Taylor Munnell Tractor, a Florida Conversion
Keith and I are excited about conversion tractors and Doodlebugs lately. A group of these cool tractors are featured as a small part of the Half Century of Progress . The event will be held in Rantoul, Illinois August 21-24, 2025. With this in mind, we’re on the lookout for conversion tractor and doodlebug variations! During our trip to the Florida Flywheelers we were seeking new and different farmer innovations. Our looking was successful.
A new discovery!
We saw lots of conversion kits, and doodlebugs – including one we had never seen before a Taylor Munnell tractor made in Fort Pierce Florida. Friend and conversion tractor expert, Glen Heim told us where to find this gem. Frank Shaw shared how the tractor came to the Flywheelers
The tractor story
The placard on the cute little tractor states, “Donated to Florida Flywheelers by Dudley Diebold of Roxbury, Connecticut. It was built by the Taylor Munnell Machine Shop of Fort Pierce, Florida. It was restored by the Florida Flywheelers from 2022 to 2023.”
The tractor was donated by Mr. Dudley Diebolt of the Diebolt Safe family. Frank said that Mr. Diebolt thought that the tractor should be close to home since it was from Florida. Dudley Diebolt has a huge tractor collection. He keeps them in his museum Double D Living History Farm. Their website states the museum has the largest collection of restored antique tractors and farm equipment in the Northeast. With over 300 tractors, gas engines, antique trucks, there is also an operating sawmill and country life artifacts. Double D. Living History Farm is dedicated to the preservation of early farming techniques and lifestyles through display, demonstration, and education.
Dudley Diebolt said the Taylor Munnell tractor came his way in a collection. “It had been stored away in a barn 10 to 15 years ago. A guy had a bunch of stuff with a T20 bulldozer. He said for $200.00 I could take bulldozer and the rest of the stuff. I gave him the money and collected the bulldozer. When I first saw the little tractor, I thought it was a Doodlebug someone had made out of a Model A.”
He realized it had been manufactured when he saw the equipment tag on the front. With several projects already in the works, Dudley Diebolt said it was a long way from home, and he called a neighbor in nearby Salisbury, Connecticut and gave him the tractor to take to the Florida Flywheelers.
“Taylor Munnell bought Model A Fords to make tractors,” Frank Shaw said, “They paid $50.00 if you dragged it in, and $150 if you drove it in, they made their own chassis.”
Taylor Munnell Machine Shop dealt with Case. A matchbook on EBAY showing both the Taylor Munsell Tractor and J.I. Case name shows this association.
Local History
Nancy Bennett of the St. Lucie Historical Society located in Fort Pierce provided some background “The Taylor Munnell Machine Shop was located on 13th and Delaware Ave. It’s a vacant lot now,” she added.
Looking through city directories, Nancy found they were in business from at least 1949 until around 1960. “I went to school with the daughter, Linda Munnell. They were mostly a distributor of Case parts. We have the Eagle that was at the factory here at the historical society. They sold parts for tractors, farm equipment, mowers, spreaders and had a machine shop.”
The school that Nancy attended had the Fighting Eagles as their mascot. You can visit the historical society and see a bit of this unique history!
The Restoration
The little Taylor Munnell tractor was restored by members of the Florida Flywheelers. Originally the tractor had smaller wheels filled with concrete. They replaced them and removed the sickle bar mower that was attached. “We used what we had for tires. Bobby Conner, one of our members got it going. He was the leader on restoration and the driving force to get it done.”
Frank added the restoration included fixing the spider gear, adding a new rear end out of a Model A Ford, and updating the seat. “When we got it, it just had a single seat.”
It was the brass tag that shows that the tractor was made at a factory. “Without that, I would have thought it was a homemade tractor,” Frank, who is familiar with both conversion tractors and Doodlebugs said. Frank worked at Texaco for years and later worked for the state of Connecticut in their wetland’s restoration.
The Taylor Munnell Tractors were used for mowing on golf courses, parks and estates.
Fun!
Conversion tractors, and doodlebugs are fun pieces of equipment to view! They are a true example of farmer’s making do with what they had. “That’s what it was all about back then,” Nancy Bennett said when I described the tractor we found.
Where have you been that you have seen something unusual, that required farmer innovation?
