1964 Alvis Stalwart
Discussion
Wishing everyone a happy new year.
Not much to report but feels like a milestone on the Stalwart. Not a huge amount achieved over Christmas apart from a bit of welding and lots of tidying the welds underneath to make the panels look nice. I welded in one of the strengthening ribs and then annoyingly run out of steel, now that the world has returned to normal I should be able to get more. The heat has pulled it all quite a bit so once together it will need a bit of heat and some delicate percussive adjustment to get it straight again.
All wishbone ends tapped out with a 1-3/16 UNF tap, and the stop plugs test fitted
I cleaned out and painted inside part of the engine bay and fitted the new recon bevel box for the rear corner, these have a spacer ring against the hull before fitting so they were prepped and painted too, then faces sealed with RTV silicone and inside the void a liberal application of thick grease. In the future if she does dip her toes in the water hopefully it'll help keep it out.
With bevel box installed the tracta joint drive knuckles were cleaned up and assembled, these are a right pain to line up, then the swivel housing was put in place
This is a completely arse about face way of doing it as normally the wishbones are bolted up to the hull, the shock absorbers are removed out the way and then the entire hub assembly including brake disc etc is plonked in place and pins slid in. Unfortunately due to the shock pins being seized in I don't want to disturb or cut them so it may take a bit of trial and error on the method of getting it back together. I'm sure we'll manage in the end!
Not much to report but feels like a milestone on the Stalwart. Not a huge amount achieved over Christmas apart from a bit of welding and lots of tidying the welds underneath to make the panels look nice. I welded in one of the strengthening ribs and then annoyingly run out of steel, now that the world has returned to normal I should be able to get more. The heat has pulled it all quite a bit so once together it will need a bit of heat and some delicate percussive adjustment to get it straight again.
All wishbone ends tapped out with a 1-3/16 UNF tap, and the stop plugs test fitted
I cleaned out and painted inside part of the engine bay and fitted the new recon bevel box for the rear corner, these have a spacer ring against the hull before fitting so they were prepped and painted too, then faces sealed with RTV silicone and inside the void a liberal application of thick grease. In the future if she does dip her toes in the water hopefully it'll help keep it out.
With bevel box installed the tracta joint drive knuckles were cleaned up and assembled, these are a right pain to line up, then the swivel housing was put in place
This is a completely arse about face way of doing it as normally the wishbones are bolted up to the hull, the shock absorbers are removed out the way and then the entire hub assembly including brake disc etc is plonked in place and pins slid in. Unfortunately due to the shock pins being seized in I don't want to disturb or cut them so it may take a bit of trial and error on the method of getting it back together. I'm sure we'll manage in the end!
Thanks very much RD, back to normal now thankfully!
Tried out my new oil gun today on the wishbone pins as all suspension points are lubricated by oil strangely, not grease. The inner side lower pins are lubricated one side with a small link pipe to the other so that was bare metalled and painted.
Finally it was offered up to the hull for a test fit, this was in usual Stalwart fashion far more difficult and annoying than anticipated
Once tried we pulled it away and gave the faces plenty of Tiger Seal to keep the water out. Interestingly it has 4x tapered bolts from the outside to put in first that locate the assembly perfectly on the hull, the remaining 16 bolts are then fitted from inside the vehicle into the backs of the wishbone upright.
On and bolted up with new pins tried for size. I felt so guilty opening the 'new' boxes after so many years!
Next big step was to get the hub in position, after a lot of swearing and injuries we gave up for the day as we simply could not get the splines to line up and go together properly. Hopefully have better luck tomorrow
Tried out my new oil gun today on the wishbone pins as all suspension points are lubricated by oil strangely, not grease. The inner side lower pins are lubricated one side with a small link pipe to the other so that was bare metalled and painted.
Finally it was offered up to the hull for a test fit, this was in usual Stalwart fashion far more difficult and annoying than anticipated
Once tried we pulled it away and gave the faces plenty of Tiger Seal to keep the water out. Interestingly it has 4x tapered bolts from the outside to put in first that locate the assembly perfectly on the hull, the remaining 16 bolts are then fitted from inside the vehicle into the backs of the wishbone upright.
On and bolted up with new pins tried for size. I felt so guilty opening the 'new' boxes after so many years!
Next big step was to get the hub in position, after a lot of swearing and injuries we gave up for the day as we simply could not get the splines to line up and go together properly. Hopefully have better luck tomorrow
Yep it's a lump, you wouldn't want to trap anything in between it put it that way!
I know we joke but technically the suspension should be aligned to some level, the hulls are known to move around a surprising amount especially in heavy use, I spoke to a chap who is ex Fazakerley Engineering who fully rebuilt Stalwarts for the military back in the day and he said they used to have a long piece of inch rod that they'd pass through all the wishbone holes to make sure everything was roughly in line. Whether they were skimmed or packed out with the hull facing material I don't know.
