In May of 1999, I drove from Massachusetts to South Bend to attend the swap meet held at Newman & Altman. I took the Mass. Pike (I90) west to pick up I84 in Sturbridge, MA and followed it through Connecticut, New York, and into eastern Pennsylvania. South of Wilkes-Barre, PA, I hit Interstate 80, put the pedal to the metal, and zoomed out through western PA, Ohio, and finally to Indiana. It's a 950 mile trip each way, and there are lots of big trucks on I80. The location of the old Studebaker buildings is on the south side of town. Below is a panorama of some of the buildings that are left.
On the far left side (above the Hawk) is the Design Center. Across the street (above the white trailer) is the building that houses Newman and Altman. The entry is on the left side of the building. Dennis Lambert told me the building had been built by Studebaker in 1874. In front of the building is the foundation for the new South Bend jail that will ultimately force the destruction of the Newman and Altman building. As you sweep to the right, you can see the other old brick and concrete buildings. Perhaps someone can help me to identify the others.
This is a wide panoramic picture, so be sure to use your scroll bar to move to the right to see other buildings. >>>>>>>>
| The front door shows some of the history of Standard Surplus Co., Newman & Altman, and several lines of the Studebaker cars. | Here is the counter and office area. |
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Although there is no customer access to the upper floors, there are plenty of parts on the ground floor to keep up your interest. During the days of the swap meet, some loads of parts were brought down from the upper floors and spread around for picking over. I managed to find a complete set of all 4 interior door panels for my 1965 Wagonaire. In other areas there were dash covers, arm rests, and other interior parts. There were plenty of sheet metal, bumpers, brake parts, and manifolds, too.
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Assorted door panels from the '60s. I found 4 blue ones of just the right design to replace the old ones in my Wagonaire. |
Lark front ends, mid-60s hoods, and other parts. The bins in the back hold every imaginable clip, special screws, rivets, and a variety of brackets. Lots of these are the "X" part numbers. [Another pic to the right >>>] |
In the foreground, a small mountain of 4-barrel intake manifolds for V-8s, plus an assortment of exhaust manifolds. The Chevybaker people have not been neglected in this collection. |
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Various brake drums, shoes, backing plates, and bumpers. Note size of wooden column in background - they all look like they were each sawn from a single tree, a BIG one! |
During the swap meet, it was announced that Dennis Lambert, a long-time employee of Newman & Altman, would carry on the business as SASCO. There are still many detail to be worked out, such as the movement of parts to a new location. One of the sites under consideration is the old Design Center, just across the (very busy) street from the current location. This is no small task, as Dennis has estimated that there may be 1800 truck loads of parts to move!
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| Customers and cars gather in the parking lot at the end of the day. Dennis Lambert is in the center of the picture. |
If you've been listening to the music on this page, the tune is "Back Home in Indiana", a MIDI file courtesy of popsplacebbs.com.
Note added, March, 2004: The old building that housed Newman and Altman is gone. Built about 1874 as part of the wagon factory, it was demolished to make room for a new jail in South Bend. Dennis Lambert bought the Studebaker parts business from the Newman and Altman successors. In a huge effort, he moved nearly all of the parts across the street to the former engineering and design building. There are still lots of NOS mechanical parts to serve Studebaker lovers for many years. During the national meet in South Bend in 2002, I took a tour of the new home of SASCO (Studebaker Autoparts Sales Co.). At one point on the tour, I admit that I got lost "accidentally on purpose" and wandered through the aisles of shelving until I was discovered. What joy in seeing so many parts! But, Dennis does have to keep tourists out for insurance purposes. SASCO still don't have a printed or on-line catalog, but you can enter a part number at the web site and find out if it's in stock and the current price. It's scary just how much stuff they have. You can always call Denise or Denise Lambert or Dave Spilski, the truck expert for help on things that are NOT in any catalog. This especially applies to nuts, bolts, and small hardware for anything from about 1950 on.
[A NOTE: SASCO is now long gone. The bulk of the inventory was sold to Ed Reynolds at Studebaker International, and the old SASCO inventory is now located at the former Studebaker plant at 711 Chippewa Ave. in South Bend. The parts are now in a much better place!]
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