1960 Lark tail light lens question

[barnlark]

I have asked others privately for help on this but did not receive any response. Does anyone know when "TEACO" made '60 lenses? I am pretty sure I have at least three original '60 lenses and they have an "A" print-molded on them, not Teaco, at the right outside end point next to the STT-SP marking. I recently received a lens in a clean, yet opened, Studebaker Corporation, post-1960 printed box (not an S-P box) with the correct part number on it, but the lens was a Teaco. Is that lens, not the box, a post S-P, official Studebaker vendored version, or a later reproduction maybe put in that box? Does anyone have any idea about this?

[StudeRich]

I am sure it was an officially sanctioned rerun done by the original Studebaker Automotive Sales Corp. Div. of Studebaker in the late 1960's or early 1970's, they were still very much alive and making a few "high demand" parts when needed with original tooling sometimes with a different vendor. Some year model lenses like 1962, '63 were all made by Teaco.

I really do not see the importance of when they were made. Until many years after Studebaker was gone (1990's) pretty much NOTHING was re-produced.

StudeRich
Studebakers Northwest
Ferndale, WA

[StudeRich]

I am sure it was an officially sanctioned rerun done by the original Studebaker Automotive Sales Corp. Div. of Studebaker in the late 1960's or early 1970's, they were still very much alive and making a few "high demand" parts when needed with original tooling sometimes with a different vendor. Some year model lenses like 1962, '63 were all made by Teaco.

I really do not see the importance of when they were made. Until many years after Studebaker was gone (1990's) pretty much NOTHING was re-produced.

StudeRich
Studebakers Northwest
Ferndale, WA

[dpson]

You got me curious so I found the 1960 Lark taillight lens that I bought on ebay a couple years ago that was still in the orignal box and the box had never been opened. It was a "Studebaker Automotive Sales Corporation" "Parts and Service Division" box and had the words "STUDEBAKER" (not S-P) "Endurance Built Products" on the paper label(part #1336251). Anyway the lens has "TEACO" on it. Right above the 1960 lens were two NOS 1959 TL lenses in the original boxes, one 1331773 and one 1331774. One box had the older stype S-P paper label while the other had the more modern "STUDEBAKER" block script label (same as on the 1960 box). As I understand it the 1959 lenses have not been reproduced so the box label style must have changed in 1959/1960. I also looked at 5 other 1960 lenes (new and used, no boxes) and they all have "TEACO". Draw your own conclusions, but I'd say the TEACO lens is likley an original and perhaps Studebaker also used another supplier (autolite?) for the lens with "A" on it.

Dan Peterson
Montpelier, VT
1960 Lark V-8 Convertible
1960 Lark V-8 Convertible (parts car)
1961 Lark Crusier
1962 Lark V-8 Regal Convertible

[dpson]

You got me curious so I found the 1960 Lark taillight lens that I bought on ebay a couple years ago that was still in the orignal box and the box had never been opened. It was a "Studebaker Automotive Sales Corporation" "Parts and Service Division" box and had the words "STUDEBAKER" (not S-P) "Endurance Built Products" on the paper label(part #1336251). Anyway the lens has "TEACO" on it. Right above the 1960 lens were two NOS 1959 TL lenses in the original boxes, one 1331773 and one 1331774. One box had the older stype S-P paper label while the other had the more modern "STUDEBAKER" block script label (same as on the 1960 box). As I understand it the 1959 lenses have not been reproduced so the box label style must have changed in 1959/1960. I also looked at 5 other 1960 lenes (new and used, no boxes) and they all have "TEACO". Draw your own conclusions, but I'd say the TEACO lens is likley an original and perhaps Studebaker also used another supplier (autolite?) for the lens with "A" on it.

Dan Peterson
Montpelier, VT
1960 Lark V-8 Convertible
1960 Lark V-8 Convertible (parts car)
1961 Lark Crusier
1962 Lark V-8 Regal Convertible

[barnlark]

Got some good South Bend resident answers to this recently. According to him, Studebaker used so many vendors depending on what strike was going on, or which company came under on it's bids every year that it's hard to tell who, depending on which part, was the original vendor, but many times there were multiple original vendors to keep up with production. Since he worked at Studebaker and dealt with parts well after 1964, he said that original boxes were re-used and re-packaged with later reproduction parts well after 1963. Old labels were used sometimes and also new labels used on old boxes with original or remanufactured parts, etc., to keep the cost down. You can't always go by the box's label, he said. He thinks the Teacos were made after April of 1962 exclusively for spare lenses and repackaged with whatever boxes they had, but usually with the new 1963 and later Studebaker Corp. boxes when the old SP ones were used up. He had a whole huge bag without boxes of those 1960 Teaco lenses. There is a non Teaco 1959 lens on ebay right now, btw.
Rich, you are right, why the importance? There really doesn't seem to be much of a difference and it is probably the original mold later sold to Teaco..no big deal. I just wondered if the 1960 STT-SP Teaco was a real 1960 "nos" for that nit picky concours question some day. The 1959 on ebay is a STT-SO version, btw. Anyone know what SO stood for?

[barnlark]

Got some good South Bend resident answers to this recently. According to him, Studebaker used so many vendors depending on what strike was going on, or which company came under on it's bids every year that it's hard to tell who, depending on which part, was the original vendor, but many times there were multiple original vendors to keep up with production. Since he worked at Studebaker and dealt with parts well after 1964, he said that original boxes were re-used and re-packaged with later reproduction parts well after 1963. Old labels were used sometimes and also new labels used on old boxes with original or remanufactured parts, etc., to keep the cost down. You can't always go by the box's label, he said. He thinks the Teacos were made after April of 1962 exclusively for spare lenses and repackaged with whatever boxes they had, but usually with the new 1963 and later Studebaker Corp. boxes when the old SP ones were used up. He had a whole huge bag without boxes of those 1960 Teaco lenses. There is a non Teaco 1959 lens on ebay right now, btw.
Rich, you are right, why the importance? There really doesn't seem to be much of a difference and it is probably the original mold later sold to Teaco..no big deal. I just wondered if the 1960 STT-SP Teaco was a real 1960 "nos" for that nit picky concours question some day. The 1959 on ebay is a STT-SO version, btw. Anyone know what SO stood for?