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That's an interesting comparsion, ought to spark some debate on the ACME and or ACMOC discussion forums, you should post that question there too. You have a good idea what the G series can do from owning it and having spent time in the seat.
That D8H series is going to be noticably a little heavier, not that the D7G is a lightweight, but could make the difference in soft ground. Other than that, it's obviously got more power, larger blade depending on what's fitted to it. Production for cutting and pushing material would probably be better than the 7G, although it's newer by series than the D8H, and I would think fuel consumption would be more for the H. I'll be honest, having never run neither of those, but having spent a lot of time on the next series D8K's and knowing what my mid 40's D7 is like to run, ( which is like comparing apples to oranges comparing to a later G series LOL ! ) that H series would be fine for the job, as long as the soil condtions are not soft or wet, both the 7 and the 8 are heavy enough to use care in soft ground, get either one stuck, can be a chore to get out. As I have heard many times, people compared the older D7's as being too big for small work and underpowered to do larger work, preference was for the D8's as they had more power. This may have been for older series than what you are comparing here. Obviously HP increased on all their models as the series changed, but I'd think there would still be a significant gap between both those models, the G was the last oval track D7 they made, (in other countries it was still in production not that long ago) but the H was superceded by the K in 1974, it had a good run starting production in the late 50's, many people preferred them over the K's, for reliability, I'd still think it would hold an edge over a newer D7G.
I'd have to wonder if any of the Cat performance handbooks would have any useful information to compare these models, someone here or on those other boards may have a copy, I've seen various editions of them on e-bay but never bought one.
For what you are proposing to do, either one of those would be a good choice, clearing, grubbing, stripping top soil, stockpiling, and placing road sub base materials, even an old D7 like mine in decent working order would handle those tasks, just take longer.
Matter of opinion, but I'd prefer one that checks out after careful inspection to be in good field ready condition, so as not to have something too unreliable for the work at hand, or one that requires considerable rebuilding and repair. I'd rent what I needed if the schedule was tight, until I found one in the right condition, as sometimes owning has a few advantages, as at least it's there when you have time to do the work or need it for other tasks after the major work is done. Rentals eliminate the repair hassles and provide late model, fuel efficient machines that are highly productive in the right hands. I like to do the majority of work with rental units when possible, less hours on whatever you may own.
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