1928 Model AA

[kennebunksawmill]

Does anyone still make homemade tractors out of old Ford trucks? I have this early 28' Model AA & I'm not sure what to do w/it. I'm pretty sure it will run, it's got a factory Ford flatbed & 2 speed rear.
<a href="http://s218.photobucket.com/albums/cc34/1951cub/?action=view&current=1928modelA002.jpg" target="_blank">

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[John Harmon]

Restore it or sell it to some one who will. They are not being made any more and destroying it to create a 'tractor' is wrong,IMO

 

[Dennis (VA)]

Please advertise it in Hemmings in the hope someone would put it back together. Or do it yourself and getting a Fordson to haul would make a nice show piece. Wish I had the time and knowledge to do it myself and the money of course.

 

[JDemaris]

In my area of NY, there are AAs all over the place. And to a lesser degree, TTs. I bought two AAs in running condition last summer for $150 each. The sheet metal is the most valuable part of them if intact and not rusted off.

I've also got a shortened AA that somebody built into a tow-truck. The winch on the back is built from a worm-drive TT rear axle.

 

[Animal]

Trade it for a tractor

 

[Randall SE-MN.]

I'm in the process of restoring my Dads '29 AA, sure puts a dent in the tractor budget...

 

[BDT/NWMN]

Good old truck is just fine the way it is... Pull to it's well deserved site along the road and then "hire" some drivers... New Years Baby for Jan.. Cupid for Feb..don't Forget the groundhog, Frosty the Snowman, then the Easter Bunny, May basket Bunny, Graduation people, A farmer and load of hay for June,, Parade ribbons for July, Campers in August, Gobblins for Haloween, The Thanksgiving Turkey, Santa Claus..

that old truck should be good for a million sMILES

 

[Walterdavies]

Not much left of that old truck I would let someone who restores old Models As have it for parts. At lest it will help someone else have a running truck.
Walt

When i was in high school one of my friends had 1.5 ton model A we had a lot of fun in that old truck trying to get it stuck.

 

[Wardner]

In NH there is an active doodlebug pulling group. Their territory may even extend into ME and VT. I have only seen them pull once but I'll bet they have 30-40 AAs that compete. That was at the big antique truck show in Northwood (?), NH. If that is not the right town it is about 50 miles above the MA border along RT 125. Should be able to find something about that group using Google, Facebook, or Yahoo Groups.

 

[kennebunksawmill]

Thanks, for the ones you saw, were most of them cut down? I've got to take a better inventory on what I'm starting with, I used my loader to pick it up...I know the 2 rear wheels are locked up tight, the trans seems to shift, the clutch pedal is frozen, the 2 speed pedal is there, I was able to turn over the motor by removing the starter & using a prybar on the flywheel. I "think" my gas tank is good. My cowl is rusty, but, seems to be staying in one place, there is no glass left, I have the frame of a seat & some of the wood floor is still there. It's a project for sure.

 

[JDemaris]

In my area, the AAs were rarely cut down. Most were used as rack-body or flatbed farm trucks. On the other hand, the As were often cut up and down and made into all kinds of farm equipment. I guess being lighter and smaller,they worked better for that purpose.

Last year, I bought six Model As from an old farmer that had them all sitting in a swamp-woods. Some had big white pine trees growing right through them. Every one of them had been made into some sort of haying equipment. Paid $100 each and it was quite a job go get them out. Took a lot of torch work and chainsawing.

 

[Toby Oats]

The red truck behind it looks like an 86, am i right? We got one those but the dogs always fall out. haha. Toby.

 

[Wardner]

That's the definition of a Doodlebug. It is a cut down truck. They all have heavy rearends and many have two transmissions. They were used by poor farmers but many were used to pull freight cars. I'll bet alot were used by loggers and many put into snowplow service.

I just searched on "Doodlebug pulling" and found the site below. There are 10 pulls a year in Maine alone. Probably several near Kennebunk. Email the Webmaster and he will probably send you more links than you can read in a night. YouTube must have hundreds of Doodlebug videos.
Click for Doodlebugs/Maine Tractor Club

 

[RayP(MI)]

You can make anything into anything if you apply enough work and ingenuity. That one looks like it'll take a lot of both!

 

[Jim in Ma.]

That rear end may be ok. I think it is a worm drive.

 

[JDemaris]

(quoted from post at 15:06:56 02/07/10) That rear end may be ok. I think it is a worm drive.

Worm drive in an AA? I've never seen one with it. That's what the TTs use.