The Roof Palamino
Tractor or Jeep?
by Steve Nelson
My father-in-law purchased this jeep-like lawn mower back in 1968. He
says he paid $1600.00 for it, which was big bucks back then for a mower.
My own father bought a VW bug the same year for the same price. Well it
may have seemed extravagant then, however who knows what ever happened to
the bug, while the roof mower is still doing it's job.
I use it to mow
every week or so. It's so unusual that people often do a double take
driving by when I'm near the road. My neighbor told me that he had heard
that there were a couple of web-sites dedicated to old tractors and lawn
mowers where people had written in looking for information about mowers like
mine. So I did some looking and found this site and one other.
I'm including a
couple of recent photos. I'd be happy to send more information if anyone
is interested. I'm also in the process of finding out more about the
company that built these unusual mowers. One story is that one of the
sons of "Mr. Roof" came back from a stint in the service (Viet Nam?)
and designed the Palomino to look like a jeep. Sounds like a plausible
theory.
The Roof Mfg. Co. was in Pontiac, IL and is now out of business
but people there still remember quite a lot about the company. I've been
in touch with some who used to work there in the 60's. I'm very pleased
that there is interest in this good old mower of mine (actually it's on
semi-permanent loan from my father-in-law).
In the past whenever
something would break or wasn't running too well, I would envy my
neighbors' new John Deere lawn tractors... now I consider my unusual
mower a priceless antique! I'm thinking about fully restoring it to it's
original state. So I'll be looking for a few parts I've been getting
along without (stock muffler & tailpipe, blade clutch, stuff like
that). A paint job wouldn't hurt either, but it's never been babied and
this is the original paint.
This thing was made of some pretty heavy
gage steel. We often remind my wife of the time she was hurrying through
a mowing job (the thing will do about 20 mph) and accidentally backed into
the corner of the garage doing MAJOR damage to their garage! The mower???
not a scratch! This thing has real heavy duty bumpers! So far, although
I've found some people on the internet who have heard of Roof
Palomino’s, I have not heard of another one that anyone owns, or even
remembers ever seeing. I'd be interested in any other stories or
pictures anyone else has. Until then, look for me on Saturday mornings,
I'll be out there!
[Comment On This Article] - [View Other Comments]
| Same-Day Shipping! Most of our stocked parts ship the same day you order (M-F). Expedited shipping available, just call! Most prices for parts and manuals are below our competitors. Compare our super low shipping rates! We've kept the same low rate for six years. We are a Company you can trust and have generous return policies! Shop Online Today or call our friendly sales staff toll free (800) 853-2651. [ More Info ] |
Home
| Tractor Manuals
| Tractor Parts
| Forums
Copyright © 1997-2012 Yesterday's Tractor Co. - A Washington State Corporation
All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of any part of this website, including design and content, without written permission is strictly prohibited. Trade Marks and Trade Names contained and used in this Website are those of others, and are used in this Website in a descriptive sense to refer to the products of others. Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy TRADEMARK DISCLAIMER: Tradenames and Trademarks referred to within Yesterday's Tractor Co. products and within the Yesterday's Tractor Co. websites are the property of their respective trademark holders. None of these trademark holders are affiliated with Yesterday's Tractor Co., our products, or our website nor are we sponsored by them. John Deere and its logos are the registered trademarks of the John Deere Corporation. Agco, Agco Allis, White, Massey Ferguson and their logos are the registered trademarks of AGCO Corporation. Case, Case-IH, Farmall, International Harvester, New Holland and their logos are registered trademarks of CNH Global N.V. Yesterday's Tractors - Antique Tractor Headquarters |
About this site - Yesterday's Tractors is your one-stop source for antique tractors. If you use antique tractors, collect antique tractors, or just enjoy looking at antique tractors, welcome to our site! Join more than 275,000 other classic tractor enthusiasts from all over the globe. We have many resources for antique tractor enthusiasts available including photos, classified ads, more than 24 antique tractor forums, show guide, values, specs and much more. Bookmark this site and come back often. Thanks for stopping by! Feel free to use our feedback form to send us your comments, suggestions and ideas.
|
|
