Orange Is The New VAS

Eric Del Ponte, of West Bend, Wisc., brings the soul of a hot-rodder to the vintage tractor game as evidenced by his slammed—or lowered—1939 Allis Chalmers Model B. Found through a "Wanted to buy…" ad he placed on Craigslist, Eric tells us, "I'm not really partial to any brand—I just like to tinker with (old tractors)."

Eric had seen other slammed A-C Model Bs before (check out the March 2013 issue of AcreageLife for one such example), prompting him to try his hand. Eric says, "I was like, 'Ah, that's cool! I want to do that someday.' But I wanted to put my own spin on it."

And spin he did. Along with a custom paint job that eschews Allis' "Persian Orange" for a metallic orange base coat that's slightly lighter than stock and topped with a matte clear coat, other unique features include 22.5˝×13˝ steel semi-truck rear wheels, Mickey Thompson drag racing tires up front with Double Coin 385/65R22.5s in back, a Chevy Corvair steering box, 12-volt charging system, and custom headers, intake, and fenders.

First shown at the 2015 SEMA Show in Las Vegas, Nev., Eric's Model B was then shown at this year's World Of Wheels in Milwaukee, Wisc. "This summer, I plan on showing it as much as I can," Eric tells us, so keep your eyes peeled at tractor shows throughout the Midwest.

Family style
The Del Pontes worked together to create this masterpiece. Eric's youngest brother, Ryan, took these photos. His middle brother, Kyle, was responsible for the paint job, while father Dave also dedicated his expertise and time to the project.