day business into playing with military toys as well so good on him. At the moment only offering rides in the Stolly due to them being a tad tricky to drive 
He has a Mk2 Stolly too and also runs a Mk1 FV432 personnel carrier, the Mk1 has the Rolls B81 petrol engine the same as the Stolly, he's a brave chap running all of those thirsty cylinders!
There is a video of the Stalwart on YouTube popping away nicely, I presume in the previous owner's hands.
https://youtu.be/TViTdRu9c2s
He has a Mk2 Stolly too and also runs a Mk1 FV432 personnel carrier, the Mk1 has the Rolls B81 petrol engine the same as the Stolly, he's a brave chap running all of those thirsty cylinders!
There is a video of the Stalwart on YouTube popping away nicely, I presume in the previous owner's hands.
https://youtu.be/TViTdRu9c2s
https://youtu.be/ysMGmXTWBzQ
Forgot to add this on here, 13:38ish onwards I'm in the cab grinning like a Cheshire cat!
Forgot to add this on here, 13:38ish onwards I'm in the cab grinning like a Cheshire cat!
Couldn't have said it better!
All the wheels are now off the right hand side so that we can work on the wheel stations, that in itself was a task as the wheel studs were covered in 58 layers of rust and paint so winding the nuts off took an age.
We haven't had any joy with getting the wishbone pins out despite welding up some bar to make a drift, so last night we unbolted the shock absorbers on the centre wheel station off of the hull and tonight intend to disconnect the centre torsion bar so the whole unit wishbones and all can be removed. That's the theory anyway!
I'll try and get some photos for a bit of an update later
All the wheels are now off the right hand side so that we can work on the wheel stations, that in itself was a task as the wheel studs were covered in 58 layers of rust and paint so winding the nuts off took an age.
We haven't had any joy with getting the wishbone pins out despite welding up some bar to make a drift, so last night we unbolted the shock absorbers on the centre wheel station off of the hull and tonight intend to disconnect the centre torsion bar so the whole unit wishbones and all can be removed. That's the theory anyway!
I'll try and get some photos for a bit of an update later
Middle wheel station off as a whole this evening, including torsion bars. We had to back the adjustment nut right off to release the preload in the bar and the wishbones sat perfectly. Many owners back these off in civilian use as it causes the tracta joints inside to run at a flatter angle, more in contact with each other reducing the chance of breakage due to wind up. Loaded with a full 5 ton payload it would cause the suspension to operate at this correct angle levelling out the drive joints but it's rare anyone will ever fully load one again.
It was a bit of an operation getting it off the side of the hull, helpfully two of the three shock absorbers/rebound units on this wheel station are completely ineffective and just slide up and down freely
bearing in mind there's 22 in total I can hear Richard the parts man rubbing his hands together as we speak!The 'driveshafts' as it were from each hub run back to sort of a big version of a Land Rover swivel housing with a chromed chalice and outer seal, this then sits in a large brass coupling with a cork seal around the outer, meaning it's just a sliding fit into the outer end of the bevel box bolted inside the hull. I think this was mainly for ease of changing one in the field, the manual says from start to finish it can be done in 45 minutes!
Well we now have a very lop sided bath tub. Damage report- centre tracta joint absolutely knackered due to collapsed bearing and water ingress, front tracta joint pretty well knackered with little chunks out of it, the rear one amazingly is like new with totally unworn faces and pretty much fresh oil on everything. We have two new ones so far purchased previously and the satisfaction of how smoothly they slide and how finely machined they are is super. It takes a sad git to appreciate that sort of thing.
Apologies for the crappy quality photos
Apologies for the crappy quality photos
I agree actually, there is 4x2 tonne stands under that side but just for peace of mind I'll get some big blocks of timber under there. I think it's worse for the lower hull being so relatively thin compared to the full width of the vehicle. Whether it's an empty hull or not I'd still rather not have it resting on my toes!
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