It has been a busy week here at Digger HQ with a massive dose of nostalgia from readers who have fond memories of our two famous British excavator manufacturers from years gone by Hymac and Priestman.
First up is this old Hymac 580C model which is currently being restored by David Gordon from Northern Ireland.
David had bought the machine from a man who had decided to cut it up for scrap a scenario that is sadly all too common these days but once it was home David quickly got down to the business of getting her back in shape.
On first inspection it appeared that a previous owner had changed all the rollers on one track but the other side was in desperate need of new rollers too so David set about the job only to find it was a nightmare to get the blots out in fact the whole track frame was seriously rusty which led David to think that the machine had probably spent a lot of its working life by the sea.
Once the track repairs were completed the undercarrige was given a coat of black paint as were the hydraulic rams a colour scheme which is currently becoming very popular with JCB and Caterpillar.
This machine has had a replacement Perkins engine fitted at some point which David says has come from a Massey Ferguson combine harvester and runs beautifully.
The Hymac 580C is without doubt one of the most famous construction sized hydraulic excavators of all time and they were sold all over the world. Here we see an early version in a long reach application.
This photo from Hymac literature shows a 580C at work with a grading blade attachment that used to be very popular in the 70's and 80's but are rarely seen these days. This early 580C model also has the sliding cab door featuring two piece glass windows.
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The total production for the 580C was 5600 machines made between 1970- 1981.
Here is a scan from an original Hymac manual showing the 580C dimensions.
Thanks to David for sending in his photos and keep up the good work in preserving one of the machines that helped to form our earthmoving heritage.
Additonal thanks to Mr J Rowland for statistics.
Comments (5)
My son sent me this link and said I was not the only nutter in the world to restore a Hymac 580C. I completely dismantled the machine as it had a shattered cross member and bits torn out of the chassis. It took me 3 months to get it down to the chassis, have that rebuilt and put it all together again fixing whatever was needed on the way. It runs perfectly now and I have done 400 hours heavy digging over the last two years with it. Although slow it has great power and reach and I am very happy with the results. Greetings from down under.
Posted by David Prebensen | August 22, 2009 10:13 PM
Posted on August 22, 2009 22:13
Hello
I am going to do up my 580C. I wanted to know were would be a good place to get parts or web page to llok up. If you could help me.
Thanking you.
Michael
Posted by michael | September 12, 2009 7:54 AM
Posted on September 12, 2009 07:54
Hi Michael,
Hymac parts and spares are still available from http://www.hymac-parts.co.uk/ of Much Wenlock here in England
Telephone number is 44 (0) 1746 785002
I would be interested to see some photos of your 580C at some point ?
Posted by Nick Drew
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September 12, 2009 11:22 AM
Posted on September 12, 2009 11:22
Great work on the restoration. I own a 580c and was wondering how I can find out what year it was made. I've been told it was made in 1968 because thelast digits on the identification plate are 68. Does anyone know if this is true? Thanks
Posted by Brendan Fleming | October 24, 2009 3:34 PM
Posted on October 24, 2009 15:34
Hello,I have a Hymac 580c in bad need of restoration.She's very worn around the bushes and I could eat my lunch while waiting for her to stop slewing.The cab is bad but the engine,a ford replacement from a truck is good.If anyone could send me photos,or information on these machines I would be very grateful,also where can I get the paint and parts for her! My e-mail is:shane.harrington.1124@gmail.com thankyou!!
Posted by shane harrington | November 1, 2009 10:42 PM
Posted on November 1, 2009 22:42