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| Photograph: Southbend Tribune |
Restorers sandblasted the automotive right down to the naked steel earlier than coating the body in a sealant to stop additional rust. then tried to copy the particular psychedelic paint job Dr. Enamel and the Electrical Mayhem gave it.
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| Photograph: Southbend Tribune |
Museum Curator Kyle Sater stated he began choking up seeing the automotive roll out of its trailer “This automotive is greater than a automotive,” t’s cross-generational — it is an icon… It symbolizes friendship and reminiscence and nostalgia.”
The movie really options two equivalent 1951 Studebaker Commanders. One automotive was used for lengthy pictures, whereas the second was modified so the puppeteers might management the Muppets from below the dashboard whereas an expert driver steered the automotive from the trunk utilizing customized controls.
Following manufacturing, the automotive sat open air for years on a Warner Bros. backlot, till the Studebaker Nationwide Museum acquired it in 2004 as a donation from the Orange Empire Chapter of the Studebaker Driver’s Membership in California.
A full restoration was at all times the intent when the museum first acquired the automotive, but it surely took time to get the cash to do it. In January 2022, The museum launched a crowdsourcing marketing campaign hoping to get $175,000
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| Photograph: Southbend Tribune |
After elevating round $100,000 from varied donors, together with personal donors, a donation of alternative elements from Studebaker Worldwide and different contributors Stephen Allen’s LLC, Westmoreland Studebaker, Studebakers West and Midwest Studebaker, the work started in January 2024 and the automotive returned to the museum Thursday, July 10 2025.
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| Photograph: Southbend Tribune |
A part of the restoration included a “meticulous recreation of the psychedelic paint scheme” and restoring the automotive’s mechanical programs and distant cockpit, which was used to function the car throughout filming. This was one of many biggest challenges, Zoran stated.
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| Muppet Film Cinematographer Isidore Mankofsky testing the automotive |
Razorfly aimed for perfection when renovating the 1951 Studebaker Commander by sustaining the spirit of the film in addition to the spirit of the car design, Zoran stated. The corporate performed hours of analysis and even reached out to Disney to view behind-the-scenes footage of the movie to make the car drive once more, quite than have it’s a prop.
“We needed to discover out what they eliminated, what they modified,” Zoran stated. “All of these modifications we needed to then reverse and virtually reverse engineer. We really needed to manufacture some elements to make the automotive again to (its) regular usability.”
Beneath are some earlier than and after photographs:
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| Photograph: Ed George |
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| Photograph: Ed George |
