I never expect much when faced with a kit car. Indifferent panel fit, scruffy paint, questionable engineering, or an unfinished mess – these all seem to go hand in hand with the kits we see for sale around here. This 1978 Bradley GT is a bird of another feather, winging its way through a prior owner’s pocketbook to the tune of $40k for the restoration. It’s impeccably presented here on craigslist with an asking price of $9000. Drive it home from Cranston, Rhode Island. Thanks to Tony Primo for the great tip!

The Bradley Automotive company got its start in the 1960s courtesy of a couple of rascals – Gary Courneya and David Bradley Fuller – who worked together selling dune buggy parts through Gary’s Bug Shop. The Bug Shop advertised a smattering of teaser cars – the Bradley Baron, the T Roadster, and others. But the rubber didn’t really meet the road until 1970s, when the Bradley GT kit was conceived and offered via coupons in magazines that solicited $1 for a brochure intended to present the car and order form. Unfortunately, neither the brochure nor the car existed yet. Eventually, the company began shipping product, but output ran far behind orders, incensing customers. Later, kits arrived damaged, incomplete – or not at all. The eventual loss of Fuller – who founded Autocraft – along with several key personnel sent Bradley into bankruptcy. About 6000 GTs and 500 GT IIs were made.

The GT was configured in a bare-bones, slightly annoying manner, with no doors and chintzy plastic panels covering the roof-to-door window section. Pop up headlamps were unreliable so owners installed clear plastic over the headlamps. But the GT II attempted to fix these flaws, with proper “gullwing” doors, small safety glass windows for the doors, a reinforced roof, and improved bumpers. Both cars were engineered to sit on a VW chassis. This car was found in a barn and treated to a no-expense spared restoration including a rebuild of its 1600 cc flat-four VW engine. A four-speed manual brings power to the rear wheels.

The interior received similar attention  – with thousands spent to install white-faced gauges, quality seats, a satisfyingly chunky steering wheel, new seals, new plexiglass in the doors, and so forth. The car sits low, so practice those squats! Overall, this fit and finish is far above most kit cars – even the glove box lid sits square. I bet it works.

The panel fit might make you miss your Maserati ha ha – but certainly it’s no worse than the average Shelby Mustang back in the day. Meanwhile, the price represents a bargain for a fun, simple, good looking sports runabout. If I were in the market for a kit car, this example would be at the top of my list.