Cheers. I have his mk2 x2 to start next … with a cvrt scorpion to finish along the way also 🤣 takes me a while to do these things though as I don’t do them full time etc
Came here from Mr Hewes. I´m loving this. I drove the Mk 2 back in the early 1980´s, here in Germany. Best thing I´ve ever driven. It´s just great to see these beauties getting the love they deserve. Thank you for this and looking forward to more. 🤠
Mr Hewes brought me here. That was excellent. I envy the amount of space you have to work on things. I really like Stalwarts, first saw one in a book at school when I was 10. Loved them since. They do look a bit wallowy in the water. I get the sense that if the cargo compartment was full, the thing would capsize at the merest breath of a cross wind. Maybe it is an unjust criticism. I imagine the weight of all the running gear makes the C of G much lower than it looks. I suspect though that it is using the tyres as buoyancy. Thats bad because it means the centre of buoyancy and centre of gravity are close together, which causes instability.
Yes you are quite right, I would not fancy swimming one with much cargo on board. They are not too unstable due to there being a lot of weight and vehicle in the water below. I once had one of those plastic 8x8 argocat vehicles. That was absolutely terrible on the water so I was using that as a really bad standard to go off.
Wow, Ben. What a triumph. The Stolly didn't let you down and looked great cruising across the quarry. If I was 40 years younger, I would have done it myself as well. Keep it up mate. K
Pro-tip about patch paneling and doubled panels = rust. You have a hole, you then draw (right angles - round holes only if you have large radiuses or feel confident with a hole saw) your patch. You cut your patch panel (just a whisker larger than what you've drawn, maybe two widths of a grinder blade over the line), place it over, and tack it on the perimeter. Then, using a very small angle grinder (there's ones with long necks and 10 cm blades / air or electric, doesn't matter it's about the precision they give you, because they're smaller, you get a cleaner, narrower cut) you start a slice through both of the materials (parent and patch) just before one tack, and through the next. You then push (or pull if you have access from behind) the parent material a bit (by pushing the patch in or pulling from the other side, like i said) so it's even with the good, solid parent material and you start welding in 4 cm long strips. Even if you haven't completed a tack to tack slice, you don't weld it more than that. Then you go to the other side of the patch, and do the same, but also finish the last cordon on that first side you started with, which by the time you're done, has had time to cool off. You then repeat this process in a concentric pattern, until you're finished. You'll get a good, solid panel, with no doublers (which hold water and air and rust like hell, both your patch and the parent material right up to the weld and through). You'll also have very little warp and a very good finish. Just my 2 cents. I know it's a bit tedious, but when you're done, if you so desire, you can grind off the excess weld and you'll be left with a flat panel that can be then taken through the block and hammer and nobody will be any wiser - that it's been patched.
Cheers that’s actually really useful. I will give that a try I have plenty more to do ! 😬 buy the time I do the other two I should be pretty good at it 🤣
I used to drive the Stalwart back in 1988, when I was in the Royal Corps of Transport based in Germany, took a bit out of my arms with the large steering wheel that just constantly shook. Love seeing someone restoring one though it brings back memories.
Well Ben! I can remember looking in the water at that old lorry chassis many years back in the quarry. And I thought history was going to repeat its self! But no, what a result Bet your well pleased with how it went, but you do put the work in! Great video👍
Haha cheers. Yeah I ended up pulling that lorry out but sadly there wasn’t much left of it. I actually have a picture of it now if before I went in if your interested! (The old lorry that was in the water )
That lorry been in there lotta years! I was young boy then. On the end of the granite stillion pile, where the steam crane was bolted down. Before they tore down the end, used to be a gap in the rocks you could climb inside. Would not do that now! Yes I would like to see that lorry photo, also I think you have crane out now. I’ve only ever seen the top of the jib sticking out the water!🙂
Nice to it again as I used to drive them when I was in the army, scary when you 1st dip your nose in the water and you can hear the front winch housing starting to filling up😱keep up the good work👍
I honestly thought the ratchet strap on the back was going to be a no go but it was so last minute we realised it wouldn’t fit we were all revved up for giving it a go !
