A Lasting Legacy: George McKnight Restores His Father’s 1967 JCB 3C MK1

George McKnight, a salesman at Scot JCB Glasgow depot, located the same machine his Dad, James McKnight had bought from Scot JCB Dumfries in 1974 and brought it back into the family. With support from Retro JCB, the machine underwent a comprehensive restoration and has been returned to its original condition.

The Machine's Early Life

In January 1974, George's dad James decided to buy a JCB. At that time nobody else in the area had one, so he saw an opportunity. He approached the Scot JCB Dumfries depot and the salesman was none other than Steve Bryant! A deal was done on a 1967 JCB 3C MK1 and the price was £1400. "My dad always said it was the hardest cheque he ever had to write!", George added. James initially bought it to carry out work for other local farmers; however this soon expanded into working for local builders, construction companies, and the local council and water board.

James had sold the digger before George was born but he remembers stories about the long journeys his dad went on to go to jobs, sometimes driving the JCB upwards of 40 miles which would’ve taken hours! " I think the digger also taught him a lot of his mechanical skills as it required a few clutch replacements and an engine replacement in the time he had it", George explained.

Reacquiring the Machine

George knew his dad had sold the digger to a farmer near Stranraer so after he passed away, George approached him and did a deal to buy it back. When we asked George what the condition of the machine was he said, "Not good! It was running but had no radiator and it was in a very rusty condition. I knew it was going to be a lot of work to get it restored."

Restoration Journey with Retro JCB

George had seen Retro JCB on social media and admired their work, but by chance he met the owner, Andrew Bunton, at a JCB event. He told him about his dad’s digger and arranged to visit him to discuss the project further. Seeing their extremely high standard of work made it an easy decision to get them to do the restoration.

There were a few challenges along the way, George had bought a ‘donor machine’ which was a huge help for the restoration but there were issues with the engine rebuild. As it turned out the engine block was cracked, so it all had to be done again. There was also a lot more work required to restore the rams than George expected.

Retro JCB offer 3 levels of restoration, entry, mid and top level. Originally, an entry level is what was being carried out but as the project went on, it ended up becoming a mid-level. The digger looks just as good as it would have when it was new, the engine is running like new and overall the digger now looks fantastic!

When we asked George the importance of preserving machines like his Dad's he said, "I personally think it’s very important. My dad’s digger will be 60 years old next year and with the level of restoration that’s been carried out on it, I don’t see why it won’t still be around when it’s 100 years old. It’s also great to look back at these older JCB’s and see just how far JCB products have come over the years."