Welcome to www.diggers-dumpers-plant.co.uk
Also known as www.oilyhands.co.uk
Website
with towable digger, excavator and backhoe information. Features Fleming Micron,
Powerfab, Mantis, Benford, Roughneck, Gopher, Smalley, Tow-hoe, Standard
Muscleman, homemade and other small diggers. Links to current manufacturers such
as Groupe-FCM, Hubei, Dig It and suppliers of plans for the Ground Hawg
Homebuilt Backhoe and CDP Excavator. Includes various other plant, construction
and mechanical projects, Plant Photo Gallery and
useful links for Spares and Repairs. Extra information and pictures to add to
the site always appreciated. The website now includes a new section dedicated to
preserving information about
Johnson Machinery Limited.
By browsing the site you agree to the terms of use
- Homepage
- Site Overview
- Contact the webmaster
- Latest additions
- Plant photo gallery
- Fleming Micron digger restoration
- Powerfab digger page
- Roughneck diggers
- Gopher micro excavator
- Smalley diggers
- Benford ME130 and Mantis digger
- Toe-Hoe and Standard Muscleman
- FCM Diggers and Backhoes
- Homemade backhoes and new towable diggers
- List of known towable diggers
- Digger spares and repairs
- Towable digger V. Mini Digger?
- Frequently asked questions
- Fleming Micron engine change
- Dumper Restoration
- Johnson Machinery Section
- Homemade derrick crane
- Homemade go-cart
- Concrete imprinting roller
- Suspension Bush Renewal
- Strimmer repair
- Sewing with zip ties plastic repair
- Levant Mine visit
Johnson 2HG Dumper with Petter PH1 engine
31/01/06: The latest addition to the fleet has arrived! The perfect partner for my Fleming Micron digger. A 2 wheel drive Johnson dumper of 1960's vintage powered by a Petter PH1 engine driving through a 3 speed gearbox. The engine number is 35688PH1 Model 52. It's a manual tip variety and starts with a handle. The dumper is mechanically sound but in need of a total restoration and repaint. The mudguards on the rear wheels have rusted away completely, the handbrake is missing and the paint job is awful! Restoration will start as soon as I have time (may not be until 2007or even 2008) and progress reports added to the site as we go. Once completed, the dumper can tow the Fleming Micron around, move spoil and be used for bringing back firewood.
In the meantime here it is.......... If you're wondering what the piece of wood is tied on there for, it's to stop my boys from tipping the skip on themselves.
30/6/06 I recently put a free advert in Classic Plant and Machinery magazine in the hope of finding out a bit more about the dumper. I am grateful to Alastair who got in touch and who was an apprentice for Johnson's in the 70's. He tells me the dumper is a Model 2HG. The "G" denotes gravity tip as opposed to hydraulic. It was made by Johnson Machinery Ltd who were based in Adswood, Stockport, Cheshire. Thanks also to Malcolm who emailed some information on the Johnson 1 GP dumper which must have been slightly earlier than mine but shares many similarities.
Alastair's information is a great help as I now know what colour the dumper should be (orange) and he also supplied a fact sheet from an original sales brochure you can view a PDF of it here (copyright belongs to Johnson's now gone out of business) which shows what the mudguards are supposed to look like!
If you want to see and hear the engine running you can here:
4/8/06. I now know (thanks to Jim who emailed me from the Classic Plant & Machinery ad) that the engine was built in November 1967. He's an ex-Petter service engineer. I think we can safely assume that the dumper is a 1967 or 1968 machine. That makes it just a few years older than me!
04/02/07 No I haven't started restoring it, but I have been using it. I cut a load of firewood this weekend and the dumper did a great job bringing it back from the field. This was its first outing sporting its nice new air filter housing and element (this was missing when I got it). Thanks to my mate Rodney for sourcing that for me. The only other jobs I have done since the last update are mig welding the oil filter bowl as a temporary repair because it rusted through from the outside and sprang a leak (now looking for a replacement) and tightening up the connections on the diesel filter as the fibre washers dried out in the hot weather and it started to leak a bit.
Here's the dumper loaded up with firewood. Better than a wheelbarrow any day.
Although the dumper looks awful it starts and works perfectly well.
08/01/08 Well here I am nearly two years after getting the dumper and I still haven't started the restoration. I have been busy finishing my OU degree, our cottage, with my work and not forgetting updating this website. Recently I have also been tackling the massive job of sorting out my garage and getting rid of all the unnecessary junk I have accumulated over the past 12 years. This is all with the intention of paving the way to making a start on the dumper.
26/10/08 I can't believe it! After months of tidying up and being busy doing other stuff I have today moved the dumper into the garage. The Petter engine fired up first turn (its been out in the rain for ages) and I drove it right in. Restoration work will commence at the beginning of December 2008 so watch out for updates.
Here's the dumper in the garage. I cannot believe that I have actually managed to make enough space for it!
More Johnson Resources
I have now started a Johnson Machinery Section of the website dedicated to preserving the history of this company.
