Shay Stutsman is relatively new to collecting antique construction equipment, but in a short time he has acquired and had restored some rare specimens.
His first find was in 2016 when he came across a 1949 Cat D4 in Missouri on a used-tractor sales website. The excitement of adding that antique crawler tractor increased his desire for vintage equipment, but he also decided to focus more on the rare and hard-to-find pieces.
“As I started collecting more pieces of Caterpillar old antique tractors, I learned that there is really not a lot of significance with that particular model; there were a lot of D4s from that era made,” he says. “So as I've started my process of collecting more tractors, the goal is to go after more unique, much more rare antique tractors.”
That desire led him to a 1940 Cat D6 with a rare wooden cab that he has had beautifully restored. And though he focuses on Caterpillar equipment, he made an exception for a rare 1987 John Deere 15 mini excavator, the same model that was the first piece of construction equipment he operated – when he was 3 years old.
Here's a shot of the 1940 D6 before restoration.Shay Stutsman
Stutsman bought it and had it sent to Wyoming for restoration by Antique Crawler Parts & Restoration.
“We actually had a cabinet company in Wyoming take the old cab, and they basically took it apart piece by piece and remeasured and re-cut each piece of wood,” he says.
