Gerard Chapuis, who lives near Clermont-Ferrand in the center of France, sent in pictures of the restoration of his 1957 Studebaker Champion 4-Door Sedan. The first picture shows the car in its unrestored state. It had been sitting outside in a garden for 27 years. Gerard estimates that the restoration took about 2,000 hours. The rusted areas were repaired and the car was repainted in Lilac which was a 1957 Packard Clipper color and Shasta White which was a 1955 Studebaker color. The interior has been beautifully redone in black and white cloth and vinyl with new carpet and Lilac painted door trim and dash. Here is a picture of the back seat area.

The engine is a 185 cubic inch flathead six that was bored and completely rebuilt and the transmission is a three speed manual with overdrive. The cartridge style oil filter is an aftermaket item. The entire engine compartment is nicely detailed. Gerard's Champion is a Regal trim model and is equipped with a Climatizer heater defroster. The car has dual exterior rear view mirrors and has the small dog dish style hubcaps that were standard but were often replaced with optional full wheel covers.

Gerard's 1957 Champion is one of only 247 Regal 4-Door models produced, all for export. U.S. market 1957 Champions were either Custom or Deluxe models, with Deluxe being the higher trim model. As far as Gerard knows, his is the only 1957 Studebaker Champion 4-Door Sedan in France.

Gerard also owns a 1956 Flight Hawk which appeared on this page first in October 2011 and again in August 2012 after a complete restoration and a 1963 Avanti R1 that appeared on this page in August 2013. Both cars can be seen in background in the second picture above. Thanks to Gerard for sending the pictures and information on his very sharp Studebaker Champion Sedan.