05.05.08
Face, Face, Face
I felt like doing a ittle machine work today, so I chucked up those N 05 pin nuts that I bought last week for the motor adapter and faced them down to the required thickness.
Once that was done, I disassembled the EMPI adjustible coil-over shocks that came with the car and removed the custom spacers that a previous owner had installed to reduce some of the car’s front-end sag. These spacers — basically a piece of 1-7/8-inch OD x 0.144 wall x 1-5/8-inch long steel pipe — had been inserted between each shock’s adjuster and the pins on which the adjuster indexes. The spacer compressed the spring an additional 1-5/8-inches but removed the adjustment feature of the shocks. I’m going to buy a new set of shocks and move the position of the spacers to ABOVE the adjusters, so that the springs are still compressed by 1-5/8″ but the adjustment feature is reenabled. I’m also going to weld adjusters into the front beam to help level the car’s body once the batteries are installed.
More VW parts got cleaned today and I’m nearing the end of that chore. (Then, I get to clean all of the Bradley parts. Oh, joy! Then, I get to clean my shop! — and, boy, does it need it!) I tried disassembling the pedal cluster this afternoon and the pins that mount the accelerator and clutch pedals are rusted tight. WD-40 didn’t help, nor did a propane torch. Drilling the pins out won’t work in this case, because the pins are harder than the castings into which they are inserted. The acetylene torch gets a shot at the job tomorrow. If that doesn’t work, I may have to buy a new (reconditined) pedal cluster.
I started ordering some of the replacement parts for the VW chassis today including a set of rebuild kits and brake pads for the front brake calipers; the ball joints, camber adjusters and tie rods for the front end; a disc brake kit (with emergency brake) for the rear brakes; and a pair of oversized brake lines for the new rear disc brakes.
James W. Veenstra said,
July 18, 2008 at 1:11 pm
I built a yellow Bradley GTE years ago, ran it for a couple of years and it has set without batteries in my garage since. The only part I was short before the company folded was the “heater” and there is one instrument missing (?tach or ?). Reading this is getting me excited about maybe getting new batteries. I did buy a solid state controller for it maybe 10 years ago. Any suggestions about best batteries at this stage, or other suggestions.
Administrator said,
July 31, 2008 at 12:07 pm
Hi James:
Thanks for following along in our blog!
Right now, the best batteries from a cost effective standpoint are still the lead-acid ones. Sixteen U.S. Battery No. 2200’s were in the car when I bought it. The local members of our EV club (www.lveva.org) are recommending that I switch to Trojan T-125’s or T-145’s (the latter costs more but carries more juice – they’re physically the same size) and, I suspect, that’s what I’m going to do. The nice thing about owning these GTEs is that they’re basically lab experiments on wheels. I suspect that, in the not too distant future, the price of NiCad’s and lithium-polymer batteries will decrease dramatically. We already know that they’ll be manufactured in standard case sizes so that they can be sold to the golf cart industry. For you and me, it should be a drop-in replacement. If you’re serious about getting the Bradley going again, I’d recommend sticking with the lead acid cells for now – just to get the car back on the road. However, the next time you have to replace the batteries – say in 2-3 years – you may find that you have more options.
My Bradley never had a tachometer. The two large instruments were a speedometer/odometer and a motor volts meter. The three smaller ones were motor amps, accessory battery volts and state of charge for the main battery pack.
Keep me posted on your work and if there’s anything that I can do to help, don’t hesitate to e-mail or call me.
Tailwinds,
Jim