I have a 1970 Skylark. I am looking for a set of sport mirrors for it. My Brother has a 1971 and the mirrors are " off Kilter " for it, They lean inwards. What kind of car will work? Are they specific? Thanks, Paul Strassner
Duane at Classic Car Interiors sells the correct base gaskets. Most of the mirrors are the same, it's the base gasket that changes. Here's his website: http://www.classiccarinteriors.com/
Tim, I get calls all the time about guys trying to put Camaro/Firebird mirrors on 70-72 buicks. They give me the measurements of the mirror bases and they do not match up with the sizes of my repro or Original buick gaskets. The bases are often taller and wider, and some have wording written on the passenger side mirror glass. Now, I am not saying that they won't work, but the guys always complain that once mounted, the top of the mirrors are angled, instead of level, like the original 70-72's are. Now you guys can do what you want. I am just telling you what I come up against every time I get someone that wants to use sport mirrors from a car other then a 70-72 buick or olds. I also will not guarantee my gaskets for anything other then the correct mirrors. Duane
Duane, I see you say that people have problems with anything other than Buick or Olds mirrors. Does that mean that 70 -72 Pontiac mirrors won't work either? I had seen some for sale and I was wondering..... If not, what your Olds mirror will work, just the 70 -72's? Thanks, Chris
Chris, I know that 70-72 skylark/GS and 71-72 Cutlass/442 mirrors are the same, only the gaskets are different. I am not sure about the 71-72 Pontiac mirrors, I don't know much about pontiacs. If someone was sure their mirrors came from one, and sent me the mirrors, I could verify they are the same. I do know that 72 (only) Chevelles came with a driver-side only sport mirror and the base is different due to the angle. It's sad to see guys buying incorrect mirrors, having problems "after" holes are drilled in the doors, tossing them, and then buying the correct mirrors. I see this all the time and it is costing them a lot of money. It's also sad that I keep answering these same questions. I really wish there was a place to put info like this so everyone could reference it. I was recently asked about bucket seat interchanges. The last buildsheet had an article I wrote that explained /listed all this, yet I still get asked the same questions. I wish we had a reference area somewhere. Duane
Duane, The FAQ section of the board was set up for just that purpose, to allow postings of common questions and their answers. In the future, if you wish, I can move those type of questions to the FAQ section and, I think, make it a "sticky" post. If I can't, I know Jim or Mike can make a post a sticky. Let me know what you think. Oh, and this can apply to any post in any section, not just the bench. Your pal, Brad
Brad, You would get my undying gratitude if you could do that. Then if anyone asks, we can ship them over there. Jim, That would really help, thanks. Duane
The 70-81 F-body mirrors will work but you need to rotate the base gaskets 180 degrees and the mirror heads will sit level to the ground. The mirrors are date coded such as 4-DMI-1, which means April 1971. Also, 1975-up, pass. side has "OBJECTS IN MIRROR ARE CLOSER THAN THEY APPEAR" etched on the mirror surface. From my experience yarding, you can use 70-2 Skylark, Chevelle, LeMans, Monte Carlo and 69-72 Grand Prix, 71-2 Cutlass mirrors. Amazing what can work once you learn to use a file. :Brow:
Updating sport mirrors 70-72 Pontiac GTO and LeMans sport mirrors are the same as Camaro and Trans Am mirrors,still not correct for 70-72 Skylarks.Rotating the gaskets 180 degrees wont help either.Even Duanes gaskets will not bring the mirror far enough out.Duanne is right the angle is different,I learned the hard way.I have tried all the above and they all lean in towards the window.Duanes gaskets will work for the correct mirrors and I hope for the 71-72 Cutlass-442 mirrors.These will be my 3rd set of mirrors and I'm still not sure if the ones I'm getting are correct.Yes if you take a file to the f-body mirrors you can make them work.I might have to go that route if these are not correct.You could also take Duanes gasket and cut the f-body gasket in half long ways and get the correct angle,but I don't recommend that.It's too much gasket and looks funky.
Just to bring everyone up to speed, I am currently writing an article for the BPG Newsletter "The Buildsheet" that will give everyone ALL the information needed to ID the correct mirrors for 70-72 Buick and 71-72 Olds A-bodies. It will list the housing casting #'s and where to find them, plus will include photographs of the numbers. It will also decode the date codes for both the parts and the mirrors, so you will know when they were made. If you use this info to purchase sport mirrors there will be nothing left to chance. To get it, all you need to do is be a member. Duane