Cheers it’s getting there slowly. Takes me a while to get these things done with work and family etc . Welcome to pop by any time just give me a shout on messenger
@@BenoCam yeah I totally get that mate as you know it takes me quite a while to get our videos together to yeah we'll give you a message mate when the weather improves it probably won't be for a few weeks give you plenty of notice mate
Hello Ben, I really enjoy your content, it is raw and engaging. I hope you continue to deliver content, I very much enjoyed the in depth details in this video. Thank you.
Cheers. I am intending to make more but things are pretty chaotic at home and works busy too so I do struggle to find the time a bit but we will get there at some point 🤣👍
Well done chaps, Dunkirk spirit and all that .... As I am in Denmark, you wouldn't catch me in the water with that thing for all the tea in China .... Not meant to float 🚂
9m but it’s worth mentioning I’m a commercial diver with all the kit to raise it sat in my shed which would also have made a great video salvaging it so it was a win win situation really 🤣
Hi Ben , what a great project and video simply awesome.have you got any fish in that quarry? If you have they must have thought that’s a bloody big duck lol👍
Well done! You've put alot of effort in so congratulations are in order. I have a similar problem wit my rear door. I have a MK2 with a grotty door so bought a new one. Only trouble is it's for a MK1.
Incredible. What an adventure. Would be great to see more long-form videos detailing the restoration processes you do. I’m curious how you fabricated those long control rods.
I like the idea of amphibious vehicles and a Stalwart for daily driving would be neat (quiet a lot of storage space for groceries for sure). But i wonder how stable it is in the water. Wouldn't it be going to capsize first chance? And in case of a roll over: What are the chances of anyone in the cabin to get out in time? On an somewhat unrelated note the floating Stalwart reminds me of the german battleship Bismark(?) whose huge turrets where designed to fall out in case of capsizing. They fell out very well when the ship rolled over when taking on water after it got hit. But the ship nevertheless did not manage to get back up and sank anyway.😢
I didn't think those prop bearings sounded good when you first engaged drive to them. Been on a Stolly up on Lake Windermere a few years ago with a guy on the Amphib meet.
It had been parked up probably 20-30 years although it was dry in a shed for most of that. The other side did seem a bit smoother. The smoke was actually from me putting oil where there was supposed to be grease 🤣
What a great video! I have an old friend with a stolly, so i have been lucky enough to drive it round a farm and he took me to a pub in it for a pint years ago. He actually had a spare stolly with the Hiab in the back which didn't run, I wonder if its the same one? He was from Horsham. I'm going to subscribe so I don't miss the next vid cheers
really enjoyed the video, how did you connect the diesel engine to the gearbox? are Bedford and Rolls Royce mounting points the same? or did you make an adapter plate , if so how did you overcome the input shaft length with an adapter plate? or did you machine the gearbox mounting face down by the thickness of the the adapter plate?? really interested in how you did this?
I covered that in the first episode. The link is in the description. Basically I bought it without an engine then found a Bedford 500 out of a mk2 which had a adapter plate to fit the stalwart gearbox , it was still a bit of faffing around adjusting the engine mounts and converting them but all the main. It’s fit ok. Connecting up the services etc was the trickiest . Nothing fit and a lot of it needed to be moved over to the other side etc but got there in the end
That is the engine it should have had from new :o) And the sides should have been hinged half way up so they leak less :D I was wondering about the big space between cab and gearbox, and then I remembered it was for the turret basket on the armoured car version. You have an excellent machine there.
@@teamidrisI think originally they wanted it to be able to achieve 300-500 miles on one tank (or something similarly big) and they were terrible on fuel.
Wonder why the Stalwart did not come in an 8x8 version? Is the underlying running gear the same as/based upon the Alvis Saracen and/or the Alvis Saladin? If so that would make the Army supply chain a lot better
Holes in the hull you say... o~0 Sounds like a ringing endorsement for "Flex-Seal" liquid water proofing by the gallon. Get it in white, a few drops of OD dye and Bob's your uncle. ^~^
Great fun vehicles , mark 1,S rarer , used to be a wall built from about 40 stollys at the range setters yard Warminster , the mighty jonnie vize , fun all,over Europe with these
Well it’s been sat around 30 odd years in a shed so it’s not had a lot of love. I still consider that a major win, could have been a lot worse. 🤣 more coming soon going to give it another test somewhere else 🫢
@@BenoCam Don't get me wrong, I admire your work. 🙂 I'm not mainly into mechanics, but every now and then such restoration work absolutely drawns me in. Great job.
