See the 'classic' tractor that fetched almost £70,000 at auction

Saturday (April 21) saw the latest Cambridge Vintage Sale auction take place at Cheffins Auctioneers’ sale grounds in Sutton, Cambridge (England).

We’ve already brought you a plethora of pictures and accompanying prices from this sale.

Also Read: Auction report: Hammer drops on ‘classics’ – both mainstream and rare

Among the more expensive lots to go under the hammer was this 1966 Doe-130 ‘Tandem Tractor’ (pictured below and above).

Much is known and admired about Doe tractors; their rather unusual configuration always draws a crowd.

The Doe’s true purpose was horsepower. The Doe-130 was built using two Ford 5000 6X skid-units. It was a direct replacement for the Triple-D (Doe Dual Drive), which was manufactured using two E1A Major skid-units.

Producing a hefty 130hp, the Doe-130 met the demand for more power. Alas, more compact 100hp tractors manufactured by the likes of County would prove more popular.

Only 170 Doe-130 units were produced; many were broken up in the mid-1980s, after which their skid-units were sent for export.

Information supplied from Doe headquarters shows that this example – unit D606 – was first sold to J Lanyon & Son (Essex, England). The original logbook shows a first registration date of July 14, 1966.

A 1962 Triple-D was part-exchanged for this D606; some money was knocked off the new price, resulting in a final invoice of £2,500.

D606 has changed hands only a couple of times in its life. The current vendor purchased it in 1998. In 2007, he decided to have the tractor fully refurbished, so it was sent to professional tractor restorer Ben Craig who undertook a three-year project.

Over £40,000 was apparently spent on the tractor; it was finished to a “very high” standard. Showing 5,243 (front) and 5,702 (rear) hours, the original logbook was offered with the tractor on Saturday.

At Saturday’s auction, the tractor fetched a very significant £69,500 (plus VAT).