OMG, just logged on and to find this out. I only met Brad in person a couple times but have had many conversations over the past 20 years. Great guy who once offered to pick up a car for me that was out of my reach geographically and hold it for me until I could pick it up. He did this out of the blue via a pmail. A great resource for Buick information and proudly flew the Buick flag... Saying Brad will be missed is an understatement. RIP friend.....
Great pics Larry, here is a story about Maggie the wonder dog, Beth & I plus all the Conley’s were sitting under the BPG tent one year and Drew’s friend Talon was with us. Anyway, Talon had bought a piece of pizza and it was on his plate right at dog level. No one was paying attention to the dog and all of a sudden Talon realized his pizza was gone. I don’t think I ever saw Brad laugh so hard. Duane
Very sorry Duane and everyone for the loss of Brad. I was shocked to read this happened. Going thru some of my dads folders of Buick stuff the past few weeks , I came across copies of several old letters dad had saved related to Buicks /GSX’s etc. one was the envelope in which someone had sent my dad some original 1970 auto show photos of Brads X. This letter was from back in the 80’s. My dad had met someone at a car show and they said they had these photos of a gsx they took back in 1970 and they would mail to him if he wanted them. Turned out to be Brads car and my dad immediately contacted Brad and sent them to him. I recall Brad being very happy as it showed the original front spoiler so well. Very sorry for his family. He always represented us Buick nuts so well. RIP
Just heard from Drew and for those that are interested in going, the tentative times are as follows, Viewing 2-5 PM on Tuesday Funeral at 11:00 AM on Wednesday I am not sure if there will be something at the funeral home first and then we go to the cemetery or if we would all meet at the cemetery. That part has not been finalized yet. Duane
Sad to hear the news, Brad surely was an icon in Buick history during our generation(s). He will be missed. Here's my Brad story... it was 1983 and I was attending college in Columbus Ohio, Brad's home town. I was already a die-hard Buick fan, having owned a '66 GS since 1977. I attended the '82 GS Nats and had my GS at a storage facility in Columbus so I could attend the '83 Nats. My daily driver was a '67 Fairlane, but I brought my GS out for the GS Nats and Car Craft Street Machine Nats... the GS was too nice to use as a daily driver, and my home base was 480 miles away in eastern Pa. Columbus was a convenient halfway point, so it was garaged at a storage facility. Anyway, there was a Musclecar event at National Trail Raceway outside of Columbus. I didn't have the cash for gas+ admission, so I rode my 10 speed bike to the track. While I was there I spotted 2 guys in the stands with GS t-shirts. I went to say hi and hung out with them for a while. At the event end, Brad offered me a ride home....his GSX was in the parking lot. We loaded my 10 speed into the trunk of the GSX and headed home. We stopped at the storage facility so he could check out my '66, then back to my apartment complex for the drop-off. My wise-ass roommate, familiar with Buick stuff, commented 'Nice Chevelle!'. I should have a pic somewhere. I was only 21 y/o at the time, and Brad must have been about 25? It was a memorable experience, one I won't forget. Glad I got to meet him, sad to know it won't happen again. Condolences to his family and his friends. Great to hear his family will continue to honor his legacy.
I'm really sorry to read this news about Brad. He will be missed by many people for sure and there will be many voids left behind. When we got into the Buick hobby in 1988, Brad was already one of the guys that was known far and wide as being a longtime Buick guy with a very rare Buick who was very passionate about the hobby. I saw Brad's obituary today and it's very fitting that it includes a photo of the '70 GSX. https://www.underwoodfuneralhome.com/obituary/brad-conley
Just got back from MCACN. When we heard the news Friday we were shocked to the point of tears. At the Friday night dinner party with 50 or more Buick attendees Ajesh was crying as he told everyone the news. Brad was a very special man and Buick brother. Brad was one of the good guys and will be sorely missed. May his memory forever be a blessing
Brad was a great person in the Buick community and will be missed greatly. Thoughts and prayers to his family.
