Dig those crazy mirrors! Suffers from lack of options. https://billings.craigslist.org/cto/d/boulder-1961-buick-electra/6837240562.html
Nice car, good color, but those 61' lines is in my opinion better with the lower class Lesabre and Invicta, and only 2 doors..
My grandparent's cabin is on top of that mountain on the left in the background of the 1st pic shared. If anybody remembers my Hearse Cadillac find in the woods thread, this is just about a mile away from there. Car has been for sale for a long time, but only because it's a 4 door. Very nice car. EDIT: Here is the view from on top of the mountain looking down at Boulder and the Hearse in the woods.
They must have those mirrors out there so the driver and passenger can see to comb their hair while going down the road! Bob H.
Seems like the fender mirrors were some what of a thing in that era I’ve seen a few cars and different style of mirrors some further fwd then others
That mirror WAS a Buick accessory but not sure what years it spanned. It was definitely correct for 57/58
Those mirrors are not factory correct at all, placement or style. An add-on by someone. And the price is pretty high, for a 4 door POST.
Keith is correct. They are called Halo mirrors and were used on 1957 Buicks (and perhaps more years) Here's a pic in their correct location. Begs the question, when is it factory and when isn't it. My Mercedes came from the dealer with it's drivers side mirror quite far down the fender as well, and it was for an earlier model. The consensus from the Mercedes forum is that the dealer added the older style mirror from inventory and wasn't worried about correctness as the customer would never notice. So technically, dealer installed even when new, isn't the same as factory. I did fill the holes in the fender and ordered a correct repro mirror for my Benz and put it in the" factory" location.
I would agree with you they are not correct for 61, as I noted earlier they were correct for 57 & 58 pointing out that they were indeed a Buick item and not some aftermarket add on. As far as judging it falls on the car owner to be able to prove a Buick approved accessory is correct for his/her vehicle which is usually as simple as picking up one of the yearly Buick approved accessory fliers and keeping it in the glovebox. Many people would have an approved Buick accessory on a car they owned and then just move it to the next car, that was common, but if that accessory was not listed in the flier - to bad, it would not be correct. You see that a lot with the 8 track players where people have the wrong year unit being used, it is a proper Buick unit but unfortunately would be incorrect for year thus a deduction. Here they are in the 57 flier and also the 58 flier, if we go by the pictures it looks like the 57 & 58 bases differed in appearance and those on the car would be 58's, that said, the pictures in the accessory brochures were not always 100% accurate so would need to check part numbers, etc. So in the end something was learned
With the idea of keeping brand correct I decided to get remote controlled mirrors that are factory GM at least, and chose the mirrors that came on 61-64 Buick and Pontiac. Reasons for choosing 61-64 Buick/Pontiac mirrors: 1) Remote control ability 2) Keeping a generally similar era styling 3) Reversible Left or Right is optional with any of these mirrors 4) Generally popular unit so is easy to find parts 5) Low profile, durable build, flat surface mountable, angled surface mountable, unbranded
Well, either way, it's probably not going to break the bank to get rid of them if you really liked the car and hated the mirrors. Chances are the old guy who bought this thing new had a soft spot for them on his last Buick, and his wife liked them because she knew where to look and she wasn't smacking into other cars anymore. Those hideous things were the style then, front and centre of the fenders, and if I'm not mistaken they were an option, and not mandatory like they would have been after 1966. The domestic market cars in Japan all had idiotic looking mirrors mounted above the headlights up until the early 90s. Try and aim them, it'd take a week!
I would only buy that car if it had pistols for door handles and the horns from a Texas Long horn on the hood. Then it would be worth it. Look out Kid Rock !
Mirrors are preference on a lot of these but, placement can be preference and function. Function of fender mounted mirrors was and is a better viewing reference and the mirrors will still serve their function while a person has their doors open. Also, fender mounted mirrors, when mounted further ahead give a person better coverage of the lane next to them. Where I see these fender mounted mirrors can be a benefit: As a matter of safety, convenience, and opportunity a person can still be looking forward and only move their eyes to see the mirror rather than turning away from traffic ahead and, a passenger won't be likely to obscure the mirror either. Adjusting mirrors far out ahead isn't an issue with remote mirrors. ;-)
I have driven a couple cars with the fender mounted mirrors and agree with your thoughts, I was surprised just how well they functioned
Apparently Japan mandated that any mirror had to be visible through wiped glass, thus the fender mount-the driver saw them through the windshield. Patrick
My dad had one just like that. I learned to drive using that car. That front seat would move way back and tilt to the rear making for a good view at the derive in. It still had a lot of room for back seat passengers. Lou