Manufacturers receive calls for replacement parts from dealers everyday, but a recent call to Mustang Manufacturing Co. Inc., Owatonna, Minn., unearthed a piece of the company’s history.
Mustang was alerted to one of its first model skid-steer loaders still working at a South Dakota farm when Joe Gross of J. Gross Equipment in Aberdeen, S.D., called looking to fix a 1965 skid steer for a farming customer. The belt drive he was looking for hadn’t been used on a Mustang skid steer in more than 40 years.
Not only was the unit still in good working condition, it was No. 18 of the original 25 units off the Mustang production line, according to a news release from Mustang.
Following the production of the first 25 units, Mustang—then known as Owatonna Manufacturing Co.—put the unit through a complete redesign. The drive system was reengineered in the process and this particular drive belt was eliminated.
The unit, now with its third owner, still had the original decals, seat and even tires. It had logged just 339.6 hours in its lifetime.
After hearing of the original skid steer’s existence, Mustang purchased the machine in May and spent three months having it repainted and installing new tires. Other than paint, decals, tires, seat and a few hoses, no other restoration was needed.
The unit is currently on display at the Owatonna Village of Yesteryear.
Mustang Manufacturing Co. celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2005 as a manufacturer of skid-steer loaders. Mustang markets a portfolio consisting of eight skid-steer loaders, 11 compact excavators, seven telehandlers, four all-wheel-steer loaders and three compact track loaders.