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The Story!
   As stated elsewhere the last owner of this Bradley had set it up to be a fair weather car and I need it to be a daily driver. I prefer the look of the Sundowner type short window over the stock fastback window. However, although those windows have recently become available again, they would not fit due to my roll bar and gas cap location. I therefore decided to build a fiberglass rear window cowl and put a flat rear window in it. I was going to try to put some quarter panel windows in, but it just would not work with the shape and they really wanted to be where the cowl and the tee-top brace interfaced so I just left them out. I'll just have to cope with the potential blind spots. I decided to make it a contrasting black (give it sort of the vinyl top look) for two reasons. First I like the proportions of the tee-top support and merging the back cowl onto it would change the look. Second, thus far I have not been able to find paint that exactly matches the color of the rest of the car.
   This is my first experience with fiberglass, other than extending the bottom lip for the windshield frame. I have gone through the cycle of hating the actual layering of the fiberglass to tolerating it to being quite amazed at how versatile the method is. As the pictures show, I built a frame of wood, used tape to make a templete to cover it with cardboard and then added two layers of fiberglass on the outside and one on the inside. I used Bondo & glazing puddy to smooth the outside. On the inside I used contact cement to attach black auto carpet to match the headliners I put it. At the rounded edge portion there is a space between the inner and outer surface, which I filled with fiberglass insulation. I am generally happy with it with the exception of the "wrinkle finish paint" did not wrinkle consistently.
















My To-Do List!
Following is a list of things that I have or am planning on doing. Clicking on the completed date will show a before & after picture if the item is done, or possibly a before only picture if it has not been completed yet!
Item No.
Completed?
Description
1.
10/18/07
Make sure all bolts present, nutted & tightened.
2.
10/20/07
Trade tires & wheels with Baha Bug
3.
10/24/07
Align rear bumpers, Name plate, Speedo cable
4.
10/24/07
Re-mount Seats/Shoulder Belts
5.
10/27/07
Install clear headlight covers & horn
6.
11/05/07
Install missing SMOG components/Gas tank vent system
7.
11/11/07
Shelf extension/Battery Cover/Rearview mirror
8.
11/26/07
Align top/Install headliner
9.
12/23/07
Install heater ducts
10.
01/12/08
Rewire, fuse blocks, terminal strips, etc.
11.
01/12/08
New LED Dashboard
12.
03/15/08
Stereo Installation
13.
07/09/08
Back window
14.
10/12/08
Make/install doors
15.
??/??/??
Misc. Details

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