Photo / Info Request, 50 Champion Interior

[wdills]

Since the restoration of my hawk is winding to a close, it is time to start thinking about my dad's 50 champion starlight. He wants to paint it the stock light blue color which is no problem. My issue is interior material / color. I talked to Rene at Southeast and he doesn't have any original material that is the right color to go with the light blue exterior. Rene has photos on his website of what appears to be a 2 tone tan stripe material color for the 47-52's.

Is that 2 tone tan stripe correct for a light blue 50 model?

Does anyone have a light blue car with an original looking interior. If you do I would love to see some photos and any information you have on how I can get my hands on some of that material.

I have contacted a couple NOS material suppliers (including SMS) and none of them are confident about what was offered in a 50 Stude.

Wayne

[mbhdesign]

Not sure if this helps, but here's a link to the 1950 brochure with color photo of a blue with tan interior.

http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/static/NA/Studebaker/1950%20Studebaker/1950%20Studebaker%20Brochure%201/1950%20Studebaker%20Brochure-09.html

[thunderations]

Both blue 50 Champion Starlight Coupes I had were grey interiors. One was a Regal Deluxe and the other a lowly Deluxe. Both colors were the same but the patterns were different.
If this is to be a 400 point show car, then searching for the correct cloth is needed. If it's to be a driver, find a nice vintage looking material and enjoy the car. The color was a light gray and had maroon pinstripes in both cars. The Regal Deluxe had more pattern to it then the poor little Deluxe. The seat backs and sides were a plain light gray.
Now, the fun part. When I first saw the cars, both looked like the interiors were tan/taupe, but when I pulled a seam open, they were gray and had faded to tan.
That's all I got except a small piece off one of the Regal Deluxe seats that I could mail you.

[Corvanti]

Wayne, i don't know if this will help since mine is a '51 and not sure it would be "correct" for a '50. also pics shared on the internet can be deceiving. the vinyl is actually a light gray. on my computer it looks like there's some light blue in it. the cloth is all light and darker beige or tan stripes.

to add to the confusion, my production order shows the exterior paint was originally "2318 Black"...

[TWChamp]

Here are a couple pictures of my 1950 Champion with F3 trim. The car was restored in the early 90's, but I don't know who did it.

[thunderations]

That material and pattern is the same, or very close to some I have on a original seat back. Not much of that material left and it had faded to tan. Upon opening a seam I discovered it was originally gray with the darker stripes and the maroon pin strip.

Here are a couple pictures of my 1950 Champion with F3 trim. The car was restored in the early 90's, but I don't know who did it.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]52801[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]52802[/ATTACH]

[wdills]

Thanks for all the input. This is not going to be a completely correct restoration. We are making some changes for reliability and drivability. We do want it to look correct to most of the world. I will use the photos to help in my search for a "correct looking" material.

[TWChamp]

Here are 3 more pictures of my 1950 Champion upholstery. It's too bad the prep and paint isn't the same quality as the interior of the car. I found the correct color NOS arm rests for the rear seat, but I still need to find the correct color arm rests for the front. Either that or I'll have to use some color spray on these black arm rests.

[thunderations]

That all looks pretty correct for a Regal Deluxe. The base, Deluxe model used vinyl on the sides and back of the seats, as I remember. The same vinyl was used on the Starlight Coupe rear folding armrests. I'm not sure which material was used on the middle model, the Regal.

Here are 3 more pictures of my 1950 Champion upholstery. It's too bad the prep and paint isn't the same quality as the interior of the car. I found the correct color NOS arm rests for the rear seat, but I still need to find the correct color arm rests for the front. Either that or I'll have to use some color spray on these black arm rests.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]52847[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]52848[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]52849[/ATTACH]

[wdills]

Does anyone know a paint code or maybe the name of the color used on the dash and steering column?

[TWChamp]

That all looks pretty correct for a Regal Deluxe. The base, Deluxe model used vinyl on the sides and back of the seats, as I remember. The same vinyl was used on the Starlight Coupe rear folding armrests. I'm not sure which material was used on the middle model, the Regal.

There was another 1950 F3 like mine that was in fair original condition about 20 miles from me. It's interior was just like my restored interior, so someone went to great pains to keep this car as original as possible.

It's just too bad they used lacquer rather than a good enamel, and they could have made the rocker panels a bit straighter.