Remember too,that in that time period,all the Le Champions had nicely finished plain cut lugs and longer hand made seat stay caps. The G.R.s have Nervex fancy lugs, and the caps weren't nearly as long. There's no mistaking the two bikes as far as a re-paint. Also the Team bikes had scalloped stay and fork ends compared to plain rounded on the Champ, so they are different visually. My bikes are all 21'' and the Champ has a 40 5/8" wheelbase and eyelets on all dropouts. The newest G.R. is 39 1/2". Dickey Greer West Monroe,La, USA
Well, there is one I wasn't aware of, a 531 throughout GR, including rear stays. I also have an early 70's Le Champion, which has more rake than my late 70's Team Champion, but less than my early 70's GR. The oddball one of my collection is a late 70's Le Champion in the black/red/gold scheme usually associated with Grand Record. Even stranger, this Le Champion had more like touring than racing geometry, with long rake, eyelets, and a brake reach so long Mafac Competitions were too short. One might suspect this as a redecaled GR, except the finish showed every sign of being original, plus the rear stays are chromed, as on most 70's Le Champions, but which I've never seen on GR. I bought this bike out of Canada, so I'm guessing maybe the LeChampions sold in Canada might have been different than in the States.
Regards,
Jerry Moos
Big Spring, TX