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Post by jspbtown on Aug 21, 2019 10:25:47 GMT -5
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Post by jspbtown on Aug 21, 2019 10:19:50 GMT -5
In my opinion a new harness is the ONLY way to go. Most kits are wired absolutely terribly. And when you try to "fix" them you just create more problems that will pop up at the absolute worst time.
Rebel Harnesses make good products and have kits that are custom tailored to fiberglass vehicles. They also offer excellent customer support.
Remember....with fiberglass everything has to be grounded. That means a lot of extra ground wires that you will need to engineer. There are lots of ways to do this but every light, every gauge, every system will need independently run ground wires. You will need lots of ground wires.
And the GT2 doesn't need a ton of circuits. I would say maybe 12 or so for a standard GT2. Maybe more if you are planning a high end stereo or custom lighting.
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Post by jspbtown on Aug 20, 2019 20:17:23 GMT -5
Take the body off. Put it up on sawhorses or something sturdy and sit in a nice chair and wire it very comfortably from underneath.
The body is bolted to the pan on its perimeter. Every build is different so there are no universal instructions as to what to do step by step. Its just one of many things you need to figure out by looking and thinking. This is a car after all. Its not a model.
And when you have the body off you can also easily address all the other issues the car is likely to have including suspension, brakes, and rust
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Post by jspbtown on Aug 14, 2019 16:31:53 GMT -5
My guess? Maybe 3-6.
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Post by jspbtown on Aug 11, 2019 7:49:19 GMT -5
A reality check? Sure.
If it has been sitting 32 years it will need new suspension, brakes (shoes, cylinders, lines, master), a new fuels system (GTs use custom tanks), new tires, and in all likelihood a complete re-wire.
Then of course there is the engine. The tranny should be fine if it was fine when parked, just a fluid change.
I am sure the interior is probably pretty disgusting and the floors may be rotted.
So..how much of that can you do on your own? Can you weld? Wire a car from scratch? Replace suspension parts? Bend brake lines? Your level of mechanical ability will make all the difference in the world. And what is your budget? Before you pull the trigger do your research on the costs of the things I mentioned and a skills assessment.
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Post by jspbtown on Jul 31, 2019 9:57:20 GMT -5
Take it off the pan. Rewire it...cause I know it needs it. Rebuild the safety systems(brakes, suspension, steering)while the body is off the pan. Rebuild/replace the tranny and get it running with the body off the pan. Rebuild axles (clean & regrease cv joints, replace boots. Replace the shifter bushing while the body is off the pan.
Reassemble and enjoy.
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Post by jspbtown on Jul 31, 2019 9:49:04 GMT -5
No reason to pull the windshield. I did a total GT restoration and left the windshield intact. And I mean TOTAL restoration.
The body is bolted to the pan on the perimeter. Take those bolts out. Unhook the steering column, remove whatever wiring and lift it off with some buddies. If you search there are several examples of how people store their separated bodies. I built a simple table from 4x4 and 2x4 that was on casters. It was wide and tall enough so the chassis would slide under it. That way it only look up one spot in my garage.
Rewiring the car with the body off is the BEST way to do it.
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Post by jspbtown on Jul 9, 2019 8:52:01 GMT -5
How would your glass maker make the complex curves of the glass? Not the cuts...the curves.
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Post by jspbtown on Jul 3, 2019 21:16:51 GMT -5
They do sell narrowed beams. You will need to measure VERY carefully
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Post by jspbtown on Jun 18, 2019 12:06:53 GMT -5
Well….not to be mean or anything...but your friend does not know what he is talking about.
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Post by jspbtown on May 23, 2019 8:49:51 GMT -5
GT or GTII?
I didn't think the GTs came as electric. I know the GTIIs were available with that option.
If it was a factory build then it likely has a factory VIN number assigned to it. Of course, like Gary said, it really offers no insight into the car and would only be important for title and registration purposes.
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Post by jspbtown on May 6, 2019 20:52:59 GMT -5
For the GT? Or the GT2?
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Post by jspbtown on Apr 23, 2019 10:30:44 GMT -5
Criticisms of this plan? Sure.....if you really want them.
"fox coilovers"...On all 4 corners? Make sure your teeth are tight because those will rattle you to a concussion.
"custom machined Ford half shafts"...I don't think so. I bet it likely just has simple wheel adapters or maybe rotors drilled for the Ford patter. If it is VW powered you likely have a swingaxle tranny on the 1966 pan.
"It is built on a 1966 beetle chassis"...You understand the limits of the front VW torsion suspension right?
"Corvette C5 headlights" Entirely possible but the Bradly has a totally different curvature then the generally flat C5 pop ups. There will need to be expensive fabrication to support the Corvette units and extensive body mods (or mods to the headlamps themselves) to make them look good. Fiberglassing upside down is not easy. You might need to remove the body, flip it, and try to support it enough to prevent cracking. Its will be a very exhausting endeavor.
