Swill1952xs

As a lover of heavy transport, the Alvis Stalwart has always fascinated me as do most amphibious vehicles. In one section on here I saw what can only be described as an act of total lunacy. Anyone who would launch a Stalwart off a river bank at speed and "Dive" into a river in the way shown; must have a serious death wish. I'm glad I wasn't a passenger at the time, being a non swimmer. The point of this post being to ask a few questions about this wonderful piece of engineering. 1- Is the cargo body part of the vehicles buoyancy equipment. ie, if it filled with water, would it still float? 2- Is the vehicle designed to "Self right" in water. ie, if it rolled sideways down a bank into water? 3- In the event of it briefly becoming submerged, as in a dive into water; is there any protection for the engines air intake to stop water being drawn into the engine? (Via the air intake) 4- How much does a Stalwart weigh, and how much weight can it carry in water. 5- Are the hulls completely watertight, or do they rely on a bilge pump to remove water from inside? 6- Should the driver of the Stalwart in the video be committed as a loony? I regularly see a couple of Stalwarts on the roadside between Cooksbridge and South Chailey in East Sussex. (A 275) The one that really interests me has a Hiab fitted to it. The owner has had several Army land Rovers there at times too, including the most interesting of those, being a forward control version?

Does anyone know where this picture was taken. I bought the front end of an Albion (Arfur) from a firm called Crouch Recovery in Husbands Bosworth, Leicestershire. I believe it was him that cut it in half and sold the rear axles. If it is the same person; he had several WD HD 23N Albions laying around his property. Some were in a really bad state. It was a pity he didn't sell the axles off of the N's he had and kept the 'S' complete. :-(

Well, it looks to me to be a part of a mobile self propelled weaving loom. The bobbins give the game away. It would have full bobbins of yarn on it, and as it is driven along carpet comes out the back. Simple really! :-D There ya go dudes.................. welcome to Wills juvenile side. :rofl:

I'm inclined to agree with you. I could just see it in my mind lined up with some Matadors, Explorers, Poineers, Militants etc. I'd love to see it with a low loader plant trailer behind it and a Weatherill (Is that spelled correctly) loading shovel perched on it. :goodidea:

I'll try and get some in the next few weeks. I'm really sad that I have let it get so bad, but every year I've said I am going to get started on it this year, and it never happened. Now I've joined this forum I have little choice but to get on with it before I get "Labeled" as a dreamer not a doer. Got to go now, got a 2:30 start tomorrow and need me beauty sleep. Catch ya later chaps ........:yay:

Huh.........it aint that friendly if you aren't going to share the custard creams. I wouldn't care if they were Jaffa cakes, cos I don't like them any way. :-D

Many thanks for this picture too. I'm glad I joined this forum, as already I've seen pictures of the Albion that I've never seen before. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. I have little knowledge of military vehicles so there are all sorts of things, particularly brackets around the vehicle that intrigue me as to what their purpose would have been. My donor Albion has some strange brackets fitted to the back corners of the cab, which look like something slots in them at the bottom, and has a movable arm on the top socket to hold something in place. Rifle and spade brackets are pretty obvious though. I imagine the others may be for oil and fuel cans. I have a great deal to learn. Heavy transport has always interested me, and its sad to see the names I love all disappearing, thinking in particular of names like Scammell and Foden. I occasionally drive a Foden (3275) tanker which I absolutely love, in spite of its quirks like the strangely positioned clutch pedal. Bedford TM's, Scammell Crusaders, Pioneers, Explorers, 8 x 8 Fodens, Militant recovery trucks...........sorry, I'm drooling again. Still, at least I get to drive one of the last true British built ERF's each day. A P reg EC12 with a Perkins Eagle TX 340 (Sad the day the R.R. name disappeared from these engines), aaaaaaaand fitted with a real gearbox.....the good old reliable nine speed Fuller.

Many thanks for the picture of the Militant. I've never seen or heard of one with a tipper body on it before. The body on this one is identical to the one fitted to mine................cept for the er.....rust situation. Anyone got a magic wand??? :-D

Thanks for the replies. Like many more of you; finding time to do the important things like restoring trucks, isn't easy. Before the restoration can start, I have to move it to a field next to where I work. At the moment it is a major task to get to where it is, and half the day is gone before anything gets done. Fortunately "Arfur" should supply me with a lot of salvageable parts to make the restoration easier. "Arfur" has a later and more powerful diesel engine in it which will be transferred too. I recently tried to buy a long wheelbase petrol one from West Sussex. The cab on that one would have solved most of my restoration problems in one hit as it had been stored indoors for the last fifteen years and the cab looked almost perfect. It only had 6250 miles on the clock :shocked: Where the hell I can get another body is another major problem. I may have to fit a standard tipper body to it or possibly a cargo body. Only time will tell.

Hi, I stumbled across this forum in an attempt to find out where I could get information on an Albion WD HD 23 S (FV11105) that I'm desperate to restore before it crumbles away completely. I have been trying to find any literature on it, or information of its service history. The Albion Archive told me that it was the only one of this model they knew of, although I do have the front half of another 'S' that some moron cut in half and sold the axles for export. He should have had the same done to him. Mine is a short wheelbase three way tipper, retrofitted with a diesel engine, supplied by L.W. Vass of Ampthill. The body is in poor condition as it was used in a quarry before I bought it and has extensive rusting. The cab is also in very poor condition now. With regard to its history; it still has its Army number plate on the rear which hopefully will make things a little easier. The number is 85 BL 14. Here is a picture of the truck taken some years ago before it really started to deteriorate and a second picture of the truck now known as "Arfur" before the person bought it and cut it in half. Sorry about the picture quality, the first is a scanned photo. P.S. I also dream about Militants, Antars and Albion CX's:)