BradR's B1.5 Restoration

[BradR]

Since there are some other B1.5 threads here, I figured that I would share mine. I was planning to make this my first build thread, so here are some "before" pics. I'm calling it a restoration, because I built this car shortly after the T2 was released. It's been in my garage for almost 20 years. It's covered with rust and dust, the rear camber link is broken, and the parts that were dyed black have faded to purple.

When I built it, I wanted to make it like the RC10's we were racing at the time (except on the T2 chassis). I shortened the tub, and fitted a 2.25 transmission. The only parts that were made from scratch are the rear tower and transmission brace/wing mount bracket. I only raced it once, before I received a prototype B2.

[BradR]

And the body...

I used a Turbo Mirage, and covered the exposed areas of the chassis with painted Lexan pieces. Formula 1 cars had recently started adding aerodynamic pieces behind the front wheels, so that was my inspiration.

[85Edinger]

Did any of the guys here that made these know it had been done before? Wasn't Scr8p the first one on the site?

[GoMachV]

Very cool Brad! We have always wondered why associated went away from the tub and straight to the B2. I assume this was your cooked up version, not something Associated had you try, correct? Do you recall any buzz about the car that never was?

[scr8p]

Did any of the guys here that made these know it had been done before? Wasn't Scr8p the first one on the site?

i know i wasn't the first guy on the site to make one. carloco8's comes to mind as well as another one or two guys (can't remember their screen names). but as far as i knew, on the here, i was the first one to shorten a tub and really try to make it a straight up "buggy".

i received a little preview of these pics this morning, and to be honest, i was really surprised to see them. i have always wondered if the B1.5 idea could've been something AE was playing with. it just always seemed weird to me that there was such a drastic change between the rc10 and b2, compared to the 10t and t2. to me it just felt like something was missing.

so last night, i asked brad if my B1.5 concept was something that may have been in the works. he then sent me a couple pics of the above car. like i said, i was surprised. i really wasn't expecting to see that he had built one for himself back in the day, and then with some of the similarites of mine (shortened tub, shortened battery brace, custom rear tower) it was just really cool to see. even brad's body. you can go back somewhere in the middle of my B1.5 thread and see where i talk about wanting to make a mold of a turbo mirage body and altering the sides to clear the chassis. basically coming up with what you see above. weird and cool all at the same time.

[teman]

Very cool, thanks for sharing! I figured someone BITD did it but never really saw any originals.

I build mine after seeing 3 other members here do it and I felt compelled to build one for myself I've been driving mine quite a bit lately and I must say I like it ALOT

[BradR]

Very cool Brad! We have always wondered why associated went away from the tub and straight to the B2. I assume this was your cooked up version, not something Associated had you try, correct? Do you recall any buzz about the car that never was?

Yeah, this was just one of my personal projects. I don't remember even showing it to anybody at Associated. The B2 was already in the works, and I think it was designed for a molded chassis from the start.

[aeiou]

Pretty cool stuff right there. Thanks for sharing this, Brad. If it were mine, I'd be tempted to leave it dirty and dusty just like it is. A true garage find.

[BradR]

Pretty cool stuff right there. Thanks for sharing this, Brad. If it were mine, I'd be tempted to leave it dirty and dusty just like it is. A true garage find.

Another fan of "Chasing Classic Cars," I presume. Me too. However, I think the "dust adds value" rule only applies when you find it in someone else's garage.

[scr8p]

for me, i would tear it down, clean the parts, replace whatever was broken, swap out rusty screws with new ones (of the same finish), and rebuild it back to original.

i wouldn't re-dye anything either. let it show it's age..... it gives it character. bolt up some tires and wheels of the same condition and time period and call it done.

[aeiou]

Pretty cool stuff right there. Thanks for sharing this, Brad. If it were mine, I'd be tempted to leave it dirty and dusty just like it is. A true garage find.

Another fan of "Chasing Classic Cars," I presume. Me too. However, I think the "dust adds value" rule only applies when you find it in someone else's garage.

Nothing to do with reality TV or value, just the coolness factor. Whatever you end up doing with it, it's a great addition to the forum. I know there will a lot of us following this thread.