"vw bus 002 transaxle": The R&P ratio might be an issue with your possible engine swap. You might want to research that.
"As for cooling I would cut a channel from the pan and install a radiator with dual electric fans in the spare tire spot parallel to the ground using fiberglass to create ducting that is air tight"...There is no "spare tire spot" for you to install a radiator. There is really no real room up front. And certainly not any real way to get airflow sufficient to keep an engine cool. Have you considered of the stock Subaru water pump would be able to keep coolant flowing for 16 or so feet? Plus you have to understand that the tunnel is essentially ALL of the structure in a VW pan. When you cut from that you are making some serious structural changes in the ONLY structural part of the Bradley. You will need some serious re-engineering to make sure your little rocket doesn't fold in half at the first bump. Don't forget that you have a shift rod in the center tunnel that needs to be able to move without restriction.
"If the vw transmission isnt tough enough I'll buy the reverse cut ring and pinion gears to flip the rotation direction of a Subaru tranny and use that instead."....I hope you know how to weld REALLY well.
"Its going to cost a lot but frankly I dont care"...you should. What you are envisioning is an over powered, terrible handling death trap. You are hanging a ton of weight off the back of a car that essentially has zero weight up front. Read up on how bad of a thing that is. Plus you are pushing a ton of HP and torque through a chassis designed to work in conjunction with a steel body (adds to the structural rigidity) and 60 hp. Think about that for a moment. If you don't care about money than step one would be a custom chassis designed around the Subaru platform. You will still have to deal with custom radiators but you will maybe be able to get a better front suspension. If you can do ALL the work yourself (paint, welding, wiring, fabrication, engineering...etc etc) you might be able to get it done for $30k if you get some deals. Think about the nice, reliable, good lucking car you could have for that money?
So..listen....dreams are cool. And I don't want to burst that bubble. I had that same dream...and I was able to build 10 old kits (Manta Mirage, Kelmark, CMC Speedster, Sterling, Bradley GT, Bradley GT2, Avenger, Deserter, MAnx, and another Dunebuggy) because I followed that dream. And one thing I learned was that building a car, even as designed, is REALLY hard. The odds are you will either get in over your head or run out of money. And at 19 you can do a LOT more with your money than investing in a Bradley GT2. Don't forget you bust a windshield and all your money basically goes bye bye.
So go onto autotrader.com and search what kind of low mileage cool cars $30k can buy you. Or...reconsider my advice and find a cool dunebuggy. Build it to stock specs and sell it. If you can accomplish that then move to the next level. If you either get in over your head or run out of money at least the lesson won't sting too badly.
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Post by jspbtown on Apr 18, 2019 11:50:50 GMT -5
There are no "new" parts sources. I believe the back windshield is just a flat piece of glass you could get at a glass shop.
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Post by jspbtown on Apr 18, 2019 11:43:10 GMT -5
Welcome to the exciting world of classic kit cars. I have restored MANY of these kits and therefore have a lot of first hand knowledge of them.
So....lets look at some of your questions. And please don't mistake a short response for anything other that I am a bad typist and kinda busy.
Removing the headlights.....you need headlights. The stock GT2 set up sucks but a nice linear actuator solves the majority of the issues. If you are thinking of some sort of projector beam headlights they are possible. Its fiberglass so its easy to work with but you will have to craft something by hand. I have used spray foam to form things and then covered the foam with glass.
Lowering a VW chassis is easy. They make adjusters that weld into the front beam or you can go with dropped spindles. The rear is easily adjusted by indexing the torsion bars. You would probably want a later model chassis and avoid the swing axle rears as they do not adjust well.
Limited slip? On a VW tranny? Hmmmm....nope. No reason for it. A VW engine (that you can afford) won't spin any tires.
Disc brakes are a fine upgrade. But don't forget...this thing will maybe have 80hp. You won't be beating a Yugo with it so the drum brakes will stop it just fine. But again...nothing better than upgrading brakes.
Engine swap is amazingly complex and expensive. You have to buy the adapter. You have to find a way to cool the motor in a body not designed to house a radiator. There are so many space constraints its not funny. Such a motor swap will be at least the amount of the purchase price if not more. And that's if you do it all yourself.
So now some general advice.....these old kits look great but generally suck. Yes, with lots of time and lots of money and lots of talent you can make them decent but they aren't sports cars. They never will be. They are on 50 year old chassis. They have poor driving positions. Their steering systems are basic. They don't have heat. They are just around town drivers that get lots of looks. You would have to have a second car.
