'58 Commander Tailights & Color

[JimmieD]

Hi again!

I was looking at Randy G's great Studebaker Historical website, real nice Randy!!

There are several pictures of Commanders, about the 3rd one down is a rear view. I see the upper portion of tailight, the flat part, is white. On my '58 Commander the upper portion is red and the owner says he installed the red lenses. Should it be white or were some equipped with a red upper lens?

Mine was repainted by the owner, a very nice job too. The color is a turguoise blue, slightly lighter than the dark turquoise rear fin accent color shown on the white & blue Commander there at Randy's. The accent color is that same darker shade on mine, exactly matched. Would the lighter turguoise with darker accent be 'correct'? I saw one other Stude that seemed to be the lighter shade overall.

Doesn't much matter to me personally but, well, ya know....? Thanks!

JimmieD

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[JimmieD]

Sorry about that kiddies, fergot the URL:

http://www.automotivehistoryonline.com/studebaker1958.htm

Mentioned elsewhere, calcified grey matter....!

[56H-Y6]

Hi JimmieD

For reference, get a copy of the Turning Wheels, August 1991, Vol. 23, No. 8 with Fred Fox's article "1958 Sedans & Wagons, the last "big" Studebakers", it is the most complete, easy-to-refer to source that is readily available.

The lens on the flat, teardrop shaped ends of the fins should be clear as those were for the back-up lights, standard on Presidents, an $8.00 option on Champions and Commanders. Every '58 I've ever seen over the years has the clear lens in place there, whether they had the back-up light option or not.

As far as the colors, if you have the little paper tag from the underside of the glovebox liner with the color codes, I can look them up in the color list in the article. For most combinations, Studebaker also has a code for the reverse, affectively giving them almost double the number of choices.

Randy G's website is really excellent for reference.

Steve

[JimmieD]

Thanks much! When I can get back to the car I'll check for that tag. On the lights the plastic used wasn't the bright red clear we usually see, but sort of a dull red, so I'll change it back to white. It appears 100% original otherwise so might as well finish it out that way. Thanks again!

jimmieD

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[StudeRich]

So that simply means that he sprayed them Red with a rattlecan, and most likely re-wired them to the tail lights!

quote:Originally posted by JimmieD

/Cut/On the lights the plastic used wasn't the bright red clear we usually see, but sort of a dull red,

StudeRich at Studebakers Northwest -Ferndale,WA

[JimmieD]

Nope & yep, Rich! Nope, 'tail lights' are cut out of a red plastic sheet stock, not the brillian clear red of normal tails but a sort of opaque medium red hobby plastic. But yep, I'm sure they must be wired as tails, if he finished his job there.

I re-thought the deal and if they work okay and look okay I'm going to leave them for more rearward visibility with today's cell-phoning, mind-spacing goofball drivers!! But I'll make or buy some original type lenses to be used if I sell the car or show it.