Hopefully get another shift in on it tomorrow, I'm determined to get that drive attached properly! With the potholes around our way at the moment I could really do with it as transport
I know we joke but technically the suspension should be aligned to some level, the hulls are known to move around a surprising amount especially in heavy use, I spoke to a chap who is ex Fazakerley Engineering who fully rebuilt Stalwarts for the military back in the day and he said they used to have a long piece of inch rod that they'd pass through all the wishbone holes to make sure everything was roughly in line. Whether they were skimmed or packed out with the hull facing material I don't know.
Hopefully get another shift in on it tomorrow, I'm determined to get that drive attached properly! With the potholes around our way at the moment I could really do with it as transport
Lew this post has been so interesting I have re read every page from the first
Just as interesting second time round
You must, must keep posting. I am jealous now no longer able to restore classic cars due to deteriorating health, most frustrating, nothing serious, these hips are not made for walking! knees can no longer take weight, skin is so thin I bruise and bleed at slightest abrasion
I am very, very jealous of your skills and
work
Can’t Wait to see finished stolly, however long it takes!
Just as interesting second time round
You must, must keep posting. I am jealous now no longer able to restore classic cars due to deteriorating health, most frustrating, nothing serious, these hips are not made for walking!
knees can no longer take weight, skin is so thin I bruise and bleed at slightest abrasion I am very, very jealous of your skills and
work
Can’t Wait to see finished stolly, however long it takes!
Fantastic thread.
Back in the 2010s, I bid on one of these late one night on eBay after much beer. As I sobered up, I realised I was the winning bidder, I had no use case (lived in central London, although I did have somewhere to park it), and had no excuse to give my wife. I started dreaming-up business plans for it, based around amphibious Thames tours and so on, before realising I'd then need another 5x Stalwarts... I was outbid at the last minute by somebody seemingly even drunker than I, judging by the seller's email a few days later hopeful that I'd step in for the now-delinquent high-bidder...
Good sense has continued to prevail. But I'm now in the countryside, and am on the lookout for a Supacat ATMP (that I can now almost-justify, given the old watermill and land we're trying to buy). But somehow a Stalwart still tickles the fancy every now and again - if only I had a need to invade Eastern Europe
Back in the 2010s, I bid on one of these late one night on eBay after much beer. As I sobered up, I realised I was the winning bidder, I had no use case (lived in central London, although I did have somewhere to park it), and had no excuse to give my wife. I started dreaming-up business plans for it, based around amphibious Thames tours and so on, before realising I'd then need another 5x Stalwarts... I was outbid at the last minute by somebody seemingly even drunker than I, judging by the seller's email a few days later hopeful that I'd step in for the now-delinquent high-bidder...
Good sense has continued to prevail. But I'm now in the countryside, and am on the lookout for a Supacat ATMP (that I can now almost-justify, given the old watermill and land we're trying to buy). But somehow a Stalwart still tickles the fancy every now and again - if only I had a need to invade Eastern Europe
skwdenyer said:
Good sense has continued to prevail. But I'm now in the countryside, and am on the lookout for a Supacat ATMP (that I can now almost-justify, given the old watermill and land we're trying to buy). But somehow a Stalwart still tickles the fancy every now and again - if only I had a need to invade Eastern Europe
Best get drinking again ... 
https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/13873023
Thanks very much MD, your kind words are always appreciated. I admit even at 29 after having the hub on and off about 500 times yesterday I ache like a b
d with a few abrasions too!
Get that Stolly bought! It's even HPI clear, what more could a man ask for? A mate has a couple of Supacats and they are bloody cool but a weird old thing mechanically, as I remember they're chain drive inside using Land Rover hubs etc on the outside. He has a WMIK one (weapons mounted installation kit) and a standard, which without preparation he decided to launch into his big pond, and swiftly sunk
That'd be quite a thing to sober up in the morning to, then realise you have to admit said purchase to the better half
Back to the rusty heap, yesterday was quite a struggle. We eventually managed to get the splined drive aligned and together with pin and lock ring in place... then the 4 bolt flange locking the outer swivel housing to the inner simply would not line up correctly.
So off it came again, a bit of modification and back on again. We managed to get the top suspension pin in and then all it needed was to be pushed in and down that last little bit to line the bottom pin up. Would it go in? No it bloody wouldn't. The only thing that could bind it up would be the inner tracta joint pulling out of alignment, as in that drive joint behind the stub poking out of the hull a good few posts ago, behind the wishbones and shocks. Unfortunately we'd been pulling the whole lot backwards and forwards a bit for access and in the process the drive knuckles had been pulled apart just enough to disengage and drop inside the inner swivel housing. So, pin out, off it came again in the hopes that we could pull it back far enough to see inside and realign the joint.
