A few weeks ago, we featured a young man in 1944 driving around his California back yard in a tractor built by his father.  And it’s not inconceivable that the father was inspired by this picture, which appeared in the August 1939 issue of Popular Mechanics.

The constructor of the 1939 version is described only as a “Maine radio man.”  The tractor was put together for entertainment, as well as practical use in the garden.  It measured five feet long and three feet high, and was powered by a two cycle 3/4 HP washing machine motor, with a three speed motorcycle transmission.  Thus, the young man shown here was undoubtedly adept at using the clutch.