Hot Rods Dissecting a Bug

I have been having the urge to build another little modified and Continental John was kind enough to sell me a '32 Doodlebug frame that had a couple of extra pounds of steel welded onto it, the guy that built it must have got a new welder for Christmas 'cause he went nuts. John cut a couple hundred lbs. off before I got it and it was still all that we could do to get it in the back of the pick up to get it home. Anyway here's a pic. of one I built a few years ago from an old cut off frame and I'm thinking of doing something similar this time low and lean. Also some pics. of the cleaning up of the frame or dissecting a bug.

 

I like the mock-up pic. That extra strap welded on the frame makes you wonder what they were trying to accomplish?

 

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There's a bunch of Doodlebug parts on the market around here at the moment. Folks seem to be doing some fall cleanup.

 

Getting light enough to move around by myself now. View attachment 3040700 View attachment 3040700 View attachment 3040700

 

I love doodlebugs. Found one local but the owner won't sell it.

 

I love them too.

Just wish they weren't called doodlebugs.


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I have multiple doodlebugs in the back yard. Cool old machines. Actually put one back on the road. Certainly, no competition at the shows. One has two rearends, to make more power, rather than two trans.

Good luck with your next project.

Rusty

 

For shawn,in canada they were called autotrac's after a popular kit of the time,make your a into a tractor..be well.

 

Keeps getting lighter, had to do a little mockery to take a break from grinding for a while.

 

What are you thinking for the rear end on the frame, a box tube kick up with a perch or flat crossmember?

 

I've got some old frame rails on the back of a '32 doodlebug wrecker that I'm cutting off to make the kick up.

 

NEET!

I like that kind of stuff. I've been toying with using sections of the T frame from my touring to make the K member out of.

 

This is a VERY low buck project at least until I sell my roadster which probably won't be until spring. So for now I'm just digging through my junk and trying to find something that will work.

 

Is that the chassis I saw at Hershey? Nice to see you have another build for the winter. Bob

 

Rusty: You should post some pics of your stuff for us to look at. Tim

 

Yes it is Bob, wish I'd had a cut off saw there I'd have left a couple hundred pounds of scrap there. I've already run into my first dilemma I mocked it up with the kick up in place and with the rear cross at the very end it's exactly 103" I had no intention of doing an A but it seems a waste to cut it shorter now. I thought I could slide the cross member ahead to about 96" and do the modified with a little overhang on the back. I saw you at Hershey once while walking around but you were holding court at your spot so I kept moving thinking I'd be back by but never made it.

 

Sorry I missed you at Hershey. Thought you'd like to know this thread is the first one I read with my 3 year old Grandson, he's into John Deere and firewood and really enjoyed it. Bob

 

kind of neat that doodlebug in different parts of the nation mean different things , in Indiana , and upper michigan it was a tractor ( the one you had might have been set up to be a tractor that would explain the extra metal for ballast ) , your parts it was a race car . my grandfather told me when he was a kid in the 30's they used to run them in reverse because of the lower gearing and sat on the cowl . and rigged a way to run dual tires with chains on them

 

Bob, That's great, the other half of the wood is in the garage that's why I'm working outside. Tell your Grandson we stack it in the spring and to bring good gloves haha.

 

Kickin' it.

 

A little more progress.

 

Wow looks great and stoked you got it and are saving her. I would have to say over 500 pounds came off the frame. The rearend was HUGE with full floating axles and 2 inches in diameter. It was mounted with C caps and that was the notch in the rear rails. A few pictures of the doodlebug in its original tractor configuration.

 

Thanks John, I'm still cutting stuff off here and there but some of the flat stock welded to the inside of the rails I can't get to so this thing will have a little more traction haha. I tried to save the front cross but screwed it up so I'll be changing it out for an A front cross I got at Hershey. Here's a pic. of the rear kick up a little further along.

 

Been trying to get this thing ready to move inside gotta love this weather.

 

Frame jigs are over rated. Bob

 

Haha, my back yard didn't come with one.

 

Little more done yesterday couldn't help myself I had to move the rear cross up to "modified" length just to see how it would look. That would be 96" where it is now I may go with it and then if I wanted to go back to the Model A wheelbase I could just reverse the axle tubes to get it. I had no intention to build this to 103" it just worked out that way and for some reason made me feel obligated to keep it at 103"

 

Fresh can of Blitz Black just gotta cut off the extra frame past the rear cross to modified length haha.

 

Nice booth, I just spent $31.00 on a can of reducer, still suffering sticker shock. Bob

 

Haha, fits right in with my frame jig.