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Post by aaronspowdercoating on Sept 8, 2013 15:31:42 GMT -5
Hello everyone I will be taking delivery of a Bradley gt in about 3 weeks from now. love the looks of the car after driving it a few places I did not like a few things the handling on the car is not the best. and the breaks are not up to my par as well. So once I get the car into my shop the first thing i want to do is work on the breaks. Then the handling. As far as power is well its lacking big 1600cc vw but that is last on my list. First and far most is breaking and handling. Any idea's for the breaks and handling would be great.
Thanks Aaron
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Post by jspbtown on Sept 8, 2013 22:00:04 GMT -5
Well there are disc brake conversion kits out there from mild to wild. Just depends on your budget.
And what was wrong with the handling? Usually these cars handle good, just ride terrible. A poorly handling Bradley suggests worn suspension or steering components. New shocks, tie rods, ball joints, steering stabilizer, and/or a new steering box would bring the handling back to as good as it will get.
Cheap shocks, lowered tire pressure, and pre-loading the front adjusters (if so equiped) will make the ride more tolerable.
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Post by aaronspowdercoating on Sept 9, 2013 0:11:34 GMT -5
A little about me to understand why I think the handling is not up to my par. I spent about 15 years in the awd import world from 500+hp and up 3000gt vr4's and then my small 9 sec eclipse gsx all had awd and the vr4's had all wheel steer. After that I went to the mustang world for about 4 years.. I could never get my mustang to handle right to my liking. My buddy mustang was able to handle the turns we take with out slipping and for some reason I couldn't. My goal for this car and it is also my wife's goal it to make it a good handling car that we could drive to Colorado and drive the mountains with no problems. I am sure I can get it their. Things I have learned in the past when building/modding a car is start with the breaks first. You could have the fastest car out there and no way to stop the car. A good handling car can take the clover leaf turns with ease with no screeching of the tires at 80mph. I know I should not go that fast on them but that is really the only place I have to test the handling of a car. I know tire play a big part in it. But you also have body roll and other things that take effect. The Bradly we are getting has problems it needs shocks for one. the owner said that i needs them and I feel a lot of play in it as well. the owner said all he did was put it together and just drove it once a year or so. I have a few pictures of it I'll post tomorrow. My wife wants me to get this one done so I could build her one as well. And best part is she is willing to get her hands dirty with on them.
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Post by aaronspowdercoating on Sept 9, 2013 1:55:40 GMT -5
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Post by aaronspowdercoating on Sept 9, 2013 2:02:33 GMT -5
It's sitting on a 74 vw and its a 1600 cc dp  |
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Post by jspbtown on Sept 9, 2013 8:41:50 GMT -5
Well I am sure you can appreciate that you are in essence dealing with a 50 year old plus chassis and suspension design that was engineered for a significantly heavier body then what is now on the pan. In addition, the VW Beetle was never designed to be a great handling sports car.
This car will have no body roll what so ever. The suspension is too stiff. You really need to take your past experiences and turn them around backwards. To make this a car your wife will even go for rides in you need to find ways to loosen the suspension up so it works for the car. Removing leafs in the spring pack, maybe going V1 and removing one pack and replacing it with a rod, cheap shocks that will allow for some movement, dropping tire pressure to allow the tires to absorb some of the road conditions, etc etc.
It looks like you have got alot of work ahead of you. Looks like a progressive carb which is tough to make run correctly. The little wiring I can see looks sketchy to say the least.
And your idea about brakes is always a good one. However, the stock drum brakes were designed to stop a much heavier Beetle. With a stock 1600cc motor getting it up to 80 mph will be about at its limits. Good working, well adjusted drums will stop you just fine. Decent disc upgrade is going to cost you a minimum of $600. If you really want anything even close in performance from your past cars you better open up the wallet....real wide.
Its a great start and a good looking project though.
