Stonefield

Stonefield: a 4x4 that got away. Stonefield Vehicles of Cumnock, Ayrshire, Scotland began in 1974. The 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, and topping the 1-ton LandRover 101.

Notable design features were the forward control (cab-over) design, space-frame chassis for rigidity, full-time four wheel drive with a centre differential with automatic lock, and the use of automatic gearboxes as standard.

The choice of engines was between the Ford V6 petrol engine (101), as fitted to cars such as the Ford Granada, driving a Ford C3 3-speed automatic gearbox, and a Chrysler 318-1 V8 (110) driving an A727 3-speed automatic gearbox.

The Stonefield 6x4, with a lazy axle, had increased load carrying capacity for applications such as fire tenders.

The company went on to be called Stonefield Holdings and was later taken over by Gomde, and then closed in the early 1990s. Nick Noyce has started a Stonefield Register to preserve a notable vehicle, himself owning a P3000 6x4 and a P3000 4x4.

	4x4	6x4
loa	4940mm	5445mm
width	1900mm	1900mm
height	2400mm	2366mm
wheelbase	2800mm	2575mm+950mm=3525mm
track	1640mm	1640mm
turning radius (wall)	7300mm	8150mm
weight (empty)	2200kg+/-	2300kg+/-
payload	1500kg	2900kg
engine:	P3000: Ford 2994cc V6, 101 or P5000: Chrysler 5217cc V8 110kw
gearbox:	P3000: Ford 3-speed automatic or P5000: Chrysler 3-speed automatic
transfer case	2-speed full-time 4WD, centre differential with automatic lock, (silent-) Morse-chain drive
suspension	live axles, leaf springs
tyres	9.00x16	7.50x16
rivals:	LandRover 101, Reynold Boughton RB44, Steyr Pinzgauer, Volvo 303
- 4wd.sofcom.com/Stonefield/Stonefield.html