Stonefield Vehicles
P3000 4x4 and P5000 6x4
Back in the early 1970s, Stonefield Vehicles was formed. Their aim was to produce a new off-road vehicle with load capacities in the 1.5 to 3 ton range, with the military very much in mind, slotting between the 1-ton Land Rover, and the 4ton Bedford trucks then in service.
The concept came from Jim McKelvie of McKelvie Transport and then Ailsa Trucks (Volvo) fame who got Norman Watson to do the chassis design work. Designers at Jensen did the cab design. The company got their name from the fact that the vehicle was originally designed and tested at the former premises of Stonefield Laundry in Paisley. 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.
Featuring a forward control (cab-over-engine) design, space-frame chassis for rigidity, full-time four wheel drive, a centre differential with automatic lock, and the use of automatic gearboxes as standard, The Stonefield was a formidable offroad vehicle. The choice of engines was between the Ford 3 litre V6 petrol engine (as fitted to cars such as the Ford Granada), with the Ford C3 3-speed automatic gearbox and a Chrysler 318-1 V8, with the Chrysler A727 3-speed automatic gearbox. The Stonefield 6x4, with an un-driven third axle, had increased load carrying capacity for applications such as fire tenders.
Unfortunately McKelvie took ill and died before his brainchild fully matured and the business, which by 1974 had re-located to Cumnock in Ayrshire for production, was taken over by the Scottish Developement Agency. The company went on to be called Stonefield Holdings and was later taken over by Gomba, who took the design to Asia and Stonefield went into receivership in the early 1990s.
Vehicle Specs:
P3000 4x4
Length: 4940mm
Width: 1900mm
Height: 2400mm
Wheelbase: 2800mm
Track: 1640mm
Unladen weight: 2200kg
Payload capacity: 1500kg
Engine: Ford 2994cc V6, 101Kw
Gearbox: Ford C3 3-speed automatic
Transfer box: 2-speed full-time 4WD, centre differential with automatic lock, Morse-chain drive
Suspension: live axles, leaf springs
Tyres: 9.00x16
P5000 6x4
Length: 5445mm
width: 1900mm
Height: 2366mm
Wheelbase: 2575mm+950mm=3525mm
Track: 1640mm
Unladen weight: 2300kg
Payload capacity: 2900kg
Engine: Chrysler 5217cc V8, 110kw
Gearbox: Chrysler A727 3-speed automatic
Transfer box: 2-speed full-time 4WD, centre differential with automatic lock, Morse-chain drive
Suspension: live axles, leaf springs
Tyres: 7.50x16
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Stonefield pictures
Stonefield P3000
Stonefield P5000
Pic © Jim Keable - www.Aeroventure.org.uk