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Post by aaronspowdercoating on Sept 9, 2013 14:31:49 GMT -5
Well I am sure you can appreciate that you are in essence dealing with a 50 year old plus chassis and suspension design that was engineered for a significantly heavier body then what is now on the pan. In addition, the VW Beetle was never designed to be a great handling sports car. This car will have no body roll what so ever. The suspension is too stiff. You really need to take your past experiences and turn them around backwards. To make this a car your wife will even go for rides in you need to find ways to loosen the suspension up so it works for the car. Removing leafs in the spring pack, maybe going V1 and removing one pack and replacing it with a rod, cheap shocks that will allow for some movement, dropping tire pressure to allow the tires to absorb some of the road conditions, etc etc. It looks like you have got alot of work ahead of you. Looks like a progressive carb which is tough to make run correctly. The little wiring I can see looks sketchy to say the least. And your idea about brakes is always a good one. However, the stock drum brakes were designed to stop a much heavier Beetle. With a stock 1600cc motor getting it up to 80 mph will be about at its limits. Good working, well adjusted drums will stop you just fine. Decent disc upgrade is going to cost you a minimum of $600. If you really want anything even close in performance from your past cars you better open up the wallet....real wide. Its a great start and a good looking project though. Thank you JSP!! yes I know im dealing with a 50 year old car. But was unsure about the handling. As we were told that just a few tweeks and it would handle even better then some of the newer cars around. That I am finding untrue to a point. I find that this car is going to be able to be enjoyable no matter what the case. I love working on cars. as far as a budget wise we have not set out one just yet for the handling and breaks. We did set a budget on a engine though. lowbugget.com has some really nice stuff to look at I am just unsure what the car can take right now. This will be our winter project as we plan on driving it around for a month after it gets here. Then after that is when ill open it up and start with a full rebuild so i know it will be built to my liking. almost everything will have a powder coat finish on it as well and if i need to make a few things for it my CNC table comes in handy for that. I'll admit i want more power out of it but at this time i want it to be able to stop and handle first then the power can come to a point.it would be nice to get it to handle good before go for the rebuild. my thought on the rebuild will take me about 6 months working on it 5 hrs a night. and the wife gets to pick the color of it and do the seats. The rest will be left up to me and my shop. |
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Post by jspbtown on Sept 9, 2013 20:04:02 GMT -5
Redo the entire suspension both front and rear. Its not expensive and it will help. The car will have no body roll so don't worry about sway bars or urethane or any other stuff that applies to your standard car. A new steering box may be in order as well.
You want to smooth out the ride as much as anything. Like I said you can remove leaves, play with front end adjusters, or go with a threw rod life the race cars have. No coil over shocks and no gas shocks if possible. Also you will need to play with your tire pressure.
If your 1600 is in good shape consider a set of Kadrons and a much better exhaust than whats on it. Upgrade to an electronic ignition. Consider a lightened flywheel which will get a little more responsive feel out of the old 1600.
Most of that stuff is inexpensive and will get you going in the right direction.
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Post by gitrdun on Sept 10, 2013 19:03:06 GMT -5
Congrats on your new car. Im about 70 miles south of you, its nice to see someone somewhat local on here.
IMO as far as the brakes, the stock brakes will stop the car perfectly fine as they are made for a car much heavier. With that said, they can be a PIA to keep them adjusted properly so it doesnt pull left or right when braking and forget about trying to brake easy on gravel, they lock up like crazy on loose terrain.
On stock suspension mine turns a corner on a rail but it rides like a meat wagon, every bump feels like a pothole. I put new cheap shocks on and made no difference. Its just set up to rigid for this light of a car.
While on the subject of upgrades - my brother has a tricked out Myers Manx buggy with a stock 1600. He put a highway tranny under it to get the RPM down on the highway, best upgrade for an old VW IMO. I cant drive mine past 55~60mph without fear of oveheating the engine from extended high RPM.
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Post by gitrdun on Sept 10, 2013 19:07:02 GMT -5
By the way. If you ever decide to upgrade your wheels and sale the ones on it now let me know, i might be interested.
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Post by Dan MacMillan on Sept 10, 2013 19:48:22 GMT -5
The handling on these cars is easy to dial in to be the best handling car you have ever driven. You need zero play front and rear. Adjust the front torsion leafs to account for the lack of weight, quite easy to do as long as you can weld {no parts or adjuster kits required} adjust the rear torsion bars to lower the rear height and the rear camber. Avoid gas shocks and stay away from urethane bushings, only genuine rubber parts. Install a new steering damper.
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Post by aircooled1 on Oct 23, 2015 7:52:32 GMT -5
Hey guys I'm in Lawson Mo ,Not to far away from you Aaron also know of a couple other people who are Bradley Owners locally as well In The Blue Springs Undepence Mo Area.HMU maybe we can Talk shop .573-415-7122 I'm Chuck
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