Actually it's not the only way to find out - you could have (maybe after removing the engine?) filled the bed with water and looked for where the water leaks out.
Don’t like the idea of all that water damage inside though… there’s a lot of things in there which you would be forever getting water out of… bevel boxes/bearings etc etc . I think driving it in slowly was more fun too 🤣
@@BenoCam that's so long as you're confident enough that your repairs are adequate to prevent it sinking. You'll definitely be getting dirty water out of everything if it sinks.
As far as military vehicles go these really are not that bad. There’s been one on Facebook market place for months £6500 search military vehicles it’s not actually listed as a stalwart
Wandered who bought the stolly of joe , great vid , that b80 rolls was a shite engine , diesel is the way forward for sure , once new of a guy near bovington Dorset that turned his to diesel , some metal fabrication ,cool trucks 👍
Stalwarts are just brilliant things on the mystical lottery win list along with CVRT
If you buy them in the condition I got mine they are not too bad 🤣
Mr. Hewes sent me your way and it's great fun to see vehicles like these brought back to life.
Cheers. I have his mk2 x2 to start next … with a cvrt scorpion to finish along the way also 🤣 takes me a while to do these things though as I don’t do them full time etc
My favourite truck, it’s shape is so distinctive and functional !
Came here from Mr Hewes. I´m loving this. I drove the Mk 2 back in the early 1980´s, here in Germany. Best thing I´ve ever driven. It´s just great to see these beauties getting the love they deserve. Thank you for this and looking forward to more. 🤠
Good to know the one from Mr Hewes will at some point be restored.
Yeah getting around to them slowly. I’m on a much slower time scale to mr hewes 🤣
Wow...looked incredibe in the quarry.......what an achievement!!!!!!!
Mr Hewes brought me here. That was excellent. I envy the amount of space you have to work on things. I really like Stalwarts, first saw one in a book at school when I was 10. Loved them since. They do look a bit wallowy in the water. I get the sense that if the cargo compartment was full, the thing would capsize at the merest breath of a cross wind. Maybe it is an unjust criticism. I imagine the weight of all the running gear makes the C of G much lower than it looks. I suspect though that it is using the tyres as buoyancy. Thats bad because it means the centre of buoyancy and centre of gravity are close together, which causes instability.
Yes you are quite right, I would not fancy swimming one with much cargo on board. They are not too unstable due to there being a lot of weight and vehicle in the water below.
I once had one of those plastic 8x8 argocat vehicles. That was absolutely terrible on the water so I was using that as a really bad standard to go off.
WELL DONE!
First swim out and back in with dry feet!
😍👍👍
The tin worm has been busy. How heartbreaking... but great to see she's in good hands.
Wow, Ben. What a triumph. The Stolly didn't let you down and looked great cruising across the quarry. If I was 40 years younger, I would have done it myself as well. Keep it up mate. K
🙂👍👍
Pro-tip about patch paneling and doubled panels = rust. You have a hole, you then draw (right angles - round holes only if you have large radiuses or feel confident with a hole saw) your patch. You cut your patch panel (just a whisker larger than what you've drawn, maybe two widths of a grinder blade over the line), place it over, and tack it on the perimeter. Then, using a very small angle grinder (there's ones with long necks and 10 cm blades / air or electric, doesn't matter it's about the precision they give you, because they're smaller, you get a cleaner, narrower cut) you start a slice through both of the materials (parent and patch) just before one tack, and through the next. You then push (or pull if you have access from behind) the parent material a bit (by pushing the patch in or pulling from the other side, like i said) so it's even with the good, solid parent material and you start welding in 4 cm long strips. Even if you haven't completed a tack to tack slice, you don't weld it more than that. Then you go to the other side of the patch, and do the same, but also finish the last cordon on that first side you started with, which by the time you're done, has had time to cool off. You then repeat this process in a concentric pattern, until you're finished. You'll get a good, solid panel, with no doublers (which hold water and air and rust like hell, both your patch and the parent material right up to the weld and through). You'll also have very little warp and a very good finish.
Just my 2 cents. I know it's a bit tedious, but when you're done, if you so desire, you can grind off the excess weld and you'll be left with a flat panel that can be then taken through the block and hammer and nobody will be any wiser - that it's been patched.
