The Bradley GT, probably the second most well-known VW-based kit car after the Meyers Manx, was made by a company whose success astounds me. Success, you ask? Didn’t they go bankrupt? Well, yes they did, but somehow they managed to sell over 6,000 of the original GT which to me looks like something a visually impaired grade-schooler would pen, and then went on to develop the GT II and managed to also push about 500 of those out the door as well as several other vehicles including an early Electric before going under. That counts as success for a long time with a quick and apparently very unfortunate rough patch right at the end.
Bradley GTs (the originals) pop up surprisingly frequently (I have one in my camera as we speak and have seen numerous others over the years) but GT IIs are rarer so when I saw this one it stopped me. Well, what I really mean is I first saw it a couple of months ago and then today drove by it again. I subsequently thought about it for a block or two and then gave in and turned around. For you. So I hope you appreciate it. The owner is just advertising it as a Bradley so perhaps he doesn’t know exactly what he’s got. This could potentially be a great COAL project for you and a very interesting read for the rest of us.
For $3,200 this whole kit and kaboodle can be yours. It even says it includes 80% of the necessary parts (that would be the kaboodle). There seems to be a Beetle chassis without engine in front of it that I assume is included and I’d bargain hard for the trailer or just assume it’s included and hitch it up. In fact, that to me is the most attractive and useful thing I see here. That missing 20% of the kaboodle does concern me a lot. A lot more than twice the usual missing 10% of those “90% complete” cars that are always on offer.
So who wants this thing? Maybe DougD? He has a VW Bug that I’ve actually seen in motion so at least he wouldn’t have to worry about finding an engine. This car would be newer too so probably safer? One of his kids just got her license, she might appreciate a snazzy sportster… Or Herr Niedermeyer perhaps? He’s retired now, so Stephanie would probably like him to pick up a hobby instead of sitting around the kitchen reading all those books. He probably even knows where there are parts stashes around Eugene that might have the missing parts, er, kaboodle.
As you may have figured, I’m no fan of the Bradley GT. Or the Bradley GT II. I have nothing against VW’s and would love a Meyers Manx but the Bradley should just be put out of its misery. Still, this thing has probably been in that little shed for the last 40 or so years and someone finally decided it’s time for it to go. If this is the right project for you below is a picture of what it will look like when done. No, I am not interested but good luck with the sale, there’s an ass for every seat! (I’m just not sure if the seat is part of the 80% or the 20%.)
Yes, there is even related reading:
The Cohort found a “Cyrano de Bergerac” edition GT II
As a kid I saw the ads in magazines and thought it was awkward, wondering how they sold these.
I hadn’t read H.L. Mencken’s quote about success and underestimation at that point.
Before I got into this mess of an incomplete erector set of parts (also rusty ones), I’d shop for a competed one to throw money at! Whatever happened to all those VW nose kits of other cars that were popular back in the day?
Some pieces like those funky side windows must be pretty much unobtanium. I don’t know where you would even source some of the missing bits, other than taking apart another one. Which looks exactly what happened to this example.
If someone tries to put it all back together again, I wish them luck!
The side windows appear to be flat glass, and it’s not too difficult to source tempered glass in custom shapes and sizes. Now on the other hand, finding the works to make the little vent window function might be an exercise in futility.
I was wondering about the windshield. Is it from a Super Beetle?
There’s the biggest rub of the missing 20%. I’d venture to guess the reason those parts are missing is because they’re virtually non-existent. Project car, indeed.
Car and Driver did a comparo of these kit-cars back in the seventies and, IIRC, the Bradley came off pretty well, primarily due to availability of pieces to actually complete the damn things. Today? Not so much.
The GT IIs are significantly harder to find parts for as they used quite a few more bespoke bits. If he were willing to drop a whole decimal place I think I might be tempted but otherwise … no.
Jeff Dunham might want it. He has like 4 or 5 of the originals already. He likes weird and off beat cars. And with your celebrity status here at CC, if you gave him a call , I’m sure you would get right through 🙂
I`m thinking it`s more for Lena Dunham.
Nope, even free it wouldnt be cheap, $1 per mile to LA 2k postage then I have to put it together and get it vinned to 2020 LVVT standards, not worth it for whats essentially a VW.
When I was younger and stronger, I would have enjoyed this task.
The fiberglass looks solid.
The VW chassis looks like ’68 – 70, with CV rear axle, so it would handle pretty well… but there’s a lot of rust under the battery.
Alternatively, you could hook up one of those Chinese motorized ponies to the trailer. strap down the Bradley, and presto! Complete vehicle.
I’ve never run across a Bradley GT, but I did stumble across an example of the remarkably similar Kelmark GT (another fiberglass-bodied Beetle-chassis creation) earlier this summer. Though I must admit at first glance, I thought it was a Bradley, but only because I’d never heard of the Kelmark — perhaps because only around 1200 were ever sold.
I still have the brochure I sent away for in the mail back in the day. Thought it was the coolest thing that they would deliver the complete body to your house via tractor-trailer. Came across a white one a few years back at a local car show. Looked pretty good but those school bus tail lights killed it for me.
You can’t polish a turd. This is a turd.
You know, I wonder if the demise of the Bradley GT can be attributed to the advent of cars like the Bricklin and Delorean. One of the Bradley’s biggest selling points were gull-wing doors (flimsy as they might have been), and when the other two went into production, that took away the Bradley’s primary reason for existence.
Well, that, and that the VW Beetle stopped being imported when the Rabbit (Golf) showed up…
I think it’s marginally better looking than the original Bradley, but it’s a low bar.
It’s just so “cringey”, as the kids on the interweb would say.
Part of me, a part I’m not proud of, wants to beat it up and take it’s lunch money.
I wonder if the use of the term “kit car” on the for-sale sign refers to what the car was originally, or what it is now. I would call it more of a puzzle now, or a Bradley’s Cube? Or perhaps just a themed scavenger hunt.
I never paid any attention to these back when they were new. I kind of knew what they were, but that was where I stopped.
My suggestion would be Ed Stembridge. He has lots of VW experience and a place for this to sit indoors. What’s one more project, right? Maybe he could convert it into an aircraft hybrid. He could call it a Bradley Flighting Vehicle. 🙂
Wow, well I’m flattered to have been mentioned, but this is a resounding no for me.
Even if I had some measure of appreciation for the Bradley GTII, the prospect of sorting another set of VW mechanicals is too daunting. Ed is definitely your man on this.
Although, I expect to have a different sort of vehicular announcement later in the week….
I’ve been aware of the Bradley since the 1970s, but I always hated VWs. I saw a Blower Bentley VW based kit car for sale awhile back that really piqued my interest. Curiously enough, there is a guy about a mile away from me, building a kit car in his driveway. I saw the floor pan of some car sitting by itself in front of something wrapped up in a tarp. It looks like some kind of Ferrari type clone, but the floor pan definitely wasn’t from a Fiero. I guess that I should stop by and introduce myself.
I would like to buy the tail light ass..Let me know