Doodlebug time!

[Cord]

Ok, I don't need this project, but I kinda fell into it. You see, I saw a K20 Cletrac for sale on Craigslist and I wanted to look at it. The price was right and the tractor was mostly complete so I bought the tractor. The problem is that the seller was a hoarder and some of his stuff is really cool. He's a really nice guy and he's willing to sell so that's bad for me. Let's just say that he's being screened for American Pickers right now. Yea, it's that bad.

Anyways, he had this '34 Dodge Doodlebug and I just had to have it. The cool thing is that FOR HIS ASKING PRICE, I got him to throw in a 341 Hemi and NP345 transmission. I'm paying $50 for a second set of rims so I can run duals (5 bolt 20" rims are stupid hard to find). I don't know just which NP435 trans I have, but it'll be either a 4.56/2.28/1.31/1.0 or a 6.68/3.34/1.66/1.0. With the 6.67 rear gears in the 1941 Ford 1.5 ton axle, 35" tires and 3,500 rpm I would then get 12/24/42/55mph or 8/16/33/55mph. The problem is that I'm going to use this Doodlebug at a local thresheree for plowing and those speeds are too fast. I think what I need to do is a run a second 435 transmission and use that trans as a 4 speed ranger. This would give me 30:1 gears in low-1 for a max speed of 2 mph. That feels a bit more tractor like.

I find find a bunch of threads of the rock crawler guys doing this, but no pictures. I was wondering if any guys on this forum had tried something similar?

 

[davedj1]

Pretty cool, I want to see pics of the cletrac too
What are you going to put the Hemi in?

 

[Cord]

Attached as requested. Motor is loose and he said he drove into it's parking space.

The hemi and trans will go into the Doodlebug.

 

[texasranger556]

Neat project. Subscribed!

 

[Stimw]

I used to have a 1970 Ford Boom Truck that I contract hauled concrete block and building materials with back in the low 70's.
The truck had a 225 Cat engine with a 5 spd main trans and a 4 spd auxiliary trans.
The 4 spd was 1-2-3 and OD (no reverse). It had 2 gear shifts. Once I got the hang of it, it was fun to drive.
You basically drove it like a 5 spd but you had over/under gears. It never bogged down!
It had the 5 spd on the engine and a short driveshaft to the aux trans then drive shaft to the rearends.
When in low, low it would just crawl along with the engine tach-ed out.
If you have the room for 2 transmissions it will work.

 

[Spanner]

Both are nice projects.

 

[airbiscuit]

When I was a kid, we had a 1955 Plymouth with a 6cyl and a 3 on the tree. It was all rusted out, so I tore the body off it - kept the fire wall and front seat. For a 15 year old kid, it was a blast to drive in the fields. It was so light it shot rooster tails up from the spinning rear wheels! I think I saw your doodlebug on Craigslist, but there is no way I could get the boss to approve! You will have fun. Plowing is all well and good, but do throw up some rooster tails.

 

[davedj1]

Neat! Must be a tight fit cramming the Hemi in there?
I like the old dozer

 

[Thomas]

Ahhhh yes memories,make it two setter little dump body for the back you'll have more fun than barrel of monkeys.

 

[GLyford]

My first "real" job was working for a farmer on a produce "picker" made from an old school bus, it had 3 transmissions. They were held together with flanges and deliberately loose bolts since the concentricity wasn't very good, and the 2nd and 3rd transmission would "rock" some. Every so often a bolt would shear or a flange would need welding up to a smaller hole. Power was a 16hp wisconsin double-belted to the original engine crank pulley.

I guess my point is, as long as you aren't trying to run all the power from that hemi though the system, it is surprisingly non-critical how these things are strung together if you allow things to align themselves as they work.

If you have the length to work with, I think I'd be tempted to find a proper U-joint yoke that fits on your input shaft of whatever your 2nd trans is.

 

[lennyzx11]

Ok, I don't need this project, but I kinda fell into it. You see, I saw a K20 Cletrac for sale on Craigslist and I wanted to look at it. The price was right and the tractor was mostly complete so I bought the tractor. The problem is that the seller was a hoarder and some of his stuff is really cool. He's a really nice guy and he's willing to sell so that's bad for me. Let's just say that he's being screened for American Pickers right now. Yea, it's that bad.

