xCCTer

Guess I kind of hijacked another thread about rubber nosed cars, so I'll ask here.

What color turn signal lenses belong on the front of a '71? Mine are amber with clear bulbs. Produced Jan 9, 1971 (F09). No signs of front end damage or repairs.

A buddy with a '70 350/350 coupe has clear lenses with amber bulbs, and I thought '70 was the last of the clear lenses on the chrome bumper cars.

Little help?

gq82

The lenses should be clear for all 70-71....72 changed to amber lenses. Maybe a PO changed them. My car has a May 71 build date. I have heard of a few very late build 71's having amber lenses.

BSiegPaint

Actually it was '71 that changed to the amber. Early '71's used up the clear from the '70 production run that was shortened, then made the switch to amber. I'm not sure what date or VIN number that started.
http://www.idavette.net/facts/71.htm
Also check out the 1971 Corvette Registry photo pages - you'll find a ton of the cars with amber lenses.
http://www.71corvette.com/photos.html

SharkAttack

Yes, 70 was the only year between 70-72 with with clear lenses and amber bulbs from the factory and it did spill into some early 71 models so they wouldn't have to scrap residual parts. I personally like the clear over the amber (now a trend on newer cars).

gq82

Well from all the original 71's I've looked at including my own and according to the NCRS 70-72 judging guide, 71 had clear lenses w/amber bulbs. 72 changed to amber lenses and clear bulbs.

71 Green 454

I agree! My '71 April build date has clear lenses with amber bulbs.

early shark

Both my '71's have clear lens with amber bulbs. One is a March car, the other a April car. Very late '71's may have used the amber lens. My former LS5 '71 coupe was vin # 21,524 with a trim tag of July 13, it also had clear lenses.

1971Coupe

Interesting topic, because I was cleaning mine on the weekend and was puzzled about the same thing.

My vette has a later build date (June) and my lenses are clear with a date of '70 on them.

I thought the previous owner may have changed them because clear on blue may look better.

LT4Coupe

100% correct

http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/D.../differyr.html

merlin5353

My build date was June 24, 1971 and I've had clear with amber bulbs all along!

Zigler

The '71 I used to own had clear lenses with amber bulbs. Build date was May 4th, 1971. Turned 36 today. Hope the current owner is having as much fun with it as I did.

Roadster71

My 71 is a April car and it has amber lenses.

VCuomo

Every 70 and 71 that I've ever seen had clear lenses.

And then this comes along:

Sounds like 71 was a "transition" year!

early shark

1971's were very much a transition year for several items, side louver vents on early cars are '70 design, later cars used '72 design. Rear lenses are '70 design on many cars, later cars used '72 design. Early '71's used '70 style exhaust tips, later cars used '72 style tips.

SharkAttack

Not denying that, I actually had a 71 coupe with clear lenses. In fact, I've seen more 71's with clear than amber. Didn't know the NCRS guide states clear was standard becuase I don't have a copy. -

xCCTer

Thanks to all. Guess I'll just leave mine the way they are. Amber looks nice with the Ontario Orange paint anyway IMHO.

71 Green 454

That's what I remember when the '72's came out...they had amber lenses.
Seems like yesterday!

bobbarry

Not to dredge up an ancient post, but just to throw in one more data-point; my July '71-production '71 has clear lenses which appear to be original to the car.

It also has the fiber-optics, which some late-'71's are reported to not have.

So when people say "late-production" for '71, they might mean late-July/early-August?

7T1vette

Here's the deal....

1970 cars had clear lenses and clear bulbs; 1971 cars had clear lenses and amber bulbs; 1972 cars had amber lenses and clear bulbs.

STINGRAY1WORD

i think Ihave the first 71 with the change the right side is amber and the left is clearjust kidding.