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Posted

If your not sure what a doodlebug is, it's what people used during the depression & during WWII for a tractor. If you couldn't afford a tractor or you couldn't buy one (during WWII) you built one using old parts from what was around. Model A Fords were popular for this because Henry made millions of them & they were easy & cheap to fix. Just get rid of that pesky body, shorten the frame, add a transmission and your off. I've had many over the years, this is what I learned to drive on, skidding logs & moving stuff in the junkyard. I still have it today & use it often, it's a 1933 Ford School bus my father cut down & added a Mercury Flathead v8 & an old wrecker boom.

Anyway, here is one of my models of one, a 29 Model A with 2 transmissions & a trailer made from parts. I built the cross cut saw from one of my worn out hobby blades. The last picture is of my real 33 Ford Doodlebug!

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Posted

Outstanding build, very realistic.  Some of the farmers around when I grew up had these.  One guy used his to pull "bakker" (tobacco) sleds from the field to the barns.  Thanks for the memories.

Posted

Very cool build!! I like it!!

Sears and Roebuck actually offered a kit to convert a Model T into a tractor back then although most were made with good old fashion creativity.

These Doodlebug tractors of yours are really making me want to build one.

Excellent Work!!

Posted

Thanks guys! Your right Brian my father had a Sears conversion for a Model T years ago. I found some old pictures of it...

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Posted

Wow! that Sears conversion must have had some serious "grunt";  Dual tranies, A two speed rear end And a monster chain reduction!  Might not have been fast but I'll bet not much would stop it.

Oh, I almost forgot, I really like your model as well.  That crosscut saw looks a lot like the one I have hanging in my shop.

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