Anyways, he had this '34 Dodge Doodlebug and I just had to have it. The cool thing is that FOR HIS ASKING PRICE, I got him to throw in a 341 Hemi and NP345 transmission. I'm paying $50 for a second set of rims so I can run duals (5 bolt 20" rims are stupid hard to find). I don't know just which NP435 trans I have, but it'll be either a 4.56/2.28/1.31/1.0 or a 6.68/3.34/1.66/1.0. With the 6.67 rear gears in the 1941 Ford 1.5 ton axle, 35" tires and 3,500 rpm I would then get 12/24/42/55mph or 8/16/33/55mph. The problem is that I'm going to use this Doodlebug at a local thresheree for plowing and those speeds are too fast. I think what I need to do is a run a second 435 transmission and use that trans as a 4 speed ranger. This would give me 30:1 gears in low-1 for a max speed of 2 mph. That feels a bit more tractor like.

I find find a bunch of threads of the rock crawler guys doing this, but no pictures. I was wondering if any guys on this forum had tried something similar?

You could run a Divorced transfer case like a Dana 20 from old Scouts or Fords behind the Transmission. They had a 2:1 ratio which would double you down from the 4.56LowX6.67 rear= 30.4 to 60to1. IF that tranny had the 6.68 X 6.67 X 2:1 transfer that would get you down around 89:1 ratio which is respectable. 100:1 is what most rock crawlers strive for to creep with.

I've also seen a Sprocket welded onto the output of a tranny and the input of another with Roller chain connectiing them. Ugly but worked great.

 

[GLyford]

I've also seen a Sprocket welded onto the output of a tranny and the input of another with Roller chain connectiing them. Ugly but worked great.

Actually, there are commercial setups made that way.
Chain Couplers | Shaft Couplers | Power Transmission | www.surpluscenter.com

 

[JPRambo]

" I think what I need to do is a run a second 435 transmission and use that trans as a 4 speed ranger"

A friend of mine (older sons FIL) uses two transmissions on the swamp buggies he builds. Crawls and has lots of power.

 

[Cord]

i think I'll search for a second 435 or maybe a 542 and use it as a range transmission. Might have to push the axle back a bit, but I'd like to redo the frame anyways so that could work to my favor. I was thinking of putting a small wood box on the back to haul stuff around so that's a good idea. Something like an old wagon box. Trying to find a buggy seat with springs that I can use in place of the lawn chair that's currently on it. With that solid axle, the seat will need a little suspension and a buggy seat would fit the bill nicely.

For the Cletrac, when I bought the unit I knew the governor was missing parts. Didn't know why, but that the hood and air cleaner (which would have blocked access to the governor) were missing indicated there was something major that didn't get fixed. When I was washing the machine I discovered the front engine cover was cracked and had been brazed. Weld looks good enough, but I didn't understand why they didn't bother to put the governor linkage back on so it would function. Well, I got talking to another Cletrac owner who I'd be buying parts from and he suggested pulling the governor housing off and taking a look inside. What I found was shrapnel. Not sure what happened, but it looks like one of the governor fingers broke through a pin hole and destroyed everything. There are pieces missing, so I'd presume they're in the pan. Can't believe they didn't fall into the timing gears.

Oh, when I was washing the tractor I found the chassis serial number. I'm not certain, but I suspect this machine would be from 1936-37.

 

[davedj1]

Well that kinda bites! Could you replace it with an electric governor? Do you really need a governor? Just run the throttle at the desired rpm's.

 

[Cord]

Well, the governor is really important to the function of the tractor. When plowing, you just pull the throttle WO and then run it against the governor. The governor is then modulating the throttle as the load changes. Although it sucks, I actually have a parts source that I know will have what I need.

 

[texasranger556]

Agreed. I ended up with a lawn tractor that the governor stopped working and was bypassed by the previous owner. In the little I ran it before fixing it I needed a third hand to constantly adjust the throttle. It would bog down in tall grass or rev to the moon.

Looking forward to more updates!

 

[pmsmechanic]

Subscribed! Looks like fun!

 

[Smokepole62]

A doodle bug with a Hemi? Heck yeah! That will have a lot of bottom end torque.

 

[Smokepole62]

I think those motors were a 331 cu in.