1) Have you modified your taillights to seperate the brake and running lights?
I've heard this was a design flaw, caused blown relays.
Tailights... Well, no. This is not actually a design flaw. There are many
cars that have only one bulb for tail/stop/turn lights. As do most boat
trailers. Although I HAVE had much trouble with the brake lights and turn
signals not wanting to work. I think this is more in the wiring than
anything else. And yes, I do plan on seperating everything out and adding
backup lights too.
2) Where do you order stuff for your car when you need something replaced?
is their some underground/blackmarket outlet or the guy from ohio ?
It depends on what I need. If I need a relay or master brake cylinder, or
anything that's still VW I'll go to Parts America or if I need a bunch of
stuff I'll order from JC Whitney. If I need
any bradley parts, I'll usually make them myself or find a suitable
replacement. I have the part number for the gas struts for the doors. It's
in my car though. I'll try to remember to get it this weekend.
Jerry Foutz gave me this information:
Hey guys, A couple weeks back was the AHA auto show at Knott's Berry Farm. I went and I happened to run into this guy selling all these Bradley GT II parts, turns out he bought the remaining inventory of the Bradley company when it went under. He has several windshields and several rear glass windows. He only had two side windows and they were both for the same side. He also had an extensive collection of switches. I tried to e-mail him with the address he gave me, but I'm not sure he knew that much about e-mail. He did give me a couple business cards, here's the info from them: Frank Negri Martin Aircraft Tool Company 18381 Mt. Langley, Fountain Valley, California 92708 (310) 592-5591 (714) 962-6641 1-800-433-0869--California 1-800-345-0279--Outside California FAX: 714-963-8384 As we were discussing the lack of availability of these parts, he told me that he is retired and was looking to get out of selling these parts. He said a few vendors were interested in buying his inventory, so I'm not sure if he'll be selling them ,but I'm sure he'll tell you who is, if he isn't. I just wanted to pass on some info to some people who could use it. Spread the word.
3) Does your bradley have disc brakes up front, if so did you do it yourself?
It has 4 wheel drum brakes. The only thing that's really making me mad
about the car right now is the brakes. I'd like to change out the brakes,
but #1, the car is so light 4 drum brakes shouldbe fine for most
situations, and #2, I'm planning on making a tubular steel frame and using
Toyota Supra suspension components, so I'll just hold off until I do that.
Mike Richardson put Karman Ghia disc brakes on the front of his Bradley GT-II and he says they work great.
4) What kind of engine is in it, stock 1600cc,or other? how does it perform
compared to modern cars.(in other words will I be able to handle a 5.0 at
a red light)
I have the stock 1600. It's rated at 48 HP(for 1974 only) before and after
they are rated at 63 HP. Considering it's a 48 HP car, I feel it is a
great performer. I raced a big Buick one day up a hill and although he won
I kept right on his tail with 2 people in my car(330 lbs combined weight)
against his being alone. When dealing with such a small amount of HP,
weight is crucial.
Beat a 5.0 off the line? Ummm.. no. He's got 200+ HP, and you have 63. It
just doesn't work unless he's almost 4 times heavier than you, and even
then he has a lot more torque. He won't win by a lot though. The best
thing you can do to help out is improve your driving skills. Autocross
helps a lot(www.scca.com).
I'm planning on putting in a Mazda RX/7 3 rotor twin turbo engine when I
build the new frame. I'll integrate a roll cage into it and turn the
engine around so it's mid engined rather than rear engine. With over 200
hp and only weighing 1500 or so pounds, it will be FAST.
5) Does your battery also have a positive ground, I had never heard of this.
No, our cars have a negative ground. The only cars I've had with a
positive ground have been British cars (Jaguar and Triumph). The Bradley
was designed and built in the US, and we have kept to the negative ground
theory pretty well. :) Positive ground is really messed up. Everything
still works... sort of, but just really weird. The way it works is instead
of grounding te frame of the car to negative, it's grounded to positive,
and everything runs off the negative. If your car is set up that way,
things are very weird! I pretty much doubt they are because the original
VW wasn't set up that way.
6) Where can I get replacement pistons to keep the doors open?
I got replacements at Parts America. The part number is D95247 and is labeled
as a replacement for a car's hood. They should be available at Western Auto
or Parts America since they are essentially the same company. When I bougt
mine they were $21.99. I know that's pretty expensive considering we have 5
of them(the doors, and engine lid), but it was convenient, and I was tired of
the door falling on me everytime I bumped the car. :) The rear window has
two of it's own, which at least on my car are a different length.