Now...my advice....if you want to try building one of these go for an old Dunebuggy. You can do a lot with them for little money. They are generally available. They can be fun as hell to drive and are FAR easier to build than a GT2. And the market is strong for well built ones. Remember...you need to rebuild brakes, fuel, suspension, wiring, etc etc etc and on a car like the GT2 that can be very daunting. There is a reason why there are tons of abandoned ones available.
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Post by jspbtown on Mar 15, 2019 20:57:03 GMT -5
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Post by jspbtown on Mar 2, 2019 11:35:40 GMT -5
There is no "clear" on the gelcoat.
The issue with trying to get paint off the car and leave the gelcoat intact is that with sandpaper you need to be very careful that you don't sand through the gelcoat. If you can get the paper off without cutting too deep into the gelcoat then you can polish the luster back.
Be careful with chemical strippers. They can invade the fiberglass and cause the gelcoat to buckle.
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Post by jspbtown on Feb 28, 2019 10:23:52 GMT -5
"I would rather lower the floors than lift the body because I don't want any more clearance between the tires and the fenders."
Certainly not a bad choice but adjusting the VW suspension is a relatively easy process.
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Post by jspbtown on Feb 15, 2019 12:32:37 GMT -5
Body off is THE best way to do any real level of restoration. Plus it gives you access to the wiring which I can assure you will be terrible.
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Post by jspbtown on Feb 13, 2019 12:08:22 GMT -5
Those are gonna be like Unicorns to find unfortunately. Not saying they don't exist but it could take years to find them
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Post by jspbtown on Feb 13, 2019 11:57:37 GMT -5
Dropped floors will give significantly more headroom. You can cut out the old, create cardboard templates of a drop pan and have them fabricated. Its not complex, but is ain't easy
Floor replacement with the body on is a challenge
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Post by jspbtown on Feb 11, 2019 10:43:26 GMT -5
All good ideas. The GTII uses a custom gas tank so you might want to inspect that.
Brakes are a must. New lines (rubber wears from within), shoes, cylinders are all cheap.
First place I always look is under the dash.....wiring seems to be the Achilles heel for almost all builders. And the GTII has some funky headlight wiring.
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Post by jspbtown on Jan 6, 2019 15:49:27 GMT -5
Plexi-glass parts are like affordable super models.....They exist but are very rare.
They really haven't been made in years so finding decent used parts is almost impossible. That goes for doors as well so if your doors are good protect them with your life.
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Post by jspbtown on Jan 3, 2019 9:29:11 GMT -5
Is this a new problem that suddenly appeared or something that you have discovered in a car you just purchased?
Generally issues like this are the results of poor grounds. The resolution is a painstaking, wire by wire review of the wiring harness.
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Post by jspbtown on Nov 4, 2018 10:08:28 GMT -5
Two things.
1. Many states title kit cars differently. Having a title which says "Bradley GT" does not necessarily prove that it was, or was not, built by Bradley.
and
2. A factory built car is really not worth anything more than a well built car that was not built by the factory.
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Post by jspbtown on Nov 2, 2018 19:41:50 GMT -5
Wow...I would be shocked to see Explorer (or any of those actually) seats that would fit in a GT2..but I guess the measurements are the measurements. I will be very interested to see what you end up with. Most seats are probably 4-5" tall (at least) and that eats up a lot of headroom.
In order to get something more modern you might want to consider a large floor drop AND a body lift. Unless you are vertically challenged. I did a 3" body lift on stock GT seats with 1" tall sliders in the GT I did and it was barely enough head room for my 6'2" frame.
So do you have a VIN with the pan? Or a State issued VIN with the body? Since you are creating your own frame you could really just remove whatever state sticker was applied to the body since most states that I am aware of really look at the VIN on the frame. Does your state allow you to title a specialty constructed vehicle given the frame will have no VIN number?
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Post by jspbtown on Nov 2, 2018 11:57:50 GMT -5
20-21" seats are tough to find. At least ones that fit in the Bradley.
Do you not have a title for it now?
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Post by jspbtown on Nov 1, 2018 8:29:51 GMT -5
The best seats for the GT2 are the factory seats. Most aftermarket seats are too wide (even with your lip mod) and you have to lay them too far back and you lose all head support. By design, most VW based kit cars are very narrow.
Also, that flange offers significant stiffness to the side panels. When you remove it you will have a lot of flex that will have to be addressed. You might be able to glass in a new flange pointing outward or add some steel stiffeners to the bottom of the sides.
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Post by jspbtown on Jun 27, 2018 9:01:34 GMT -5
Weird that the link doesn't work.
Just search "1/4" hitch pin" on the Home Depot site.
I guess I don't have a picture of the rear lid loaded online so I will have to scan one. Send me your email via PM here and I will shoot some off to you.
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Post by jspbtown on Jun 25, 2018 11:17:09 GMT -5
"Not a kit car" huh?
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