Building a Handcrafted Bradley GT2 Car for 2500
Hey everyone. Welcome to the new website. As I mentioned on the facebook page I wanted to show everyone that Building a Handcrafted Bradley GT2 Car for 2500 is possible .
I know some of you are already thinking that there is no way that you will be Building a Bradley GT2 for 2500. I can tell you 100% that i’m going to do my best to keep this entire build on budget
What I want to stress that this car is going to be bare bones. Its not going to have all the bells and whistles some of you might want. It is going to be built strictly to show that even people on a budget can build most of these handcrafted VW Cars.
Also for this build I am NOT going to include the cost of the car or the cost to transport the 30 miles it traveled. These costs will vary depending on where you purchase the car and so on.
So lets start with the car itself…
I picked up this Bradley GT2 for $500 from a seller in New Hampshire. It is 800 miles away from me but my brother lives 30 miles from the seller. I purchased the car because minus the Side and rear windows it was pretty complete. The Chassis is a 1974 VW Bug and the engine is a 1968-69 1500cc Single port that turns freely. The pans are in great shape as well. It had all of the interior but its all pretty dusty. It also has a good windshield. When picking up a GT2 that is the #1 thing to look for because you CANNOT purchase a new one!
All in all I think the car is a great starting point for this build.
The Budget…
Ok so here is where the fun begins . $2500 is NOT a lot of money when it comes to building a handcrafted car. I am sure you have seen people who are $3000, $5000, or more into a project car such as this and it still looks like a pile of parts. The reason for this a lot of the time is there was no clear budget or time frame to complete it when they started.
My plan is to reuse every possible part (down to the rims). After going through the car here is a list of the major items that I am going to need and the approximate cost
Rebel Wiring Harness – $220
Tires – $400
Paint and Supplies – $700
Brakes – $300
Tune-up Kit – $200
Plexiglas – $200
Misc Supplies – $300
Current Total : $2320
As you can see $2500 does not go very far. This is why it is very important to purchase a project that is as complete as possible. Also these are just estimates. The paint kit for example is about $300 from www.thecoatingstore.com . I have used their paint kits in the past and they are great. I may go a different route with the paint supplier this time if I cant find the color I want. Rebel Wire makes the best wiring harness I have ever used. Starting with a fresh harness will insure that you can bypass all the “Gremlins” you may encounter.
I cant stress this enough. If you are not doing most of the work yourself, or you do not have a lot of friends you can count on to help you out there is just no way you are going to make a build like this happen. It is also important to keep a very good log of everything you have done. Save every receipt and track every part and cost down to the smallest nut and bolt. This will also help in the event that you are going sell it. Not to mention some states may want all of that info.
Each post I make about this car will detail what got accomplished that day and what the cost for the day was if any. It will also include the built cost up to that day. In addition there will be pics and or video.
I hope you find this interesting and helpful in your quest to build a handcrafted car.
