When I, Crime guitarist Anderson Walworth went to check out a 1970s Bradley GT Kit Car in Highland Park a year ago he was offered a deal if he could just get it off the owner's property. Seems not only had the previous owner become too fat to strap himself into the gull-winged roadster, but there was water in the engine, and frankly, it looked like hell. There were holes in the floorboard and the chassis was four different colors.
"My plan was just to get it running and all one color," Walworth reports. "I couldn't have imagined that I would be asked three times a day about my car."
The Bradley Kit Cars (which stopped production in 1981) were based on a VW Beetle chassis. Luckily, Walworth had experience working on Bugs with his old man. After patching and painting the Fiberglas chassis and repairing the engine, Walworth has tripled his initial investment. There are still a few issues with his vintage kit ride — it's not exactly watertight — but it literally causes a commotion wherever it goes.
The low-riding Bradley looks fast just sitting still, but in reality it tops out at about 85 mph. "I love it," Walworth says. "It looks fast but it's really just a cheap car."
See I, Crime Saturday, May 31, at the Belmont, 10215 Joseph Campau, Hamtramck; 313-871-1966.
To hear I, Crime's music: myspace.com/icrime.
