entertainment in hawaii: AUTOMOTIVE - AUTOS: Unique 'Studester' At Barrett-Jackson

The 1953 Studebaker Champion is considered one of the truly great automotive designs of the 1950s, a sleek, European-style coupe when most mainstream American cars were big and bulky affairs. The landmark styling by Robert E. Bourke, chief of the Raymond Loewy studios in South Bend, Ind., was also streamlined enough to become the basis for mainly kinds of custom cars, most notably Bonneville speed-record competitors because of its wind-cheating qualities at high speed.

Custom-car builder Jimmy Varacalli of McKeesport, Pa., saw something different in the 1953 Studebaker. His vision was to take the basic lines of the Champion coupe and shape them into an evocative two-seat roadster that hunkers low in a smooth and flowing form unlike anything that had gone before. The result is the Studester, a magnificent automotive work of art and a performance car of stunning capability.

Custom-car builder Jimmy Varacalli shortened the '53 Studebaker's body 20 inches and frenched in the headlights and taillights. (Photo: Barrett-Jackson) As well as impressing everyone who sees it, Studester also inspires awe for the vast amount of custom modifications that have gone into it, from its hand-built steel-tube frame to its artfully formed body and its thundering 532-cubic-inch Ford V8. Studester has been featured in numerous magazines and has won such major awards as Boyd Coddington Pro's Pick and ?Best Ford in a Ford? at Goodguys Rod and Custom annual competition.

This impressive Studester is one of the superb cars brought to Barrett-Jackson?s Las Vegas auction by Bryan and Roger Frank of the Frank Collection of Scottsbluff, Nebraska. The Franks, a son and father team, are Barrett-Jackson regulars who have bought and sold many collector cars at the auctions since 2007.

Bryan, the younger Frank, said Studester has been a longtime favorite of the collection, which currently numbers about 125 cars, most of them available for purchase. But the Franks recognized the very special qualities of this custom car and felt like they weren?t doing it justice because they couldn?t get it out to enough events where people could enjoy it, he said. The hope is that someone who has the time and the wherewithal will bring Studester out to compete in shows around the country.

Studester sits on a hand-built tube frame and is fitted with a removeable hardtop. (Photo: Barrett-Jackson) ?It?s one of those cars that deserves to be taken out and shown, and we really don?t get to do that enough,? Bryan Frank said. ?Whenever we do, it gets a lot of attention. It deserves to be out on the show circuit, so we decided to go with Barrett-Jackson.?

Studester started out as a stock 1953 Champion coupe which Varacalli set out to turn into his dream machine. Among his modification were cutting off the top, adding the windshield from a Porsche 944, shortening the body 20 inches and raising the quarter panels 1.5 inches. He frenched in the headlights and taillights, sectioned the rear bumper, custom shaped the quarter panels, shaved and flattened out the trunk lid, built a custom rear deck panel, rounded off the doors in a Porsche style, extended the front fenders and filled in the vents.

But that?s not all. Varacalli built a custom grill with LED parking lights, sectioned and shaved the front bumper with the lower valance panel extended out to meet the bumper, added a custom exhaust tip built into the rear bumper and dressed it all up with custom 20-inch and 18-inch Billet Specialties wheels. He also built a custom, removable hardtop. The paint he chose was a lustrous silver.

The black-and-silver interior is no less a work of art. The modifications include an extended dashboard with digital gauges, hidden rear-view mirror in the dashboard, custom-built console with hidden switches, seats built into the rear body panel, custom aluminum steering wheel and column, and all-vinyl upholstery with custom trim panels. The sound system is by Rick Mokel with Kenwood and Cerwin-Vega components.