I really enjoy the posts on this forum and on a recent post I put on about opinions on the best ever British Long Haul truck , Volvo was mentioned a fair bit. Although a Swedish company the connection to Britain and not just imports but home assembled vehicles was all down to one man, RAF Squadronairre Saxophonist, Haulage Contractor, Vehicle Importer and Manufacturer and all round legend…The Late Jim McKelvie.
Jim McKelvie was born with diesel in his blood, His father owning well known Scottish Haulage Contractor McKelvie & Co. Jim on his de-mob from the RAF where he enjoyed reasonable success as a Saxophonist in the RAF Sqaudronairres Band, joined his fathers haulage concern to later become the top man. He sold out to TDG in the 1960’s although he stayed on as Managing Director he was seemingly unhappy at the management style of TDG so left and formed a vehicle repair business in nearby Barrhead.
While running this business Jim got an idea to import a European truck into the UK so he approached European Manufacturers but was virtually dismissed by them all except for at the time a virtually unheard of Swedish truck builder, Volvo. The legend has it Volvo were unhappy about exporting the F86 model into Britain as they felt it was a light distribution artic along the lines of Fords D Series or Bedfords KM and would have preferred their bigger more powerful F88 model. Seemingly Jim convinced Volvo the mean UK haulage bosses would not cough up the cash for the bigger model but he specced the British import F86 with double hub reduction axles etc to make it more capable. Volvo agreed and Ailsa Trucks ( Barrhead ) was born.
The F86 was an instant hit proving popular with drivers and operators alike. It had power steering, multi adjustable suspension seats, full synchromesh 8sp gearbox, a brilliant heater and it didn’t leak when it rained!!!. Sometime after imports started coming in, Jim oversaw the assembly in Scotland of the popular F86 8 wheeler chassis in either 8x4 or 8x2 configuration. Generally the Scottish built Volvo’s had double headlights making them a wee bit more distinguished from their single headlighted Swedish partners. At the same time Jim introduced the Ailsa double decker bus chassis which unusually for a flat floored double decker was front engined. These excellent bus chassis’ sold in thousands to bus operators all over the UK and were well known for giving excess of 20yrs service they were so well made. Ailsa trucks were such a success they soon grew out of their Barrhead base and moved to a massive new assembly plant in Irvine, North Ayrshire. Another successful venture for Jim McKelvie. Ailsa Trucks soon became Volvo Truck & Bus UK of which Jim McKelvie became a member of the board of directors.
Jim McKelvie was not a man to rest on his laurels and identified a gap in the market for a rugged go anywhere 4x4 or 6x4 light vehicle so he formed a company in Paisley to address this so Stonefield Vehicles were formed. The Stonefield name came from the company who occupied the factory previously to Jim’s new venture, Stonefield Laundry. The Stonefield as very sturdy and capable vehicle, They all had automatic transmission, a choice of a Ford 3.0 V6 or Chrysler 5.0 V8 well proven engines and were capable of climbing amazing gradiants in the mud as well as on road performance well in excess of 80 mph. They were very popular as drill rigs, fire tenders, outside broadcast vehicles etc and could carry payloads and go to places a Landrover owner could only dream off. The company then moved to bigger premises in the Ayrshire town of ■■■■■■■■ This is where sadly it all started to go wrong as Jim McKelvie suddenly took ill and before the Stonefield project really got into full swing in 1977 he died. After Jim McKelvies’ sudden and tragic death, Stonefield hit all sorts of financial problems which led to the then Scottish Development Agency picking up the reins and basically running a company that had a world beating product into the ground. The incompetence of this government quango was infamous and in an act of desperation sold it to the Gomba Group who milked it for all the grants they could get then pulled the rug from under the company before selling all the patents to far eastern manufacturers. The factory was closed and a loyal workforce who made all kinds of sacrifices during the dark days of Stonefield were thrown on the scrap heap. Stonefields former factory in ■■■■■■■ now houses fire tender builder Emergency One.
There is no doubt in my mind had it not been for the tragic death of Jim McKelvie, Stonefield would be the worlds no’1 manufacturer of this type of vehicle as Jim McKelvie was not a man renowned for failure. Only illness and later death caused Stonefield to fail as a company and it was made all the more tragic as the product was second to none. Mismanagement by a government agency who were not content at running a company into the ground but happily sold it on to a group of con-men in the form of Gomba Group ensured the legacy of Jim McKelvie and Stonefield was to be a short entry into automotive history.
Jim McKelvie made a considerable contribution to the British Commercial Vehicle industry as a haulier and vehicle importer/manufacturer. Just how many other individuals in the haulage scene made as big a contribution to the industry as Jim. Sadly the McKelvie name vanished from the haulage industry in the 1980’s but every time a Volvo Truck or Bus passes us on the road a piece of Jim McKelvies’ legacy is carried on that vehicle.
Jim McKelvie…A remarkable man indeed!!!
