openinverter forum

Back in the late 1970s, two men merged their names to create a fictional CEO, with eyes on creating a car company. But they had no money.

So the first thing they did was take out a classified ad in the back of a car magazine that said something like "Send $1 in self-addressed envelope to [Address] for new kit car brochure."

At the time they placed the ad... there was no kit car for sale.

In fact... they couldn't even afford to make the brochures yet.

But, curious people sent in their $1.

The two guys used this money to pay a concept artist to draw some art, and to print the sales brochures to mail back to everyone.

Wow, didn't they look good. So people called and ordered them. Now, wouldn't you believe it, there was already a lineup, so kits would take a while to be sent out, would you like to pay now and get in line? Of course people did.

So they took people's money, and used that to quickly create a kit car based on a VW Beetle chassis and floorpan. Then they started shipping them.

It worked! And thus was born the Bradley corporation. America's most successful kit car company ever! They sold 1500-6000 factory-converted or kit cars in the late 1970s. The GT, the GT2, and a handful of other less successful models.

Then in 1980 they took a big step. They rebranded as "The Electrical Car Corporation", and decided from now on they were only going to build electric cars... in 1980.
"Set a new standard of sports car excellence" ... with 20 hp.

"We believe it to be the newest and most advanced electric car on the streets of America" ... well, considering the only other EV of the day was the Citicar, that's a low bar to clear, but they're absolutely right, it couldn't be more superior:
So, they built 50 of these cars in-house to show off to the world what could be done with electricity...
... and spurred by the success of that dream they immediately went bankrupt.

...

Of the 50 kits ever made, who knows how many were ever assembled, and who knows how many still survive to this day. But one of them, is mine.
I'm not sure where I'm going to take this thread. Maybe just stories? Maybe just info. Maybe it'll be a built thread? Maybe I'll need help?

I just thought it was interesting because it's perhaps the first actual EV that wasn't just a plywood polygon with a golf cart motor, and people might appreciate it being documented.

This is supposed to be the shortest path to me actually driving and enjoying an EV. I took a photo of it in my garage, and noticed... it was a picture of 4 unfinished EV projects of the last 10 years. Not very flattering.

Condition so far:

- its 16x 6v lead acid batteries have been dead for 20 years.

- Looks like the previous owner owned it since 1996, but last plated and registered it in 2003.

- The DC motor and, I dunno, the clutch (?) has been removed, it's present, but not installed.

- The parking brake was partially seizes, has loosened up a bit.

- There is a fantastically /r/casette-futurism programmer or something attached to a cable.

- Driver's door doesn't appear to lock.

I had two nightmares getting it home, so, just having it safe in my garage and letting my heart rate recover is my plan for now.

That's very cool, so 96V stock. Is it direct drive or is there a gearbox (mention of a clutch suggests so)?

I think it has the stock rear transaxle from the VW Beetle. So, all that is still in there?

First steps...

- Vacuumed it up and wiped it down. Inventoried all the loose bits inside.

- Driver's carpeting is gone. Passenger's carpeting looked perfect, but had zero integrity, disappeared into dust anywhere I touched it with the vacuum. Presumably the backing is gone. It's very 70s, poofy brown, like someone skinned Fozzy. Not quite shag, but not like proper automotive carpet. I wonder how I'll replace.
- I don't know what that key does. I don't have a key that matches it. It's not the ignition, door, or either of the rear releases.

- I gave it a new 12v battery to see what happens. The center gauge is active no matter what, I think it's main battery indicator. Voltmeter works.

- 5 switches across the dash.
- Popup headlight switch does nothing I can tell, as the popup headlights are just shielded now.
- Headlight/bright switch works. Headlights are blue, brights are white.
- Hazard lights don't seem to work, maybe 1 of the lights total, makes weird noises, weak pulses, etc.
- Wipers. Umm.. the wiper blades overextend the windshield both top and bottom by 2". And the motors are so weak they don't move without help.
- Heater switch. My car did not follow directions. The original owner specified not installing console ventilation or heaters. But a fan does turn on for 2 defrosting vents.

- The GTE has both a Hatch AND a Trunk! They are actuated by pulled on some cable pulls at the driver's shoulder on the B-pillar. They kinda work. The manual even says if they don't work right, pull hard and then "help" the panel open. I have long arms and even then this is almost impossible. They do work:
- The previous owner installed rear louvers, like I'm driving my Trans Am to a Whitesnake concert. They prevent the hatch from opening very far:
- There's room for a back seat, the VW Beetle it's built on had them, but there are no seats. Maybe too short. Tons of inaccessible space behind the seats. So the previous owner put a bitchin' sub and amp back there. Shocks won't hold the door open, so stick is used.

- Got the trunk/engine compartment open. Inside is an Italian ZAPI speed controller. Apparently, the kit was sold with an EV1 controller, documented, then the documentation regularly refers to how it doesn't have this controller, it uses a different one more suited to passenger car operation. Not sure which this one had originally, but the second owner replaced it in 1995 with the ZAPI, which was I guess an 800 amp controller? More on that later, it blew up constantly, like, weekly, and to get service on it the previous owner hand-wrote and mailed letters to Italy to try to get it resolved. It's still what's in there.
- The ZAPI has a fantastic 1980s remote... programmer? Look at this time capsule. OpenInverter ESP8266 interface eat your heart out. It's permanently attached, the wires get pinched by the trunk seam, the hatch seam, and then a long coiled phone cord-like girls chewing gum loudly and drowning in hairspray would twirl around their fingers. Why does it have a 15 foot long cord? Are you supposed to operate this while driving?:
- It has a DC-DC converter from TODD ENGINEERING SALES INC, no specs or model name. I emailed them (maybe them, who knows if it's still the same company). That's the thing on upper right:
- Speaking of DC-DC converters, it has another one... in the passenger footwell. 9-18vdc input... 15v 3.3a output. Huh? A DC-DC converter to... very slightly increase the voltage to 15v? Why? Maybe for the stereo? I'm so confused:
- Stay on target. I disassemble a few wires unscrewed some impossible-to reach bolts a 1/6th turn at a time, removed the battery holddown clamp, and took out one of 4 battery banks:
- I'm leaning way into the trunk to grab them, and, wondering why I'm so weak I can barely lift a car battery with my fingers. It's not a normal sized car battery. They're tall:
- AND HEAVY. 62.2 lbs?:
There's 16 of them total in the car. THERE IS 1000 POUNDS OF GODDAMN BATTERY IN HERE!

I took out that one side only, and the car was noticeably tilted to the driver's side. I measured the wheelwells. The right side is 1.5" higher than the left, after 250lbs of battery got taken out.

Y'know, in most EVs, battery space and weight is a serious consideration. On the GTE, Jesus, I don't think I could even add 1000 lbs back in. Lots of extra room in the "trunk", but, the worst possible weight distribution. All the batteries are behind the rear wheels, or in front of the front ones. Meanwhile a non-existant and inaccessible back "seat" (not a seat) and luggage rack area.

Oh, and, the previous owner bought and installed 8v batteries for 128v nominal, versus the stock 16x 6v batteries for 96v operation.

That's as far as I've gotten so far.

God I love DC.

My Opel GT took me 5 years and had to have a working inverter and brain board to first even find out if the motor worked.

My Bradley GTE took me about 60 seconds to test the motor. My second evening of working on it (mostly just removing 1000 lbs of 29 year old batteries)... wheels are already rolling.

No controller hooked up. Just car battery charger straight to the motor. Blissful.