![]() Harry Bradley's 1951 Chevrolet Bel Air - La Jolla Harry designed everything from plastic model kits to full size hot rods and custom cars. Harry resigned to start his own design firm and began work on a variety of projects. Gilford, who just had just left Chrysler, quickly accepted the job of designing the next Hot Wheels models. When the company asked him back, he recommended a good friend, Ira Gilford. The cars were released in 1968 and all of the cars were designed by Harry Bentley Bradley with the exception of the Custom Volkswagen which was designed by Ira Gilford.Īs it turned out, the Hot Wheels brand was a staggering success! Unfortunately, Harry Bentley Bradley didn't think that would be the case and had quit Mattel in 1969. The original line had 16 models in bright candy colors with carburetor stacks, mag wheels, chopped roofs and red line tires. Bradley's mix of hot rod and mainstream car design proved the perfect combination. ![]() With Mattel paying the gas money Harry drove his 1964 Chevrolet El Camino to California. Harry saw the job at Mattel as a great opportunity to return to California. The response was surprisingly low, but Adickes returned with Harry Bradley. Adickes placed an ad in the local Detroit newspaper. Mattel wanted to hire a designer from one of Detroit's "Big 3" to create the look of their new Hot Wheels die-cast cars, so Elliot Handler of Mattel sent Fred Adickes to Detroit to find what they were looking for. In the spring of 1966 Harry was recruited by the Mattel Corporation. In 1964, while studying in California Harry designed the Dodge Deora for the Alexander Broethers. Harry took advantage of GM's fellowship study program for a Masters degree at Stanford University. ![]() During his time there he worked for a number of studios. The threat wasn't much of a deterrent Bradley and the brothers designed and built several more Caravan cars. The car was part of the Ford Custom Caravan, so needless to say, working for Ford's interest while working for General Motors would have threatened Harry's job, so Mike and Larry Alexander credited Harry as Designer X. While working for the Cadillac design studio, Harry designed the Alexa, a 1964 Ford fastback Galaxie for the Alexander Brothers. Within weeks of his arrival at GM Design Staff, Harry and the Alexander Brothers had forged a relationship that would result in more than 10 Bradley-designed custom cars over the next eight years. It was against General Motors company policy to publish designs for Hot Rod and Custom Magazines while working for General Motors, so Harry continued to publish his design under the false name Mark Fadner. Harry was recruited by General Motors during his last semester at Pratt and moved to Detroit in July, 1962. While attending the design program, Harry launched his own business as a custom design consultant and began to contribute regularly to various automotive publications such as Rodding and Re-styling, Customs Illustrated and Rod & Custom. He wrote to General Motors asking about job opportunities and their response suggested the industrial design program at Pratt Institute. Harry attended the College of Wooster for a liberal arts education at the urging of his parents but his real goal was a career in automobile design. Harry was a member of the Drivin Deuces car club. The Chevrolet is better known as the La Jolla. But it was too late his parents didn't have a chance against the inspiration Harry had gotten from people like PininFarina, Harley Earl, Joe Bailon and the Barris Brothers. When he got it, Harry promised his parents that he wouldn't touch the car, never. After a couple of years he wrangled a cherry red 1951 Chevrolet Bel Air from his parents. He started to make sketches and designs, making plans for his own car. Harry got into the early fifties Chevys after borrowing an all-black 1950 Chevrolet Bel Air from the guy who was dating his sister. It was his first customized vehicle! After learning to live with leg braces, Harry went on to finish grade school and became further entrenched into the car culture of the early 1950's. He added lots of decorations – mirrors with reflectors, squeeze-bulb horns, handgrips with red, white and blue vinyl streamers – and a fox tail hanging at the rear. For the first few months at home he used a wheelchair of which he was very proud. Nurses would place his wheel chair by a window overlooking the street so he could sketch automobiles. Harry was treated at the Boston's Children's Hospital for seven months. During the summer of 1949, fourteen year old Harry contracted Polio and was soon paralyzed from the waist down. He began to draw early, and nurtured his artistic talent through youth classes at the Museum of Fine Arts. Harry Bentley Bradley was born in 1936 in Waban, Massachusetts. The Kandy Klown, an example of Harry's published Hot Rod designs
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