We had at best an inch gap to work through, roughly realigned everything and tried again. With a good shove and a satisfying clonk it all went together perfectly. A great relief after hours of head scratching and swearing!
Shocks fitted, backplates and calliper on we finally have this
d with a few abrasions too! Get that Stolly bought! It's even HPI clear, what more could a man ask for? A mate has a couple of Supacats and they are bloody cool but a weird old thing mechanically, as I remember they're chain drive inside using Land Rover hubs etc on the outside. He has a WMIK one (weapons mounted installation kit) and a standard, which without preparation he decided to launch into his big pond, and swiftly sunk
That'd be quite a thing to sober up in the morning to, then realise you have to admit said purchase to the better half
Back to the rusty heap, yesterday was quite a struggle. We eventually managed to get the splined drive aligned and together with pin and lock ring in place... then the 4 bolt flange locking the outer swivel housing to the inner simply would not line up correctly.
So off it came again, a bit of modification and back on again. We managed to get the top suspension pin in and then all it needed was to be pushed in and down that last little bit to line the bottom pin up. Would it go in? No it bloody wouldn't. The only thing that could bind it up would be the inner tracta joint pulling out of alignment, as in that drive joint behind the stub poking out of the hull a good few posts ago, behind the wishbones and shocks. Unfortunately we'd been pulling the whole lot backwards and forwards a bit for access and in the process the drive knuckles had been pulled apart just enough to disengage and drop inside the inner swivel housing. So, pin out, off it came again in the hopes that we could pull it back far enough to see inside and realign the joint.
We had at best an inch gap to work through, roughly realigned everything and tried again. With a good shove and a satisfying clonk it all went together perfectly. A great relief after hours of head scratching and swearing!
Shocks fitted, backplates and calliper on we finally have this
Thanks Niall, that will roll round much sooner than you think! It does look absolutely cracking though, Scramble should be a nice run out for it.
Fortunately I do have 4 spare wheel stations now, a full set of 3 LH ones so 2 steering and one fixed, fundamentally the mechanical part remains the same between them all, the front simply has two track rod eyes, the middle one, and the rear is fixed with lock plates to keep it straight.
There is another in the storage shed but I can't remember what for, so apart from getting the old ones out of the suspension units in theory it should be a paint and swap over job as opposed to stripping and rebuilding from scratch, which should speed things up a tad
Fortunately I do have 4 spare wheel stations now, a full set of 3 LH ones so 2 steering and one fixed, fundamentally the mechanical part remains the same between them all, the front simply has two track rod eyes, the middle one, and the rear is fixed with lock plates to keep it straight.
There is another in the storage shed but I can't remember what for, so apart from getting the old ones out of the suspension units in theory it should be a paint and swap over job as opposed to stripping and rebuilding from scratch, which should speed things up a tad
LewG said:
Thanks very much MD, your kind words are always appreciated. I admit even at 29 after having the hub on and off about 500 times yesterday I ache like a bd with a few abrasions too!
Get that Stolly bought! It's even HPI clear, what more could a man ask for? A mate has a couple of Supacats and they are bloody cool but a weird old thing mechanically, as I remember they're chain drive inside using Land Rover hubs etc on the outside. He has a WMIK one (weapons mounted installation kit) and a standard, which without preparation he decided to launch into his big pond, and swiftly sunk
That'd be quite a thing to sober up in the morning to, then realise you have to admit said purchase to the better half
Back to the rusty heap, yesterday was quite a struggle. We eventually managed to get the splined drive aligned and together with pin and lock ring in place... then the 4 bolt flange locking the outer swivel housing to the inner simply would not line up correctly.
So off it came again, a bit of modification and back on again. We managed to get the top suspension pin in and then all it needed was to be pushed in and down that last little bit to line the bottom pin up. Would it go in? No it bloody wouldn't. The only thing that could bind it up would be the inner tracta joint pulling out of alignment, as in that drive joint behind the stub poking out of the hull a good few posts ago, behind the wishbones and shocks. Unfortunately we'd been pulling the whole lot backwards and forwards a bit for access and in the process the drive knuckles had been pulled apart just enough to disengage and drop inside the inner swivel housing. So, pin out, off it came again in the hopes that we could pull it back far enough to see inside and realign the joint.
We had at best an inch gap to work through, roughly realigned everything and tried again. With a good shove and a satisfying clonk it all went together perfectly. A great relief after hours of head scratching and swearing!
