STAL II 876

[m715mike]

I owned an Alvis Stalwart between 2005 and 2007 and regret selling it. I was rather excited when the opportunity arose to acquire another one! My 'new' Stolly arrived last week. The truck is a 1971 REME Fitters Mk 2 FV624 (Chassis No. STAL II 876, Vehicle No. 20ET33). According to Wikipedia, a total of 956 Stalwart Mk 2's were produced, of which only 60 were FV624's.

She starts and runs reliably and the crane works! Both the FV623 and FV624 models have an Atlas 3 ton crane. The FV624 crane was upgraded with hydraulic anti-creep check valves. Although she runs, stopping is a different story. She has no breaks. The master cylinders and air packs leak.

The previous owner did an amazing job collecting missing parts (like the side panels), making her look great with fresh paint, making mechanical repairs and more. I believe it won't take much to make 20ET33 a swimmer. There are minor areas where corrosion has eaten through the body -- mostly on the panels directly above the tires (or... tyres). The corrosion was stopped, but some body work will be in order. Also, the side panels are missing their waterproof seals. Otherwise, she appears complete and should be a swimmer.

I expect this truck to be in my possession for a long time to come and I'll continue resorting it the best I can.

And of course... Upon arrival, 20ET33 met her new garage mate:

 

[ldmack3]

Nice!

 

[m715mike]

I discovered the Merlin Archive from the Stalwart folks on Facebook. ( www.merlinarchive.uk )

The Merlin Archive allows you to search for British Military Vehicles by ERM. The vehicle ERM is a 6 character reference used by the ministry of defence (yes, that's the correct spelling of defence) to identity equipment (E = Equipment R = Registration M = Mark).

A search for 20ET33 shows that she entered service in January 1971, remained in-service until September 1993 and provides service history information.

HMLC = High Mobility Load Carrier
FFR = Fitted for Radio
REME = Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers

 

[Karl kostman]

Congrats on the new Stolly she is certainly a beauty!!!!

 

[Mullaney]

I owned an Alvis Stalwart between 2005 and 2007 and regret selling it. I was rather excited when the opportunity arose to acquire another one! My 'new' Stolly arrived last week. The truck is a 1971 REME Fitters Mk 2 FV624 (Chassis No. STAL II 876, Vehicle No. 20ET33). According to Wikipedia, a total of 956 Stalwart Mk 2's were produced, of which only 60 were FV624's.

She starts and runs reliably and the crane works! Both the FV623 and FV624 models have an Atlas 3 ton crane. The FV624 crane was upgraded with hydraulic anti-creep check valves. Although she runs, stopping is a different story. She has no breaks. The master cylinders and air packs leak.

The previous owner did an amazing job collecting missing parts (like the side panels), making her look great with fresh paint, making mechanical repairs and more. I believe it won't take much to make 20ET33 a swimmer. There are minor areas where corrosion has eaten through the body -- mostly on the panels directly above the tires (or... tyres). The corrosion was stopped, but some body work will be in order. Also, the side panels are missing their waterproof seals. Otherwise, she appears complete and should be a swimmer.

I expect this truck to be in my possession for a long time to come and I'll continue resorting it the best I can.


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And of course... Upon arrival, 20ET33 met her new garage mate:
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.
The "twins" are surprisingly the same size...
Congrats on your new arrival!

 

[m715mike]

.
The "twins" are surprisingly the same size...
Congrats on your new arrival!

I had forgotten how big the Stolly actually is. And, frankly, it doesn’t seem that big when I’m around it. Seeing it next to the M936A2 really gave me perspective!

 

[cattlerepairman]

I recall several Stalwarts in service with the Austrian Armed Forces in the early 1970' and they were retired after a series of swimming incidents, one if them fatal.
Not sure if the lack of swimming willingness affected a specific series only or whether that is a risk with all of them.
I think they had late 1960' Mk2 but could be wrong.

Sent from my SM-G950W using Tapatalk

 

[HN6]

I like!

 

[cattlerepairman]

@m715mike what is involved in making a Stalwart swim-worthy? Their cargo bed doesn't flood, correct?

 

[m715mike]

@m715mike what is involved in making a Stalwart swim-worthy? Their cargo bed doesn't flood, correct?

