Iconic Cat 920

There’s a bit of a wheeled loader theme developing on the Digger Man Blog this week, as we take a look at the Caterpillar 920, one of which I spotted during a recent visit to my local Cat Compact dealer’s yard just last week.

The original 920 Series of machines were introduced to market in 1969 with production continuing in Caterpillar factories in USA, Belgium and Japan until 1985.

The machine was largely aimed at small construction projects, and agricultural work for which it proved to be extremely popular with its Z-bar loader linkage proving to be popular in terms of breakout force and visibility to the 1.5 cubic yard (1.15m³) standard bucket. Power came from the Cat D330 diesel engine in the early models which was eventually upgraded to the Cat 3340, both of which had a power output rating of 80hp.

Photo: A venerable old Cat 920 I spotted working for the local council on sand clearance work in Fuerteventura back in 2007.

The model was discontinued around 1985, but was reintroduced due to customer demand back in 2020 and continues in the line up to this day.

It was one of the latest models that we encountered at our dealers Rundle & Co Agri Ltd, who are based near Launceston in Cornwall. The machine they have in stock is a 23 plate Ex-Demonstration unit with extremely low hours on the meter.

Tipping the scales at 9,865 kg (9.8 tonnes), and brimming with the latest in Cat technology this machine is powered by a Caterpillar Stage V emissions compliant diesel engine which offers a power output rating of 90kw (121 hp) and features hydrostatic drivetrain, electro-hydraulic controls, optimised Z-Bar loader linkage and 165 L/min hydraulic flow for powering hydraulic work tools.

The machine features a 1.9 𝑚3 minimum bucket capacity, high-lift options are available, and a 10% payload improvement over predecessor models, with a tops speed of 40-42 km/h. This example also features a Volvo headstock, and the deluxe cab with A/C and heated, air suspension seat.

If this is of interest to you, don’t hesitate to get in touch with Josh Rundle on the Rundle and Co Agri Ltd number.

Let's take a look at this model in this promotional video from Caterpillar.