From a Rusting Wreck to a Stunning JCB Restoration

Some weeks ago, I was up in Sheffield with our friends at long established JCB dealers TC Harrison’s who were keen to show me around the restored JCB 3CIII backhoe loader that had been commissioned by Leeds based H&H Construction Ltd.

The machine which was first built in January 1978, was in a very poor condition when renowned JCB man, and classic plant restoration expert Julian Carder and his team got hold of the machine in February this year to conduct a complete no expense spared restoration, which incredibly was completed in time for it to make an appearance at the Great Yorkshire Show in July.

This particular machine was originally sold to a customer in Bournemouth area by the then dealers for the South of England Berkeley JCB and would have cost somewhere in the region of £17,250.

Powered by the classic 70hp (BMC) British Leyland 4-cylinder engine the machine featured the 4 speed semi-automatic Brockhouse torque converter transmission, 6-in-1 front bucket, and an extending dipper, all of which were regarded as cutting-edge components back in those days.

This in-depth restoration also included work on the axles, diff and the torque converter in addition to a factory finish of the cab interior and all the paintwork, to create on of the most stunning restoration jobs I have seen in a long while.

This model has a special place in my heart too, as when I was just 17, I was offered the drive on a brand new 1979 model 3CIII for Wimpey Construction which was a very similar specification except it had no 6-in-1 or extending dipper, I recall the registration plate to this day, AYY 350T, which was supplied to Wimpey by Watling JCB.

Photo: Courtesy of JCB Marketing Department circa 1977.

My late father was on hire to Wimpey on that site, and unfortunately due to my arrival with the Wimpey machine, he was off-hired, something that he never let me forget, and which we laughed about for many years after.

It was a pleasure to witness this machine in the metal, and you can checkout my walkaround video below.

I hopefully have more to come on H&H Construction Ltd and their latest JCB arrivals in a future edition of Earthmovers Magazine, I’m keeping my fingers crossed for that one.