“Doodlebug” Built From Spare Parts
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New York restoration aficionado Forrest Spaulding says he and others in his area are trying to keep the history and heritage of unique vehicles alive, so that’s why he built his own “Doodlebug” from used parts. Doodlebug is the nickname for homemade tractors that were assembled during World War II from miscellaneous auto parts. In upstate N.Y. and New England there are several clubs devoted to building them, and in some areas, running them in pulling events, parades and having special shows.
Spaulding says to build his he used the frame, cowl, rear end, lights and spoked wheels from a 1928 AA Ford truck and the front axles from an early 1930’s Ford AA. He cut down the front wheels and mounted 17.5-in. tubeless Chevrolet pickup rims. The engine, grill and radiator are from an Allis Chalmers WD tractor, and the transmission is from an Allis WC. The vehicle’s box is from a 1950 Chevy pickup, the seat is from a buckboard wagon and operator controls are from the original Ford truck. Two cream cans with metal tractor seats on top provide passenger seating in the rear.
Spaulding says Doodlebugs got their name from an aftermarket tractor kit made by the David Bradley company. They also went by other names such as Friday Tractors, Scrambolas, Jitterbugs and Field Crawlers.
Spaulding says assembling the tractor required a fair amount of bending, twisting and lengthening. The hood, which is glitzed up with the addition of chrome strips from a 1953 Ford, was re-formed by bending sheet metal around a 3-in. pipe. Old fenders bought at a flea market were formed and bent to cover the rear wheels. The frame was lengthened 10 1/2 in. to accommodate the AC engine.
Spaulding welded a battery case on the frame between the front wheels and changed the charging system from 6 to 12-volts. The extra power required a resistor in the ignition, new bulbs for the headlights and a reinforced cover on the back of the starter. An electric fuel pump, a special elbow to route the exhaust out behind the vehicle rather than under the hood and 750/20 tractor tires rounded out the build.
Spaulding topped his vehicle with a bright blue and orange two-color paint job and named it “Allis Ford”. He says it was a fun project using a pile of old parts to build a vehicle that isn’t fancy but runs well and is fun to use.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Forrest Spaulding, Upstate New York.
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“Doodlebug” Built From Spare Parts TRUCKS Conversions New York restoration aficionado Forrest Spaulding says he and others in his area are trying to keep the history and heritage of unique vehicles alive so that’s why he built his own “Doodlebug” from used parts Doodlebug is the nickname for homemade tractors that were assembled during World War II from miscellaneous auto parts In upstate N Y and New England there are several clubs devoted to building them and in some areas running them in pulling events parades and having special shows Spaulding says to build his he used the frame cowl rear end lights and spoked wheels from a 1928 AA Ford truck and the front axles from an early 1930’s Ford AA He cut down the front wheels and mounted 17 5-in tubeless Chevrolet pickup rims The engine grill and radiator are from an Allis Chalmers WD tractor and the transmission is from an Allis WC The vehicle’s box is from a 1950 Chevy pickup the seat is from a buckboard wagon and operator controls are from the original Ford truck Two cream cans with metal tractor seats on top provide passenger seating in the rear Spaulding says Doodlebugs got their name from an aftermarket tractor kit made by the David Bradley company They also went by other names such as Friday Tractors Scrambolas Jitterbugs and Field Crawlers Spaulding says assembling the tractor required a fair amount of bending twisting and lengthening The hood which is glitzed up with the addition of chrome strips from a 1953 Ford was re-formed by bending sheet metal around a 3-in pipe Old fenders bought at a flea market were formed and bent to cover the rear wheels The frame was lengthened 10 1/2 in to accommodate the AC engine Spaulding welded a battery case on the frame between the front wheels and changed the charging system from 6 to 12-volts The extra power required a resistor in the ignition new bulbs for the headlights and a reinforced cover on the back of the starter An electric fuel pump a special elbow to route the exhaust out behind the vehicle rather than under the hood and 750/20 tractor tires rounded out the build Spaulding topped his vehicle with a bright blue and orange two-color paint job and named it “Allis Ford” He says it was a fun project using a pile of old parts to build a vehicle that isn’t fancy but runs well and is fun to use Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Forrest Spaulding Upstate New York
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