VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1912-1928 '28 Chevy Doodlebug- Is it the original engine? Whats the rear?, etc..

Hi there, I finally got around to posting pictures of my Dad's Doodlebug that we got running again after 30 years of storage. It's a '28 chevy with what we believe is the original engine. I think it's a National and would have had a 107" wheelbase so it looks like the rear axle was moved forward 42". The front wheels came off of a 30's Chrysler and we think the rear and rear wheels are from a Modle T? Not sure if the transmission is original. Pretty sure the steering wheel is original (minus the rubber) same with the fuel tank, it was just relocated to be gravity fed. Is the hood original? Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!


https://www.dropbox.com/sh/baio6k8oxc6b99u/AABmeg1hoPvpz5VcfjmORBcHa?dl=0

For sure you have a 1928 engine. Looks like it should run. Quite a toy if you get it operational.

Very cool vehicle! You're going to have a ball taking it out in public!

The transmission is from a '28 one ton truck because it is a four speed. First gear is a granny gear which will go super slow with tons of torque. Great for parades too. ;-)

I suspect the rear end is from a Ford truck, but other folks will have to weigh in on that.

Cheers, Dean

I looked at the pictures and you do have a Ford Model TT truck single speed worm drive rear axle in it.

Your 1928 engine was cast on May 3, 1928.

What a fantastic and classic doodlebug. It was made from available parts with basic tools for very little money. It is everything a doodlebug should be.
Your fuel tank is also from a Model T Ford. The filer neck and outlet locations have been changed.

MIke

Thanks for all the replies! This is a huge help when it comes to service and parts. I have tons of memories of my brother and I playing on it and pretending to drive it when we were kids. When we pulled it out of my dads shed 3 weeks ago it was the first time I had actually seen it in the daylight. Bringing it to my house and getting it running has been an absolute blast. I put it in granny gear and putted around the yard a bit this past weekend. It goes so slow that I jumped off and walked along side of it. I felt like a kid again and couldn’t wipe the smile off my face. I’ll continue to post more pictures and a few videos as the project moves along. The next step is fluid change of the transmission and rear, then I suppose getting the brakes working again would be helpful. We’re going to build a simple wood floor and wood bench on buggy springs. I found the shell of a 1936 mullins trailer in the woods a few weeks ago that I’m hoping to make a trailer for the kids. I’m really looking forward to attending a few tractor shows next year!

It looks very handy for dragging other project cars around lol. Any idea of the usage history on this prior to your dad or did your dad even use it for something interesting?

My dad bought it from the nephew of the original owner about 30 yrs ago. It was driven up into the early forties but ended up in car accident which is when they converted to a tractor. Pretty sure it lived most of its life near the Poconos. My understanding is they used it around the farm too pull wagons around. Not a crazy story and unfortunately no pictures of it being used back then. I’m not sure what happened but it quit running on my dad and it ended up getting parked. I guess with two young boys and other projects he didn’t have much time to mess with it. I’m just really glad that he held on to it all these years. I had it running for about an hour this afternoon and took it down my road and back twice. I took the muffler off and there wasn’t any smoke so it must have just been the junk in the muffler. Here’s a couple videos from today.


https://www.dropbox.com/sh/0gpudvw0t2jlsf5/AACSf14G1eeGWVOFRub4CuGwa?dl=0

Love those videos! Sounds great too!

Don't forget to oil the rocker arms. The oil pump DOES NOT push oil up there.

You should have a felt pad that covers the rocker arms and soak it with 10-30W oil. The original spec was to squirt oil on the rockers every 50 miles.

Every time I take one of my trucks out, I oil the rockers and I give the grease cup on the water pump a little twist inward. I also check the oil level on the dip stick and use the dip stick to put a drop or two on the front bushing of the water pump. There is a tiny oil reservoir behind the water pump pulley.

Cheers, Dean

Engine sounds really strong. That is really cool!

It has has the oil pad and I was wondering how often I should oil. I guess for what we’ll be doing with it, just a few squirts each time we get it out would be enough. Do you oil through the four holes on the valve cover or do you pull the cover? I put new grease in the distributor and water pump cups last week but forgot to turn them today. The idle sounds high in the one video because of having the pull knob hand throttle out. We noticed that at regular idle the battery doesn’t seem to charge so I was worried that if it cut out, I wouldn’t have the juice to start it back up. I still have plenty of reading to do in regards to service and maintenance.

I usually pop the rocker cover off and squirt some oil onto each rocker and top of the push rods. BTW, there should be little felt donuts around the ball of the rocker that gets pushed up by the push rods. That little donut gets a little squirt of oil too.

The grease that you use for the water pump should be marine grease, not chassis or bearing grease. The marine grease is engineered to deal with bearings that are in close proximity of water.

I put bearing grease in the distributor grease cap since it eventually will make its way into the bottom end of the engine. It does not need a twist before every startup. The owner's manual and repair manual cover the intervals between twists.

Cheers, Dean

Nothing wrong with what Dean has told you about removing the valve cover to do a detail oiling, however the purpose of the 4 holes in the cover is to allow oiling without removing the cover.

Thanks for the Tips! Model TT wheel puller is in transit. I’ll be out of town the rest of this week so I won’t be able to tear into the brakes until next week. My brother just came across some old rough cut 2x4s from a chicken coop that was built in the 30s and my dad had some old oak boards also. The goal is to make the bench seat and floor look like its been there for years.

GHarless; The job number 8200 indicates that it started life as a touring car. (convertible)
Nice little doodlebug.
Steve

The cowl is actually from a '28 sedan/coupe,as you can see where the windscreen pillars were.

Neat to know that it was a touring car/ sedan. I started messing around this evening since I’m waiting on a few rear axle parts to come in. After a few youtube videos I found out that boiled linseed oil makes rust look cool... or at least better.... i’ve been wondering what to do with this thing since its too far gone to paint it and it just wouldn’t do it justice. Thought was to leave it as-is and have the ”˜barn find look’. I did a few test spots on the frame, then the cowl, then the hood and next think I know I spent two hours rubbing in linseed oil. Really happy with how it came out so far. It actually brought out a few spots of red paint on the hood that I didn’t know were there. People say after a few days it will soak in completely and leave a matte finish. Guess we’ll see.. Here’s a few pictures.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/vncx6rzn2f8gv7m/Photo%20Nov%2020%2C%207%2052%2035%20PM.jpg?dl=0


https://www.dropbox.com/s/t81v8nsnorqhxuf/Photo%20Nov%2020%2C%207%2056%2037%20PM.jpg?dl=0

Looking good!

Here's working links:

• First picture of the 'oiled' Doodlebug
• Second picture of the 'oiled' Doodlebug

Cheers, Dean