Help me indentify this tractor....:)

[Coyote]

Late 40's maybe ???

 

[bg71361]

Close 1938.

Minneapolis-Moline's 1938 UDLX Comfortractor combined a car and a tractor, just not with much success

See link for more info.
Hemmings Motor News: 1938 Farm On!

 

[Coyote]

I can't believe it! I thought it was a joke! I found that on a web site and it was titled "redneck tractor"

 

[Farmwithjunk]

Sorta out of the price range of your typical redneck though. They sell in excess of $125,000 in fair to good condition. I know of one that sold for $141,000 last year.

 

[RonR]

One of my former neighbors got interested in these; don't think he ever found one to buy.

He told me those tractors had a FAST road gear and would run close to 40MPH in top gear when used as a "car".............

I can't imagine going that fast on a tractor...........

ron

 

[diyDave]

One of these UDLX's sold at auction, I think it was Auman's in Illinois, maybe it was Polk's auction, but I think it went for over $150K, about 2 weeks ago!

 

[JoeinTX]

Yeah, does seem like a pretty screwy idea now or then. I believe it was born out of a Depression-era mindset where the struggling farm family would not have to buy a car/truck AND tractor when they could just buy one of MM's ComforTractors and have both.

Well, it was still pretty much tractor (no power steering, iffy tractor breaks of the time, no suspension, bad visibility for either a car or tractor) and not car and didn't go anywhere.


We find it funny to think of car-like amenities and high speed road gears on a tractor, but in Europe today they use their tractors very often on highways as prime movers much, much more so than we would ever consider doing in N.A. Items such as the highway tranny, suspension, modern brakes, etc are all in place on many Euro-spec machines today to achieve better highway handling.

 

[mjncad]

I like it just because it's unique.

 

[lhfarm]

Yeah, does seem like a pretty screwy idea now or then. I believe it was born out of a Depression-era mindset where the struggling farm family would not have to buy a car/truck AND tractor when they could just buy one of MM's ComforTractors and have both.

Well, it was still pretty much tractor (no power steering, iffy tractor breaks of the time, no suspension, bad visibility for either a car or tractor) and not car and didn't go anywhere.


We find it funny to think of car-like amenities and high speed road gears on a tractor, but in Europe today they use their tractors very often on highways as prime movers much, much more so than we would ever consider doing in N.A. Items such as the highway tranny, suspension, modern brakes, etc are all in place on many Euro-spec machines today to achieve better highway handling.

I don't mean to highjack this thread, but Willys tired to make the Jeep into the all purpose vehicle. In an early (~1945) promotion film, they show a farmer and his Jeep pulling wagons, using the belt pulley, hauling sacks of grain in the rear (like a p/u) and then driving the family (mom in white gloves, two kids in the back seat) to church. You can see some ads at our Web site Vintage Farm Jeep Ads and over on the CJ2A page Willys Jeep CJ2A Advertising.

The Jeep was aimed at the same market as the MM UDLX - the two mule, 40 acre family farmer that still made up much of the population. There was no money for a car, a truck and a tractor. Lots of important history that is being lost as those generations pass on.

 

[bones1]

That is an interesting tractor.