Cheers that’s actually really useful. I will give that a try I have plenty more to do ! 😬 buy the time I do the other two I should be pretty good at it 🤣
Great to see the stalwart going again great work Ben!
Cheers. Took a while but we got there in the end !
Fantastic to see it all turning in the back!
I used to drive the Stalwart back in 1988, when I was in the Royal Corps of Transport based in Germany, took a bit out of my arms with the large steering wheel that just constantly shook. Love seeing someone restoring one though it brings back memories.
Thanks for restoring and be encouraged to restore the Mk2 with the jib + 14:54 and another Mk2 in the background.
They are next 😍👍
Superb. That's a total success. It floats, and it drives, everything else can be sorted as and when!
😍👍👍
A great job well done, I've always loved the look of the Stalwart. 😎
Great first test, well done for getting it back swimming.
Still needs a few jobs and some tidying and finishing off but we are getting there!
Great to see you swim and not sink to the bottom. You have done a great job, well done Ben. Can’t wait to see it swim again. 👍👍👍👍👍👍
Fantastic work 👌, looking forward to seeing more adventures with this and restoration of the Mk2 thanks for sharing 👍💨💨
😍👍
Well Ben! I can remember looking in the water at that old lorry chassis many years back in the quarry. And I thought history was going to repeat its self!
But no, what a result
Bet your well pleased with how it went, but you do put the work in!
Great video👍
Haha cheers. Yeah I ended up pulling that lorry out but sadly there wasn’t much left of it. I actually have a picture of it now if before I went in if your interested! (The old lorry that was in the water )
That lorry been in there lotta years! I was young boy then. On the end of the granite stillion pile, where the steam crane was bolted down.
Before they tore down the end, used to be a gap in the rocks you could climb inside.
Would not do that now!
Yes I would like to see that lorry photo, also I think you have crane out now.
I’ve only ever seen the top of the jib sticking out the water!🙂
Another awesome video from. Thanks
Cheers glad you enjoyed it. Takes me a while to finish these things 🤣
Congrats on her maiden voyage! Amazing to watch something that looks like it should plummet to the bottom actually swim around.
It feels a bit odd first driving it in… especially having never floating one before 😮
I envy your toys.
No one did when they first turned up 🤣🤣🤣
Nice to it again as I used to drive them when I was in the army, scary when you 1st dip your nose in the water and you can hear the front winch housing starting to filling up😱keep up the good work👍
Well done Ben and team it's great to see her swimming again 👏 👍 😊
🙂👍👍
Can't work out whether this is comedy, documentary or drama.... Great effort boys!
🤣👍 I’m not sure either. A bit of everything I guess!
Fantastic work. Great that you got its feet wet and kept yours dry. A few teething problems, but no problem.
Very very brave, love the confidence in the repairs and just going for it.
I honestly thought the ratchet strap on the back was going to be a no go but it was so last minute we realised it wouldn’t fit we were all revved up for giving it a go !
Down to the Ferry boat and across to the shipwrights should be a good test . Nice job of the restoration,.
Haha I do fancy Mylor to Pandora for a pint 🤣
Very impressive. They sit in the water nicely. 😊
Ben you've been doing a great job with this truck mate. Hopefully when the weather improves will come down and visit you
Cheers it’s getting there slowly. Takes me a while to get these things done with work and family etc . Welcome to pop by any time just give me a shout on messenger
@@BenoCam yeah I totally get that mate as you know it takes me quite a while to get our videos together to yeah we'll give you a message mate when the weather improves it probably won't be for a few weeks give you plenty of notice mate
Very interesting video guys keep up the good work - congratulations from Aotearoa New Zealand 👍🇳🇿
A nerve racking moment, but welldone
Well done guys brave and entertaining.
Hello Ben, I really enjoy your content, it is raw and engaging. I hope you continue to deliver content, I very much enjoyed the in depth details in this video. Thank you.
Cheers. I am intending to make more but things are pretty chaotic at home and works busy too so I do struggle to find the time a bit but we will get there at some point 🤣👍
Absolutely fantastic. Great job on the resto and swim test!
Cheers, another adventure with it coming soon !
@@BenoCam looking forward to it!
Well done chaps, Dunkirk spirit and all that .... As I am in Denmark, you wouldn't catch me in the water with that thing for all the tea in China .... Not meant to float 🚂
Nice work!
