"Doodlebug tractor is the colloquial American English name for 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."
"The DoodleBug, which was a nickname for the aftermarket tractor kit made by David Bradley, "The old DB". Initially, the idea of the homemade tractor came from several catalog and implement companies in the mid-1920s to the mid-1930s, such as New Deal, Peru Plow Co., Thrifty Farmer, Sears Roebuck & Co, Montgomery Ward, Pull Ford, and Johnson Mfg. Co."
"The conversion kits were expensive, some as much as $300, and farmers, hit hard by the Great Depression were a resourceful lot. Magazines like Popular Mechanics and Mechanix Illustrated provided instructions for building a "Handy Henry" from that "old Ford sitting in your back yard, using simple tools anyone would have". The cost to build a "Handy Henry" made from an old Model T car or truck was about $20, according to the 1936 edition of the Handy Man's Home Manual, and this provided a serviceable vehicle with rubber tires, a big truck rear end and two transmissions to make up for the gear reduction with which the kits came."
"These doodlebugs were used to plow, make hay, haul logs, and pull out stumps. To do all this, the doodlebug needed good ground clearance for use in any conditions and climbing almost any terrain. For protection they had a hood, cowl radiator, a small seat, some had a small truck bed, and most had a hitching point with which to tow."
