Toolbox Trade for a Rockol Tractor

By Bill Vossler
Published on September 7, 2016
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The restored and repainted front of the Rockol tractor renews the sleek of a machine that is some 66 years old.
The restored and repainted front of the Rockol tractor renews the sleek of a machine that is some 66 years old.
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Side views of the rare 1949 Rockol Model B 77 tractor.
Side views of the rare 1949 Rockol Model B 77 tractor.
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The Rockol used a Dodge 217-cubic-inch, 6-cylinder flathead engine.
The Rockol used a Dodge 217-cubic-inch, 6-cylinder flathead engine.
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Steering wheel and dash gauges on the Rockol Model B 77.
Steering wheel and dash gauges on the Rockol Model B 77.
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Paul Husmann at the wheel of his rare 1949 Rockol Model B 77.
Paul Husmann at the wheel of his rare 1949 Rockol Model B 77.
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Rear view of the Rockol tractor, which was rated to pull three 14-inch plows. “I suspect this tractor had more power than a tractor of the same rating,” Paul says, “even though it has less weight.”
Rear view of the Rockol tractor, which was rated to pull three 14-inch plows. “I suspect this tractor had more power than a tractor of the same rating,” Paul says, “even though it has less weight.”
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Four unique tractors (left to right): Custom 98, Wards, Custom Model C and a Rockol.
Four unique tractors (left to right): Custom 98, Wards, Custom Model C and a Rockol.

Paul Husmann knows a good deal when he sees one, so when he got the opportunity to trade a toolbox for a tractor, he jumped at the chance. Even better, the tractor is a rare 1949 Rockol Model B 77, sold by Rock Oil Co. of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

But there was nothing underhanded about the deal. “I’d been bugging my brother-in-law about that tractor for a few years until he decided to sell it or trade it,” Paul says. “He said he needed a toolbox for his shop, and I had an empty one available, so we made the trade. He knew it was a rare tractor, and he decided he was never going to do anything about restoring it, so we traded.”

Abandoned to a weed patch

The Rockol was not Paul’s first old iron project, as evidenced by several antique tractors on his property near Cold Spring, Minnesota: a Ford 9N, an Oliver 70 Standard, a Farmall 450 and a Minneapolis-Moline 445. “On our dairy farm, the Moline is what I grew up on,” he says.

From Edmonton, his Rockol was shipped to Divide County, North Dakota, where a local farmer owned it for several years. Later, Paul’s brother-in-law and cousin bought it at an estate sale to use it as an auger tractor.

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