For a Stalwart that is new (or maintained in good condition), nothing is needed to make it swim-worthy. Just drive it into the water, engage the Dowty jets and start swimming. The Stalwart becomes buoyant in about 5 feet of water.

For a Stalwart that is in various stages of restoration (or disrepair), one would need to ensure that the hull is still water tight and that the vehicle still has its swim gear (cab controls, linkage, Dowty jets, etc.). Over time, seals go bad and body panels rust. Also, the swim gear was removed from several of the Stalwarts. Finding one that is complete with the Rolls Royce B81 engine and swim gear is a treat!

There are seals between the body and the large, drop-down side and back doors. There is also a seal under the cab floor boards that prevents water entering the vehicle from the winch compartment. Assuming that you have good seals, the bed does not flood. Here are a couple pictures from the Stalwart I took swimming in 2006. It was my first and only voyage. I had a few people checking for leaks.

 

[fuzzytoaster]

She's a clean one and I'm thrilled to learn about her and the history!

 

[cattlerepairman]

And here we are, worrying about our axle seals in the Deuce letting water in!

Driving a Stalwart into the water must be exciting and scary as hell at the same time! It looks like a lot of fun. How much can it carry when swimming? Probably still a couple of tons?

 

[m715mike]

@cattlerepairman, yes, swimming a Stolly is accurately described as exciting and scary as hell at the same time.

According to what I’ve read on the internet (so you know it is to be true), the FV624 should be able to swim with up to 4 tons of cargo. I’ll let you know if I find something different as I dig into the manuals.

 

[KS_Patriot]

Quite a find. Congrats & enjoy.

 

[m715mike]

STAL II 876 came with a bunch of extra goodies — spare parts, manuals (hard copy and microfiche), a microfiche reading machine, British flag, set of new tires (ugh… tyres), and more.

I got the truck unloaded and went through everything. It felt like Christmas came early! And, of course… I had to use the crane to unload the tyres.

 

[m715mike]

I’m in the process of getting STAL II 876 titled in the State of Texas. Yes, it’s a process. I’ve made one trip to the DMV so far. After researching a couple things and thinking about it for a while, the lady at the counter agreed that my paperwork was in order and she would issue me a title. Just one catch, I needed a certified weight slip. The scale isn’t that far from my shop, but I still had to figure out the logistics.

It turns out that there is a heavy haul company based in my small town (who’d a thunk). Honestly, I’m surprised that I wasn’t familiar with them. So, Rick (the driver from Max’s Heavy Hall) came out with a RGN and gave me a piggy back ride to the scale yesterday.

With ~15 gallons of fuel in the 100 gallon tank, STALL II 876 weighed-in at 20,920 pounds. Next week, I’ll head back to the DMV with a certified weight slip in hand.

 

[m715mike]

Here are some pictures of inside the cab.

 

[Mullaney]

Here are some pictures of inside the cab.

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.
That is an amazing vehicle!
It is sooo cool...

 

[m715mike]

It’s official… I now own an armored vehicle (without actually owning an armored vehicle).

I made it back to the DMV this week. The paperwork is now done and taxes/fees are paid. I should receive a title in the mail within two weeks.

They had trouble selecting a body style. I tried explaining that it was simply a cargo truck. The lady at the DMV said it didn’t look like a cargo truck. She said it looked like a tank, but it wasn’t a tank. So after calling someone, they decided to go with body style “AR.” I asked what AR meant and she said, “Armored Vehicle.” Again, I tried to explain that the Stalwart is not armored. She said it was either Armored Vehicle or Tank. While the idea of owning a tank seemed appealing, I stopped talking and let her go with “AR.”

They following was needed to get a Texas title (note that I opted for title only and did not register the Stalwart at this time):

1) My photo ID
2) Application for Texas Title (Form 130-U) signed by the seller and me
3) Bill of sale signed by the seller and me
4) The vehicle’s previous registration signed by the seller and me (The Stalwart came from a state that only issued a registration to old vehicles. It did not come with a title. This was not a problem at the Texas DMV.)
5) A picture of the vehicle
6) A certified weight slip
7) Funds to pay taxes and fees

 

[texas30cal]

sounds like it’s in order, I want to test its seaworthiness