Fun with Fiberglass: The Bradley GT

Was there ever a more versatile automobile than the original Volkswagen? Not only was it the foundation for over 21 million Beetles built between 1938-2003, it sired the Kubelwagen, the Transporter, the Karman Ghia, the slightly larger Type 3 sedans and wagons, even the SP2 Brazilian sports car. And the variations did not stop at the corporate gates of Wolfsburg. The Beetle’s simple chassis was nothing more than a steel pan with an air cooled flat four hanging off the back, and suspended by torsion arms in front and rear swing axles. It was fully functional with the body removed. This feature provided a bonanza for the many dozens of independent car designers who dreamed of making a stylish dependable car on a shoestring budget. All that was needed to transform the ubiquitous Beetle into something special and unique was a bit of imagination and a fiberglass mold.

A few of the better known Beetle-based creations were the rather un-boxy Brubaker Box, which technically was America’s first minivan, the racy Manta Mirage, better known for its co-starring role in the 80s action TV show, Hardcastle & McCormack, and most famous of all, the Meyers Manx dune buggy, which became one of the symbols of the free and easy lifestyle of 1960s Southern California.

And then there was the subject of our story, the Bradley GT. In a round-about way Bruce Meyers’ iconic dune buggy lead to the Bradley. The Meyers Manx was designed as an off-road racing car, winning the Mexican (later called Baja) 1000 in 1964. The Manx went into serial production that year, and sales took off. The origins of the term ‘dune buggy’ are not clear. What is clear is that Meyers’ instant success brought copycats by the buggy load. Just as Meyers was expanding his operation, his sales took a hit from a slew of new low cost competitors. Its hard to get a patent for what is no more than a fiberglass tub on a VW chassis. By 1971 Meyers was out of business. One of the copycats was Gary’s Buggy Shop of Plymouth, Minnesota. Southern California salesman, Gary Courneya had teamed up with fiberglass designer, David Bradley Fuller, to build and market their own dune buggy bodies. At about the time Bruce Meyers was entering bankruptcy, Courneya and Fuller were expanding their product line beyond the dunes. They formed Bradley Automotive, and in 1971 introduced a fiberglass sports car called the Bradley GT.

Even though the Bradley GT was classified a kit car, it was actually offered in 7 different levels of completion - from a set of blueprints to fully assembled cars. It was marketed as an affordable sports car. But since it used the same 57hp engine that pushed along the VW Beetle, the Bradley’s sportiness was mostly skin deep. The low sleek body certainly delivered on the sporty promise. It was was marginally lighter than a steel bodied Bug, and so it was marginally faster. But if you were looking for refinement, you would be looking elsewhere. The Bradley had no doors or roof. A crude sort of weather protection was provided by a pair of optional frameless plexiglass panels that could be attached to the windshield frame in front and the roll bar at the rear, allowing them to swing up. Think gullwing lite. Headlight covers were also optional. The rear end looked like it was cobbled together from spare parts, which of course it was.

In the spirit of combining one thing with another to make a third, company publications listed its president as Gary Bradley. This imaginary figure was an amalgamation of Gary Courneya’s first name and David Bradley Fuller’s middle. When “Gary Bradley” made public appearances, it was Gary Courneya doing the appearing. Gary Bradley’s signature even found its way onto several corporate filings.

Imaginary corporate officers are not often viewed as a harbinger of good times ahead for investors or customers. The company added an upgraded Bradley GT II “luxury sports car kit” in 1977 that had better bumpers, fully framed doors with gas struts and much improved interior trimmings. But that same year Bradley Automotive also lost former partner David Bradley Fuller, who moved on to fiberglass body supplier, Autocraft, Inc. Later, seven of its top salesmen departed to rival Fiberfab, who made the much better looking FT Bonita sports car as well as an MG-TD replica.

Who needs salesmen? In 1978, Gary Courneya introduced a kind of pyramid scheme where Bradley customers could become Bradley brokers. This worked well for a while, until it didn’t. Orders were now being taken for 30-40 cars a month. Unfortunately, Bradley only had the capacity to make 10-12. Quality quickly became an afterthought. Kits were shipped with missing parts, or ones that didn’t fit.

As a kid, did you ever lose a key piece to that 1:25th scale MPC plastic model kit you were building? Multiply that feeling by hundreds, and you’ll have a good gage of the mood of Bradley customers in the late 70s. They went so far as to picket outside company headquarters in Plymouth. This captured the attention of the Minnesota attorney general who opened a fraud investigation. Bradley Automotive was forced into bankruptcy in late 1978.

After a reorganization was completed in 1980, they emerged as Electric Vehicle Corporation, makers of an electric car called Bradley GTE. The GTE was powered by a 20.7hp General Electric supplied motor attached to 16-6V lead acid batteries - with a 17th to power the wipers and headlight retractors. The GTE had two operating levels, Cruise Mode which was good for 50 miles on a charge, and Boost Mode that could turn sub-8 second 0-60 times (and may have been a precursor to Tesla’s Ludicrous Mode.)

It all sounded too good to be true…and it was. In July of 1981 EVC, like its predicessor, was formally charged by the Minnesota AG with consumer fraud. Within days the company closed its doors for good.

Wikipedia and other sources list sales of 5000 Bradley GT kits from 1970-77, with no breakout of factory built cars. There were 500 GT IIs made from 1977-79, and 50 GTEs from 1980-81. The symmetry of these numbers does make one wonder if the original “source” was “Gary Bradley.” But even if we use the 10-12 car per month capacity as it stood in 1978, that’s still a conservative bottom line of over a thousand cars.

A handful of Bradleys became cars of the stars. Former presidential candidate Barry Goldwater owned a GT II, and actor-environmentalist Ed Begley, Jr. had a GTE. The most expensive Bradley ever sold was a custom gold flaked GT owned by the flamboyant performer, Liberace. Some of that entertainer’s harshest critics complained that his musical performances placed showmanship above substance. The same could probably be said of the Bradley.

The Makes That Didn't Make It

The Makes That Didn't Make It

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The Makes That Didn't Make It

The Makes That Didn't Make It

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