I was talking with Phil Roitman and John Csordas at MCACN when Phil mentioned this. I was floored, as I know everyone else was. In fact, I had planned to email him a few days before to see if he was going to be at MCACN. I had the email planned all in my head but it slipped my mind. We had chatted about a year or two prior, as I wanted to pick his brain about insurance during the muscle car era, as he was both a muscle car guy and a man who knew the industry. I've read so much about how insurance gauged high performance cars that I felt there was a story in it. The phone call was merely just a start, with a revisit down in the future due to me with a completely full plate having just moved to a new city. So I just wanted to reconnect and plan a time to resume. Forgive me if this seems in poor taste, but my email was going to mention something along the lines of "we need to get the story done for posterity," somewhat of a nudge that this needed to be done because the hobby is getting older and people are passing away, even though he was still young. Never in my wildest dreams would I think it could become true for him. I've known about him since the 1980s due to his very special twin GSXs, so it was a pleasure meeting him a few years ago. I think I met him one other time. Truly a sad moment for the Buick hobby....condolences to his family.
Wow. I haven't logged in here in quite some time until just now and this is practically the first thing I see. God speed to Brad Conley. Very sad news for sure and my condolences to everyone associated with him . I still have the issue of Car Review Magazine and some others from the 1980's featuring his famous GSX .
I met Brad in 2004 at the first annual BPG national meet at Salem OH. I was a dumb kid at 23 years old, but I was eager to be part of the action. Brad quickly became a mentor to me, getting me involved with the inner workings of the club and how to manage it. We didn't see each other except for once or twice a year, but I valued his friendship as much as anyone I considered a close friend. When he met my girlfriend Atena in 2012, he was the first one to say "You're going to marry her." We were engaged 3 months later. When we found out about his passing last Friday at MCACN, we were all in shock. John Csordas broke the news to our little group on our way to lunch. But despite the sobering news, he said some comforting words - Brad passed at a time when many of his friends are together in one place, which allows us to remember him together and toast in his honor. Ajesh led our dinner of 50 people with the news of his passing and a moment of silence for him. Story time ----- A couple years ago, I found a 1941 Philco console radio in PA, and was trying to figure out how to get it home. I'm not sure if it was Brad or Duane that I talked to first, but the idea came up that Duane could pick it up, and then we would do a transfer at MCACN or somewhere convenient for everyone. I believe the radio was located somewhere within about an hour of Duane, so he went and grabbed it. I assumed I wouldn't see it for a year, or at least several months. But soon after that, Brad and Duane met up with each other and Brad took the radio with him. At least it was closer to me, now. Keep in mind that those two guys live 8 HOURS from each other. Not really a quick trip, even if you split it halfway. It just so happened that Brad and Jodie were coming through St. Louis on the way to CO (I think) and they would drop the radio off at our house on the way. At the time, it was in the depths of our beloved COVID days in late 2020...so everything we did was kind of a pain in the butt. Brad and Jodie arrived in the afternoon with the radio and we got it unloaded, but we couldn't let them leave without a nice dinner out. After that, they went back on their way westward. This would have been a totally impossible feat without the Conleys and Duane. It's a centerpiece of our living room now after being restored. Fast forward to Wednesday at the funeral home before the processional to the cemetery, we had a chance to pay our last respects to Brad and watch the video slideshow that that family had put together for the visitation. One of the photos was of Brad and Duane with a large box wrapped up in bubble wrap sitting in the back of Brad's SUV. No one knew what it was until Duane saw it in the slideshow and mentioned it was the radio they picked up for me. We solved the mystery of the photo! I'm not sure who has a copy of that photo now. I'd love to post it on here to complete the story.
Sad news, Brad was a true Buick icon with his GSX Show-car and the knowledge he had of these cars. I remember meeting him in the early/mid nineties at the Nationals and he was telling me in great detail about the 70 and 71(black) GSX's he was displaying and I thought having 2 of the rarest GSX's in existence must place him in "Buick Guru Status", because he sure knew a lot about Buicks and I was in awe looking over every part of the 70 car. Most recently, (in 2017) he helped me breakdown the VIN and build date on my 70' Little Joe Racecar and provided me valuable insight on my car's history. He will surely be missed by the Buick community and all who knew him. R.I.P. Brad .
Very sorry to hear this, sending my condolences. I met Brad at the MCACN the GSX show and got to talk to him and met his son. Great guy and he gave me great hope with my GSX. RIP
