I just bumped into this photo on Flickr while looking for something else… such a cool old truck!
The photo belongs to Flickr user Ned & Neva; unfortunately there’s no clues as to where the truck was when the photo was snapped. The caption below the photo says it’s a “1929 Ford Ag Uitlity Vehicle”, and you can see hints of the Ford Model A cowl, door frame & dashboard, but the colors scream Ford 8N tractor. From the Flickr pages, it looks like it was taken at an event held at the Michigan Flywheelers Museum in Bangor, MI, which looks to be just down the road from Muskegon, one of our favorite vacation spots! Next time we’re in the area…
I’ve heard the term “doodlebug” many times before, and according to Wikipedia, it can refer to a lot of different things, but in this case a doodlebug is “a home-made tractor made in the United States during World War II when production tractors were in short supply. The Doodlebug of the 1940s was usually based on a 1920s or 1930s era Ford automobile which was then modified either by the complete removal or alteration of some of the vehicle body.” That description seems to fit this little gem perfectly.
What I was looking for was a higher resolution image of a sign like this…
I don’t recall ever seeing that as an ad or a sign before, but I think I can hear Dad saying something like it! I might have to make something like that to hang on my shed, or in the garage.