We appear to builidng up a nice 'blogging stream' on Stonefield on Biglorryblog - not least from Stu who says: "Hello there Brian, I would have commented directly through the blog but it won't allow me to attach pictures for your viewing pleasure so I'll nag you via email instead!" Fair enoughski and he has sent me this picture and comments: "I don't know much about Stonefields but I did take a snap of a fire tender based on one at Doncaster Aeroventure aircraft museum last year. According to the chap I spoke with it was awaiting an engine. A mighty fine vehicle the Stonefield certainly is, I'm glad it's got some well deserved coverage on BLB. It's a shame they're not around anymore, it would be nice for a UK company to be providing some competition for the mighty Unimog." Now click through for a rather unusual remark regarding ther Stonefield's windscreen wipers!
Stu continues: "Something I found of particular interest on the vehicle at Doncaster is what appears to be the track mounted windscreen wipers - I can only assume they slide across the screen horizontally as opposed to sweeping in an arc? Was this an aftermarket addition, or something specific to Stonefield? Looks like a good idea for commercial vehicles anyway, should give much better wiper coverage. Surprised I've never seen it elsewhere." Well have they? And if you have any more Stonefield stories (and photos) lemme at 'em!
A lot of Scottish fire services used the Stonefield fire tender
Grampian fire service had one in white as a heavy rescue unit
Also Strathclyde had one too
A great fire tender sadly no longer produced
Having a lazy rear axle might have put a spanner in the works regarding airfield use. I know a few TACR Range Rover crash tenders were upgraded from 6x4 to 6x6 to meet the 'all wheel drive' requirements introduced by the CAA (or whoever it was) at some point.
Anyone know if any Stonefields saw 6x6 conversions?
Looking at the shield on the door, it was originally either from Jersey or Guernsey airport and the wipers appear to be a modification for airport fire use as the Stonefield in the original posting had conventional wipers.
When working as a fitter for Cleveland County Council in the 80,s the council ended up purchasing 2 Stonefields a 4x4 and a 6x4 these were both powered by Fords V6 petrol engine and an automatic gearbox. If my memory serves me correctly i think the Stonefields were built at the old Volvo factory in Scotland. They were quite a handy vehicle.
Horizontal wiper operation.
Back in the 1950's when a Engineering College, my great friend the late Bob Jankel of Panther Westwinds and other enterprises purchased for L40.00.00 (fourty pounds) a Rolls Royce Coupe de Ville (by Thrup and Maberley)(+/- 1929 vintage) out of a breakers yard near Wormwood Scrubs.
Two snags were no keys and wipers didn't work. Bob phoned RR using his plummiest accent and persuasive manner - next day a courier delivered an envelope containing 3 sets of keys, all perfect fits - never got an invoice.
The wipers we established were vacuum operated and I found much of the rubber hose connections between bits of copper pipe were perished. Pinched some bunsen burner hose from college and low and behold - horizontal wiper travel covering the entire screen except for about half inch round the edges. Nothing new under the sun.
I was never involved with Stonefield, but knew several people who were. The concept came from Jim McKelvie of McKelvie Transport and then Ailsa Trucks (Volvo) fame who got Norman Watson to do the design work. It was intended to fill the gap between Landrover and 4 ton MOD truck types and got the name from the fact that it was built at the former premises of Stonefield Laundry in Paisley, mostly by ex McKelvie via Ailsa personnel. There were similarities between the chassis construction of the Stonefield and the Ailsa Double Deck bus which also came from the pen of Norman Watson, in that both had a periferal frame to which the body was mounted making it extremely strong. Unfortunately McKelvie took ill and died before his brainchild fully matured and the business, which had re-located to Cumnock in Ayrshire, was taken over by the Scottish Developement Agency and subsequently by Gomba(?) who took the design and production to Asia and that was the end of Stonefield.
Loads more Stonefield pics here...
http://s92.photobucket.com/albums/l38/cooheid/stonefield/
Maybe the track-mounted wipers were fitted to cope with back-spray from the foam cannon? They're definitely not standard Stonefield.
I've never seen a 6x6 converted one; but it's on my "to do" list for mine - now that I've sourced a couple of axles.
I have seen a picture of a similar yellow fire tender (not sure if it is the same one) with the remains of an Alderney number plate on the front.
Guernsey fire tenders do not carry number plates.
This looks like and old Alderney airport unit.
The crest on the side of the cab looks like the Guernsey crest minus the sprig on top. [That would make it a Jersey crest - but I don't think that they had Stonefields. The Guernsey ones had side-codes in the 80-89 range. The Alderney ones were 1 & 2. They were replaced by Chevys.
I wondered where they had got to - saw one being taken to the ferry on discharge. Actually rode in one across Guernsey's runway - cramped in the back.
Guernsey police had a 4x4 personnel carrier for a while. Was sold locally. The final owners of Stonefield lived in Jersey.
We have a newly painted ex Highland and Islands Airports Stonefield fire tender in running condition (6x4,lazy axle) at The Museum of Flight in East Lothian, donated in 2007.
John Thomson.