The Bradley GT was a kit car that was available in various levels of completeness, from just a fiberglass body all the to a fully assembled vehicle. It used the VW Beetle for its chassis, suspension, and drivetrain. This 1970 version has been sitting for a while, though it’s said to start, drive and stop. Perhaps a little elbow grease would go a long way into making this a weekend runabout. Located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and here on craigslist, the price is $2,900 (OBO). Thanks to Barn Finder Gunter Kramer for this tip!
Minnesota-based Bradley Automotive started building kits in 1970 with the GT being their first product offering. For the next decade, it’s estimated that 6,000 GTs were built in various stages of completion depending on what the buyer wanted. These were 2-seat coupes that had low curved sides and no doors. You got in and out via frameless plastic panels that extended into the roof and were hinged at the top. The plastic body was designed to mount on a Bug chassis and the front and rear tracks could vary depending on the builder’s choice of tires and wheels. Standard propulsion was via a VW air-cooled engine with a 4-speed transmission.
These are said to be fun, little machines to jockey due in part to weighing just 1,600 lbs. completed. The company ceased operations in 1981 but its legacy has lived on, including this first-year version which looks to be in decent condition overall. A VW of the same model year appears to have been the donor for the drivetrain and undercarriage. While it may have been idle for some time, it does run and stop so hopefully a few weekends of tinkering will get it back out on the road.
They never get any better looking, do they?
What’s the old saying “Beauty’s in the eye of the beholder.”? At least better looking than the donor vehicle, IMHO. Just for giggles, went to U-Tube to see if there was a video about getting in and out of these – not as bad as I imagined.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRasFoi04u0
Kinda like Frank, I thought when my eye sight faded with age
they would look better, but I guess my eyes are not that bad yet!
Wow!! It even stops!!
They look like fun little machines but they aren’t. I got to take a well built one out for a rip once. Seating position was uncomfortable and the car didn’t handle well. I went about half as far as I could have gone before I brought it back to the owner.
Headlight door would make great spoiler to slow you down from the high speeds that are almost obtainable in this………..? Car that was hit with an ugly stick!
As a teenager I thought mine was a great little car. Kind of like a road-legal go-cart. These things are very light and to give an idea of the balance I came rolling up to a large intersection on wet roads once and when I turned the car understeered so badly I went right off the road. Luckily nothing in the way so I just kept right along and navigated back onto the road
I wonder if anyone ever thought of dropping a Porsche drivetrain in one of these?? That would spice up a Sunday drive for for this little critter.