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Pancho that is the kind of documented information that is needed to confirm that at least a majority of them had D/N mirrors from the factory. There have always been and will always be exceptions but for the purposes of this discussion I am very satisfied that the majority of all 66's left the factory with D/N mirrors. I am not a current member of the NCRS so I do not visit their site. Pancho you are well respected here as an authority on these cars so I would think your research should satisfy the majority. I know that I am.
Jay
Jay,
But here is the other side of it. Many people prefer the look of four red taillights. I know I do. So they changed the lenses to red. I did it on a couple of my cars as well. So some may look at the back of the car and think that my '66 does not have back lights but it does. I wonder how many have done the same with the d/n mirror. So again who knows. Sort of like teak wheels. Production numbers show that around 15% of the cars in '66 came with them. I really like them. All of my '66s that I have ever had has one. So 100% of mine did
Pancho
Jay,
But here is the other side of it. Many people prefer the look of four red taillights. I know I do. So they changed the lenses to red. I did it on a couple of my cars as well. So some may look at the back of the car and think that my '66 does not have back lights but it does. I wonder how many have done the same with the d/n mirror. So again who knows. Sort of like teak wheels. Production numbers show that around 15% of the cars in '66 came with them. I really like them. All of my '66s that I have ever had has one. So 100% of mine did
Pancho
Pancho I agree that people will often change things to satisfy their taste. I see we have replies from long time owners with non D/N mirrors or dealer installed. Hopefully we will hear from more long time owners. Either way it seems stupid that GM would skip a year between 65 and 67 to remove a safety feature if they did. I get the backup light change to improve visibility. I prefer the single red with actual backups because that is the way I remember them from new for 66 but from a safety viewpoint they should have continued all red from 63 to 67.
Good research 427. Now if we only knew for a fact that all 66's left the factory that way. There were and have always been running changes throughout the production year. No one will ever be able to say with absolute certainty that all 66's left the factory with standard mirror's. It is just an opinion at best with limited facts to support it, but because of the judging guide change many cars that had them have now been changed to standard.
Initially, I believe the Day/Night Mirror was INTENDED as an option... but it NEVER materialized in FINAL production.
From the 1966 Corvette Brochure:
From the 1966 Chevrolet Sales Digest:
From Corvette News (dated 1965):
From Car & Driver - the **** is visible (dated 1965):
From Noland's book - 1966 Corvette production with STANDARD mirror:
From the SAMPLE Dealer Order form, the Day/Night Mirror is NOT included:
I think Mr. sidepipes just laid out all the evidence that the 66 TL used to determine that the fancy mirror was a dealer-installed accessory for 1966 cars.
All the anecdotal evidence to the contrary, NCRS got this one right. Take it to the bank. Thank you Mr. sidepipes!
Exactly... most STANDARD equipment was not listed on the order form. For example, you can't order bumpers, so they are not listed.
And that's the point about using the dealer sheet to show the mirrors weren't optional. That is kind of the argument for d/n mirrors and why they are not listed as options. The dealers must have sold tons of them if they are all aftermarket. Personally I don't care one way or the other what kind of mirrors were on a car 50 years ago, I'm just interested in the "proof" either side has.
And that's the point about using the dealer sheet to show the mirrors weren't optional. That is kind of the argument for d/n mirrors and why they are not listed as options. The dealers must have sold tons of them if they are all aftermarket. Personally I don't care one way or the other what kind of mirrors were on a car 50 years ago, I'm just interested in the "proof" either side has.
If the Day/Night mirror was STANDARD... how do you account for the production line images withOUT that mirror?
If the Day/Night mirror was OPTIONAL... how can you order it, if it's NOT on the order form?
If the Day/Night mirror was STANDARD... how do you account for the production line images withOUT that mirror?
If the Day/Night mirror was OPTIONAL... how can you order it, if it's NOT on the order form?
It appears to be neither. It looks like it was random. I wish that John would post an updated opinion.
Some folks WANT to believe that their car was originally assembled at St Louis with a D/N mirror but they lack a shred of proof that it happened.
On the other hand, there's quite a bit of proof that it didn't.
Off topic, and just my opinion but I always liked the look of the chrome back standard mirror better than the D/N mirror. The D/N mirror always reminded me of my fathers sedan.
St. Jude Donor '14-'15-'16-'17-‘18-'19-'20-'21-'22-'23-'24
Originally Posted by provette67
Jay,
I keep everything from my cars as well as cars that I have inspected. I just went through my paperwork. I have owned eleven '66s since my first one in '77. They all had d/n mirrors. So far I have inspected fifty-one '66s. All but 5 had d/n mirrors. But in my notes on those 5 cars four are noted to have dated mirrors. I wonder if this is one of those cases where they had regular mirrors left over so they were used. Two of the cars without the d/n are early vin#. But the other two are later including one with a build date of 4/66. Pair that info what others here have said who knows.
Pancho
Originally Posted by deejaydu
Pancho that is the kind of documented information that is needed to confirm that at least a majority of them had D/N mirrors from the factory...... Pancho you are well respected here as an authority on these cars so I would think your research should satisfy the majority. I know that I am.
Jay
Pancho,
Well, I was a member of law review so I used to be able to write. You have many years of documented stats/info as well as some great stories. There are plenty of midyear pictures here on the CF to use and we can use JohnZ's numerous posts here on the CF as a reference. We just need to find an illustrator and we can publish a book.
“Inquiring minds want to know” that is the real situation here. However, it really doesn’t matter because it is a simple Bolt on item that can be changed at will for those that both drive and have their cars judged. I am not gonna lose any sleep over it and I hope the rest of you don’t either.
12-19-2018, 09:33 AM
