1964 Alvis Stalwart
Discussion
Jeepv6 said:
I'm about to retire I'm after another zil but want a reo whistler I drive an Amy merc e63 but due to speed limits it point less so a cheap run around and a nice old truck would be better
Perfect! I'd much rather a Reo or a Zil over a posh Merc 
there were loads of Whistlers at War and Peace a few weeks back, dear God do they sound good
I'd say they were definitely simpler and less 'delicate' than the stuff we built. Having had a look round say a BMP or a T55 they're much more clunky and quite crude in places. However it does seem to work quite well!
A lot of our vehicles were proper 'engineers' projects, massive amounts of thought and money went into each individual little component rather than just making it tough and easy to repair/replace in my opinion.
A lot of our vehicles were proper 'engineers' projects, massive amounts of thought and money went into each individual little component rather than just making it tough and easy to repair/replace in my opinion.
This evening we stripped the rearmost floor panels out and unseized some pins so that we could remove the frame and cross beam above the engine.
The parts pile continues to grow
This is the rear left hand 'tower' that contains the coolant header tank, now mostly removed
This is with the floor frame removed, bugger was it heavy removing it by hand!
We then took the radiator pipes off, it is held in two rubbers at the bottom end and has studs with a big spring behind the nut at the top end. With two people holding the brackets at the top we gave it a good heave upwards and out it came.
Lovely evening for it too
The parts pile continues to grow
This is the rear left hand 'tower' that contains the coolant header tank, now mostly removed
This is with the floor frame removed, bugger was it heavy removing it by hand!
We then took the radiator pipes off, it is held in two rubbers at the bottom end and has studs with a big spring behind the nut at the top end. With two people holding the brackets at the top we gave it a good heave upwards and out it came.
Lovely evening for it too
Basically we've established that the transfer box/left hand centre bevel box has shat itself and spat out its bearing and cage, the front left prop shaft wobbles about half an inch either way! There's an awkward crossbeam in the way above the driveline for a start so it's easier to lift it all 'back and up' as one assembly, that being the engine, gearbox and transfer box.
There's a lot of other reasons for doing it too, at the moment the hull is absolutely full of accumulated crap and dirt from years of neglect and abuse. With the majority of it out the hull is basically just an empty skip so that can all be thoroughly cleaned out, rotted pipes and hoses repaired etc and most importantly, a nice coat of silver paint. The bilge pump strainers are in the bottom too and they're completely blocked with dirt. Can't say I'd fancy swimming it without those working
The Rolls Royce 'B' series of engines are overhead inlet, side exhaust valve so with the engine in the vehicle it makes it pretty much impossible to do the valve clearances and that sort of thing, so a good clean up and a good refresh of the engine won't go amiss. The clutch is a big twin plate so it'll give us a chance to have a look at the state of that as well.
There's a huge amount to do but we can only crack on and start bringing her back to life properly.
We move into our new unit 1st September so we may even be able to get her in a nice new shed, which will be super
There's a lot of other reasons for doing it too, at the moment the hull is absolutely full of accumulated crap and dirt from years of neglect and abuse. With the majority of it out the hull is basically just an empty skip so that can all be thoroughly cleaned out, rotted pipes and hoses repaired etc and most importantly, a nice coat of silver paint. The bilge pump strainers are in the bottom too and they're completely blocked with dirt. Can't say I'd fancy swimming it without those working
The Rolls Royce 'B' series of engines are overhead inlet, side exhaust valve so with the engine in the vehicle it makes it pretty much impossible to do the valve clearances and that sort of thing, so a good clean up and a good refresh of the engine won't go amiss. The clutch is a big twin plate so it'll give us a chance to have a look at the state of that as well.
There's a huge amount to do but we can only crack on and start bringing her back to life properly.
We move into our new unit 1st September so we may even be able to get her in a nice new shed, which will be super
Made some new front brake pipes for my crappy little kit car today and fitted those, then devoted some time to the Stolly. I removed the air filters and brackets to give me better access and then started removing pipes etc down one side of the engine. On the right hand side access to the front engine mount bolts is restricted by the compressor and hydraulic pump so I set about removing those too. Not finished yet but it's all baby steps in the right direction.
Good spot! Looks a nice example
Matt took a few more bits out today, the main gearbox and power take off actually look quite clean inside so that's a bonus, he also removed the prop shafts to both bevel boxes feeding the Dowty water jets, with the shaft removed they both turn freely thankfully.
Centre bevel boxes both sides however not so healthy...
Matt took a few more bits out today, the main gearbox and power take off actually look quite clean inside so that's a bonus, he also removed the prop shafts to both bevel boxes feeding the Dowty water jets, with the shaft removed they both turn freely thankfully.
Centre bevel boxes both sides however
not so healthy...
When we bought it the top cover plate was removed off the top of the transfer box. I think what's happened is rather than seeing the relatively obvious damage with a closer look to the bevel box output as we have, they've removed it for a look inside expecting to see damage and left it off. That's 20 years plus outside in a field uncovered, no wonder it's not pretty in there! I remember even as a kid looking down through the grilles in the roof and seeing a lot of rainwater down in her belly. Sometimes when I stand back and think about that fact I really must be a glutton for punishment eh?
With a bit of luck and a fair wind she will move again though, in fact I remain pretty damn confident of it. The fact it seems to have lasted so well considering the abuse and neglect it's had is massive testament to the engineering excellence that went into it all those years ago
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