Photos and research courtesy Kustomrama
Known as the “Gardner Special” after its designer and builder Vincent E. Gardner, this unique Studebaker custom sportster has been shown all over for more than 60 years. It began life as a shiny new ’47 Studebaker Champion, a three-passenger coupe purchased by Gardner while he worked under Raymond Loewy.
Gardner gave the car a new grille, hood, deck and pair of taillights, and moved the firewall and cockpit back 18 inches. He routed the exhaust through the taillights, granting the pipes a burning red glow at night. On the other end of the car, he flipped the headlight frames upside down, placing the parking lights on the bottom.
Reinforcing the frame gave this sporty Studebaker additional rigidity, a good compliment to the compressed air-powered automatic lifts Gardner put on the hood and deck. The bumpers were donated by a ’49 Studebaker Commander. Gardner re-worked the top section to allow for a pair of sedan front doors. He also lowered the radiator and shifted it forward, mounting the fan on the crankshaft to accommodate this. Matching the movements, he also rotated the steering gear and set it back, extending the clutch and brake.
The interior of the car was trimmed with understated natural tan cowhide, and two holes on either side of the grille joined with the heater (mounted to a vertical wall above the toe board) to draw fresh air into the car. Consolidating for convenience, Gardner placed controls for the headlights, heater and other devices on the steering column. Glove compartments adorned each door for handy storage.
The engine, featuring dual exhaust, a special coil, hard faced valves and a 7.7 to 1 aluminum high compression head, was fitted with two carburetors. Impressive, but perhaps the most striking feature of this bold custom was the removable Plexiglas top, sized so it could be stored in the trunk compartment.
His car complete, Gardner entered and won the very first Press-on-Regardless Rally, a 24-hour time, speed and distance rally race put on by the Detroit division of the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA). The next year, the car garnered recognition as the Most Magnificent Custom Roadster at Oakland’s National Roadster Show. At the same event, it took third for the Greatest Contribution to the Industry award, after entries by George Barris and the So-Cal Speed Shop.
After this, the Gardner Special fell into obscurity for a time, but reemerged in 2011 as a restoration project by Fran Roxas of Bridgeview, Ill.’s Vintage Motorsports. Jason Arrigo of Arrigo Specialty Metalworks was responsible for the metalwork on the car, now owned by John N. Allen of Naples, Fla. While the car had undergone multiple changes over the years, this restoration brought it back to its Gardner roots. In 2012, the restoration was complete, and the car was shown at Fla.’s Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance.