Amazing work Ben, well done. All your vids are great to watch, keep them coming 👏
😍👍👍
Top works boys thanks for sharing 👍
Beautiful machine, thanks
Job well done 👍
Excellent work pleased I found your site thanks to Mr Hewes👌
Cheers. I still have his stalwarts here patiently waiting their turn … I just had to fisnish the mk1 first !
My favourite military vehicle ❤
how deep is that quarry? you must have confidence in your welds 😄
9m but it’s worth mentioning I’m a commercial diver with all the kit to raise it sat in my shed which would also have made a great video salvaging it so it was a win win situation really 🤣
We had those at 21 squadron RCT back in the 1980s, and most of ours didn't float, as the BBC's Jim'll Fix It found out.
Hi Ben , what a great project and video simply awesome.have you got any fish in that quarry? If you have they must have thought that’s a bloody big duck lol👍
Haha yeah there’s a load of little small roach in there… quite a mystery how they ever got in there but they have been in there for years
I saw the thumbnail, and thanks to Mr. Hewes (& Ted) I recognized the Stolly.
I’m happy, I’m amongst friends here….
very well done - not many of these that are left can go swimming
Well done! You've put alot of effort in so congratulations are in order. I have a similar problem wit my rear door. I have a MK2 with a grotty door so bought a new one. Only trouble is it's for a MK1.
Last time I saw one of them running was as a kid in Colchester.
Remember seeing them as toys as a kid a lot but I never realised they were a real vehicle until a lot later in life 🤣
Incredible. What an adventure. Would be great to see more long-form videos detailing the restoration processes you do. I’m curious how you fabricated those long control rods.
Famous for bearing failure! Never run them without water in system. Everybody was taught this ad infinitum. I think they were a ceramic bearing.
I think you should take it over to st Michael's Mount at high tide, that way i can come and watch 😀
That’s not a bad idea, would need some nice weather though !
Great job Ben. When is the dive lift going in? 🤔🤔
🤣👍
Wonderfull machine, only withdrawn because they had a petrol engine when the MOD opted to concentrate on diesel
Yes part 2
There used to be a Stolly sat next to the Nemesis ride at Alton Towers. It appeared to still have all its swim gear.
Not sure if it's still there now.
I like the idea of amphibious vehicles and a Stalwart for daily driving would be neat (quiet a lot of storage space for groceries for sure). But i wonder how stable it is in the water. Wouldn't it be going to capsize first chance? And in case of a roll over: What are the chances of anyone in the cabin to get out in time?
On an somewhat unrelated note the floating Stalwart reminds me of the german battleship Bismark(?) whose huge turrets where designed to fall out in case of capsizing. They fell out very well when the ship rolled over when taking on water after it got hit. But the ship nevertheless did not manage to get back up and sank anyway.😢
It’s not too bad. Although there’s a lot of air in those tyres trying to float back up 😮 not sure I would like to take it out far to sea !
I didn't think those prop bearings sounded good when you first engaged drive to them. Been on a Stolly up on Lake Windermere a few years ago with a guy on the Amphib meet.
It had been parked up probably 20-30 years although it was dry in a shed for most of that. The other side did seem a bit smoother. The smoke was actually from me putting oil where there was supposed to be grease 🤣
This is crazy :) ❤
Hopefully a good kinda crazy 🤣
Brilliant. 🦆🐳
A friend used to remanufacture swim gear for Stollies. I wonder if he has any sets left.
Nice!
The third Stalwart hiding in the back of shot
That one was supposed to be for parts but decided it was too good for that so will have to restore that one also 🤣
@@BenoCamdo you have any plans for deployment for your small fleet. 😂 An invasion of Anglesey?
What a great video! I have an old friend with a stolly, so i have been lucky enough to drive it round a farm and he took me to a pub in it for a pint years ago. He actually had a spare stolly with the Hiab in the back which didn't run, I wonder if its the same one? He was from Horsham. I'm going to subscribe so I don't miss the next vid cheers
really enjoyed the video, how did you connect the diesel engine to the gearbox? are Bedford and Rolls Royce mounting points the same? or did you make an adapter plate , if so how did you overcome the input shaft length with an adapter plate? or did you machine the gearbox mounting face down by the thickness of the the adapter plate?? really interested in how you did this?
