I've posted about my Frejus here before, and have been adapting the too large frame to fit. These sorts of bikes are seldom encountered where I live. I was set on keeping it as close to stock as I could.
I decided to pretend it was 1980 and that I inherited this as a hand me down from an older brother who bought it in 1964 and was taller than me but moved away and hasn't ridden it for years. As a young kid in 1980 I wouldn't have thought about being period correct or have had much money. So, stem and bars went first to get a decent French fit.
SR raddner bars and a stem I had on hand
That worked swell but my brother must have been lots stronger too, as that gearing wasn't something I could handle with the 47-50 crank rings.
Campy Gran Sport and 14-22 five speed
I then changed to a 14-28 freewheel like many 10 speeds had, but found that the Campy couldn't handle it. Well I went to the LBS, and they sold be a Suntour 7 that did just fine and shifted the freewheel just fine. Hooray, I could now ride the bike.
Suntour 7 from co-op
workable gearing and shifting
That was the pretend part. I first tried a sun tour compact 6 speed in 14-26 and the Gran Sport was crunchy on the 20-23 and 23-26 shifts. It just wasn't pleasant. After the changes, the bike was fun and a pleasant ride. To this now old guy, it felt way sportier than it looks.
Not period correct, but rideable now at least. The ride for some reason inspired me to be more aggressive and I am now pleased. Unlike 1980, I have all the old parts saved in a box to go with the bike.