Hydraulic Excavators of 1982 (treat)

[jimmy 130]

Heres a picture of two diggers we had a few years back. Both Hitachi Ex100-1's. We sold them off years back. but both machines are still working perfectly dispite 1 being on her side in a slurry tank.

Also is a few pictures of a UHO52! And a UHO4 my da bought it brand new sadly i have no gud pictures of it only a pic of it getting a fresh lick of paint around the early 90's i think. As far as i know this machine was 1 of the first hitachi's into northen ireland. We had two of these UHO4's and also included is a snap of the old ladys sister getting craned onto the low loader for her final journey to the scrap yard.

[38RBSII]

Sadly I believe the demise of Priestman (and possibly Hymac) was down to the cheap Japanese imports at the time. (I may have mentioned this before...) If I recall correctly Sir Anthony Bamford was extremely vocal at the time, and suceeded in getting a levy introduced to bring the cost of the Japanese machinery in line with their European counterparts. Some manufacturers were selling their machines at 20% below the cost of manufacture and shipping to the U.K.

Out of curiosity though, how many Japanese machines of that era are still working? I've always had the impression the Japanese kit is built to perform, not built to last. Get 3-4 trouble free years out of it and then ditch it, as quickly as possible! Not seen a UH or even an early EX series Hitachi or series 3 Komatsu working for a few years now!

True, and the strength of Sterling over the past few decades has frequently been a millstone around the neck of British manufacturers as well, especially during the 1980's when North Sea oil demand made it stronger. One can understand BL MD Sir Michael Edwardes when he remarked that "They should keep the bloody stuff in the ground", knowing the great difficulties the strengh of Sterling would cause for the competitiveness of BL and British manufacturing in general. Not such a problem at the present time, but unfortunately too late for the likes of Priestman and Hymac

[newjcb123uk]

Ok fellas last 6 pics of the CJ dig-in test mag of 1982 - I've just found the 1984 backhoe Loader equivilent Happy days

[fraserbee]

That's an interesting set of pictures. 1982 was the year I was born, so it is fun to see what was cutting edge that year.

[the wizard]

WHAT AGREAT SET OF PICS . WELL DONE . I must say I am also surprised priestman 108 came 2nd even more shocked out dug by JCB 805 BT as I always felt they were very slow ( slew speed of 6 or 7 rpm against 108 slew of 10 ) and under powered . I am speachless that they both beat the others with high pressure hydraulics as I always felt they were by far the best trenchers. Just goes to show its not untill they are side by side the truth is shown

[v8detroit]

Hi John - I believe your big into the models???

In reading the booklet there isn't such a clear winner but more a list of all the facts and figures with reference to which manufacturers machines did best etc - although I will say that significantly the manufacturer that dug the longest trench in the shortest time was JCB followed closely and unbelieveably by Priestman. I love Poclains too and hope to add a 60 to my ever growing private collection of real machines soon.

There are a few more photos to follow - glad you've enjoyed them

hi Chris,yeh i have a few models been collecting since 1986 .it is nearly cheaper to collect the real thing now adays with the price`s
of new models.i sold my dad`s 1980 poclain 60 4 years ago for 1000 euro !!! but it had a lot of hard work done and needed a
a new cab and oilcooler and it had a lot of welding done on boom so would not look good if it was restored.they had a great
cab nice and high great for loading 8 wheelers .thanks for the great pictures regards john

[v8detroit]

Thought I'd treat all my friends on CMN with some photos of what the British excavator market had to offer in 1982. The pictures are from a booklet I have kept and read for years and years from whenever the magazine Contract Journal conducted independent tests on each machines overall Track records.

The tests included overall evaluations on the likes of performance, fuel consumption, ergonomics, available specifications, operator comfort and generally anything that would be considered if someone was considering purchasing a machine in the 12/13 ton class. It would be great if this test was done every year to give customers independent detailed information to assist decisions on competitors machines.

The JCB 805BT won in this particular year with a very close sirprisingly second place going to the Priestman 108S (totally amazed )

Other manufacturers that took place included Poclain, Mitsubishi, Atlas, O&K, Hitachi, Komatsu, International and good old Hymac.

(Ps my computer is on a disgusting download speed (I hate BT ) untill late January 2011 so uploading these is a complete chore at present )

the mitubishi was a underated machine,i drove one in 1986 a ms140 great machine except the leavers were the other way around
boom + bucket on left dipper + slew on right took a bit of getting used to the liebherrs were the same at that time.