In the hard years of the American Great Depression, and also during the first years of World War II, it was common for many farmers and peasants to transform cars into tractors, cars like the Ford Model-A. It was not only done due to savings or lack of money, but also due to a shortage of mechanical means of agriculture due to the war effort. These homemade tractors were known as “Doodlebugs”, and although their existence is now an anecdote, fortunately there are those who want to preserve them for the future.
Most were scrapped, but their mechanical simplicity and toughness allowed them to many units survived for decades, forgotten in an old barn or parked under the trees. This is the case of the unit in this video, who lived a similar story until she was rescued years ago. However, she spent eight years outdoors. She was rescued by a client of AMMO NYC-a top notch detailer-and started without much difficulty after putting some oil, water in the radiator, some gasoline and cleaning its spark plugs.
He was never washed in his 91 years and a tree had to be cut down to get him out of his torpor.
It was covered in branches and spider webs, and rust seemed to cover all its surfaces. The client wanted to keep its worn appearance, its patina, and after a thorough cleaning, all its corners were sealed with an anti-rust product. It is highly satisfying to see the cleanliness of a never restored relic like a Doodlebug, to contemplate remains of the original paint on the engine or the yellow color of its body. But it is more comforting to know that it will possibly be with us, working, for decades or centuries.