Shocks fitted, backplates and calliper on we finally have this
I just want to highlight this. Lew is amazing. And so knowledgable. Always happy to help and has such a wealth of skills. Personally I’ve appreciated his help and advice for a good few years and would like to thank you Lew d with a few abrasions too! Get that Stolly bought! It's even HPI clear, what more could a man ask for? A mate has a couple of Supacats and they are bloody cool but a weird old thing mechanically, as I remember they're chain drive inside using Land Rover hubs etc on the outside. He has a WMIK one (weapons mounted installation kit) and a standard, which without preparation he decided to launch into his big pond, and swiftly sunk
That'd be quite a thing to sober up in the morning to, then realise you have to admit said purchase to the better half
Back to the rusty heap, yesterday was quite a struggle. We eventually managed to get the splined drive aligned and together with pin and lock ring in place... then the 4 bolt flange locking the outer swivel housing to the inner simply would not line up correctly.
So off it came again, a bit of modification and back on again. We managed to get the top suspension pin in and then all it needed was to be pushed in and down that last little bit to line the bottom pin up. Would it go in? No it bloody wouldn't. The only thing that could bind it up would be the inner tracta joint pulling out of alignment, as in that drive joint behind the stub poking out of the hull a good few posts ago, behind the wishbones and shocks. Unfortunately we'd been pulling the whole lot backwards and forwards a bit for access and in the process the drive knuckles had been pulled apart just enough to disengage and drop inside the inner swivel housing. So, pin out, off it came again in the hopes that we could pull it back far enough to see inside and realign the joint.
We had at best an inch gap to work through, roughly realigned everything and tried again. With a good shove and a satisfying clonk it all went together perfectly. A great relief after hours of head scratching and swearing!
Shocks fitted, backplates and calliper on we finally have this
I still keep up to date with this thread and massively admire your hard work and dedication.
All too kind you know I'm just a fat bloke with a hammer!
Today was the first day back on the Wart for a couple of weeks as had a few other things going on and it's been rather chilly!
Annoyingly after fitting the wheel station I tried fitting the torsion bar assembly and reaction arm all in one and speared straight through the rubber gaiter that joins each wishbone on the torsion bar tube. It was pretty clear it'd have to come apart to fit the bar on its own then build up once on the hull so we set about making a gaiter by wrapping round some flat rubber sheet and clipping it together, then using tiger seal adhesive to glue the centre together. This was an absolute sod to fit right back behind the shocks at the hull, we tried some 60mm rubber rad hose but that proved too chunky to fit next to the bevel box housing so that was a no go.
Anyway a few pics of stripping the bar assembly, thankfully far easier and relatively straightforward than I'd built the task up to be in my head. That's the thing with Stollies, if you assume the worst at least in theory it can only go as bad or better than you thought as a bonus
![](https://thumbsnap.com/sc/EmY2xsGA.jpg[/img]</a> <a href="https://thumbsnap.com/AC2dkT2J" Target="_blank" rel="nofollow">[img]https://thumbsnap.com/sc/AC2dkT2J.jpg)
When you consider this is all the 'spring' that big assembly needs it is mighty impressive as relatively speaking they take up no space, the whole design really is quite something for a vehicle of its time. In a way I'm glad I've been forced to take this bit apart as it's fairly simple and gives a chance to clean all the crap out and lubricate properly etc. There are videos in period of them driving over a line of railway sleepers at speed and the whole vehicle staying more or less level as the wishbones shoot up and down. The suspension is very tight and squeaky at the moment but with lubrication and use I'm hoping this will improve hugely more or less back to how it should be
Today was the first day back on the Wart for a couple of weeks as had a few other things going on and it's been rather chilly!
Annoyingly after fitting the wheel station I tried fitting the torsion bar assembly and reaction arm all in one and speared straight through the rubber gaiter that joins each wishbone on the torsion bar tube. It was pretty clear it'd have to come apart to fit the bar on its own then build up once on the hull so we set about making a gaiter by wrapping round some flat rubber sheet and clipping it together, then using tiger seal adhesive to glue the centre together. This was an absolute sod to fit right back behind the shocks at the hull, we tried some 60mm rubber rad hose but that proved too chunky to fit next to the bevel box housing so that was a no go.
Anyway a few pics of stripping the bar assembly, thankfully far easier and relatively straightforward than I'd built the task up to be in my head. That's the thing with Stollies, if you assume the worst at least in theory it can only go as bad or better than you thought as a bonus
When you consider this is all the 'spring' that big assembly needs it is mighty impressive as relatively speaking they take up no space, the whole design really is quite something for a vehicle of its time. In a way I'm glad I've been forced to take this bit apart as it's fairly simple and gives a chance to clean all the crap out and lubricate properly etc. There are videos in period of them driving over a line of railway sleepers at speed and the whole vehicle staying more or less level as the wishbones shoot up and down. The suspension is very tight and squeaky at the moment but with lubrication and use I'm hoping this will improve hugely more or less back to how it should be
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