I covered that in the first episode. The link is in the description. Basically I bought it without an engine then found a Bedford 500 out of a mk2 which had a adapter plate to fit the stalwart gearbox , it was still a bit of faffing around adjusting the engine mounts and converting them but all the main. It’s fit ok. Connecting up the services etc was the trickiest . Nothing fit and a lot of it needed to be moved over to the other side etc but got there in the end
@@BenoCam i will go find earlier video, cheers, you have a Abbott and a Stalwart, my two dream 'if i had space' toys, top job..
That is the engine it should have had from new :o) And the sides should have been hinged half way up so they leak less :D I was wondering about the big space between cab and gearbox, and then I remembered it was for the turret basket on the armoured car version. You have an excellent machine there.
There’s supposed to be an enormous fuel tank in there. Something silly like 300/400 litres I think. I took it out as it was full of water
@@BenoCam my mental math guesstimate says it’s 12 hours with that RR F head petrol engine?
@@teamidrisI think originally they wanted it to be able to achieve 300-500 miles on one tank (or something similarly big) and they were terrible on fuel.
Wonder why the Stalwart did not come in an 8x8 version?
Is the underlying running gear the same as/based upon the Alvis Saracen and/or the Alvis Saladin?
If so that would make the Army supply chain a lot better
Needs the splash board fitting on the front.
Holes in the hull you say... o~0 Sounds like a ringing endorsement for "Flex-Seal" liquid water proofing by the gallon. Get it in white, a few drops of OD dye and Bob's your uncle. ^~^
Great fun vehicles , mark 1,S rarer , used to be a wall built from about 40 stollys at the range setters yard Warminster , the mighty jonnie vize , fun all,over Europe with these
So you've managed to set your car on fire in the middle of a lake. While it's raining. 😅
Well it’s been sat around 30 odd years in a shed so it’s not had a lot of love. I still consider that a major win, could have been a lot worse. 🤣 more coming soon going to give it another test somewhere else 🫢
@@BenoCam Don't get me wrong, I admire your work. 🙂 I'm not mainly into mechanics, but every now and then such restoration work absolutely drawns me in. Great job.
Used to drive them back in the say, many a miserable hour spent in them
🤣👍
it works ,, but i'am not going to war in that yet ,,,,,;;
They have sent a few to Ukraine I believe 😮
@@BenoCam you might have to go with your welder then ,,, they need all the help they can get ;;;
Actually it's not the only way to find out - you could have (maybe after removing the engine?) filled the bed with water and looked for where the water leaks out.
Don’t like the idea of all that water damage inside though… there’s a lot of things in there which you would be forever getting water out of… bevel boxes/bearings etc etc . I think driving it in slowly was more fun too 🤣
@@BenoCam that's so long as you're confident enough that your repairs are adequate to prevent it sinking. You'll definitely be getting dirty water out of everything if it sinks.
As you say suspect a cooked bearing ☹️
My fault for putting oil in something that was supposed to have high temp grease !! All sorted now and seems no damage done 😊
@@BenoCam aha, I thought your stuffing box was stuffed :o)
I'm a decent lottery win away from owning one of these myself.
As far as military vehicles go these really are not that bad. There’s been one on Facebook market place for months £6500 search military vehicles it’s not actually listed as a stalwart
😎👍
👍
No tail gait is a big hole
Needs a petrol engine stollies spit flames
I have two others with petrol engines… they are a giant pain in the ass! Diesel is so reliable compared to it
Should copy Top Gear and swim to France 🇫🇷 with Stolly
Playing with trucks in the bathtub is not so stupid now is it DAD!?
Add more tinder ..MORE TINDER...!!
HOW CAN YOU BURN YOUR SHOP -- IF YOU DONT HAVE ENUFF TINDER..?
Only one critacism but very annoying ! you use "SO " far too much and very annoyingly
Haha ok, I didn’t even realise i did that will try not to do that so much next time.
Wandered who bought the stolly of joe , great vid , that b80 rolls was a shite engine , diesel is the way forward for sure , once new of a guy near bovington Dorset that turned his to diesel , some metal fabrication ,cool trucks 👍
What r your tanks I'm a tank guy
Abbot fv433 self propelled gun and a CVRT Scorpion light tank
Nice work!