Swisher Ride King Riding Mower

When I saw this mower in an older gentlemen's yard with a for sale sign on it, I knew I had to have it.  It is clearly awesome.  It's a tricycle, and the front wheel is the powered wheel, and it has continuous rotation so it steers exactly like a bumper car.  I laugh out loud every time I mow with it, which is every chance I get.  It's a Swisher Ride King, although I don't know the year.  I'm guessing somewhere in the late 70s to early 80s, but it could be as early as the 60s.  I really don't know.

Now, is it the best mower ever?  Not by a long shot.  The tricycle action makes it tippy, which causes scalping because the deck doesn't float. Also, I'm pretty sure the tipping is going to cause it to cut part of my foot off one of these days.  The traction is poor as well, so I have to mow side to side on my hilly front yard, because it won't go up the hill without spinning the front wheel.  Sideways on a hill = tippy, btw.  Lastly, the quality of cut is pretty bad.  My yard looks much better with my push mower, but I think I'm missing a piece of metal under the deck that contours to the blades, creating an updraft and directing the grass out the side.  I'll have to make something and weld it in.

With all that being said, it's still the most awesome mower ever.  It is insanely small and maneuverable, has tons of moving parts, looks great, and most importantly it's an absolute blast to mow with.

Here's a link to the owner's manual:

http://www.swisherinc.com/manuals/PDF/ZT/A32_R32.pdf

As long as we're talking about awesome vintage mowers, at the steam and tractor show I saw what the dude told me was a vintage Montgomery Ward branded Peerless riding mower, with a rear engine (which was missing) and joystick steering/throttle/brake control.  The mower deck looked like gold painted aluminum.  It was beautiful, but I can't find anything about it on the internets.  I kick myself for not buying it (only $50!).