- Home
- Company
- News & Media
- Bobcat Stories
- Skid-Steer Loader Restorations of M371, M444 and M610
Bringing Bobcat Loaders back to life: Restoration Series
Published on January 13, 2021
When inventors Louis and Cyril Keller debuted the Bobcat skid-steer loader in 1960, they likely never envisioned this: a vast community of contractors, farmers, landscapers, homeowners and general tinkerers celebrating their machines 60 years later and keeping their legacy alive. These aren’t just jaw-dropping collector’s items – they’re tough as ever. And they do real work, too.
Here are three Bobcat fans celebrating the company’s uniquely storied past and preserving it for the future.
Vintage Bobcat machine
Austin Harrison, from Osmond, Nebraska, stands pridefully next to his 1977 Bobcat M371 skid-steer loader.
The young man with the old machine
Austin Harrison, 25, Osmond, Nebraska
Austin Harrison is a young man fond of old things. The 25-year-old’s vintage Bobcat M371 skid-steer loader was built in 1977. It came off the line nearly 20 years before he did, and that’s what Austin loves about it.
“We just can’t let go of the past,” says Austin, a bit of a history buff. “That got us to where we are. And it’s cool to preserve and hold onto those things.”
No compact equipment company has a legacy like Bobcat, which debuted the world’s first true skid-steer loader in 1960.
“In modern times, there are a lot of different manufacturers of skid-steer loaders,” Austin says. “Bobcat, to me, has always stood out as the leading brand.”
So when a neighbor’s rusted M371 loader went up for sale in early 2020, Austin saw a mid-pandemic project that combined his affection for Bobcat with a real business need. As a truck driver with a weekend mowing business, Austin needed a loader for small side jobs here and there. He also wanted it to deal with the formidable snowbank that rises each winter at his home.
One problem: He’d never restored a loader.
“Thankfully, I’m from a small part of northeast Nebraska where there’s a lot of handy, skilled people who could help me along the way,” Austin says. “And that’s how it took place.”
He scavenged for parts online and leaned especially on a longtime mechanic who lived in town and had worked on Bobcat machines. He replaced the hydraulic pump (which took two months), then the pulleys, then the clutch. The local mechanic replaced eight tiny needle bearings in the machine, tightened the levers and helped add new oil.
Austin placed new Bobcat decals on the previously freshened paint job and took a step back. Four months and $3,900 later, he had a pristine vintage workhorse – a piece of Bobcat legacy that spans generations.
“After doing it, I kind of fell in love,” Austin says. “I’m definitely going to get another Bobcat loader someday, whether it’s a new one or another used one.”
And as for the M371’s future?
“I will hang onto it until the day I die,” Austin says. “And whoever’s alive in my family will get it next.”