Well guys I wanted to share a purchase I made. I, at long last, had enough of screwing with these junk, poorly designed side view mirrors. I have owned my C3 for 40 years, been threw countless mirrors that had never held up. Even after time consuming repairs I 'm still holding my mirror in place while driving on the freeway so I am not looking at the pavement as it’s flopping around. I can't believe the aftermarket industry had not come with a better design - I mean at least a screw or something to hold the mirror in place.

Anyway I scored a polished mirror from a company called Billet Rides (Billetrides.com) This company specializes in mirrors and has four finishes, polished, matte, flat black and shiny black. I bought the universal GM series for my 74 Vette. You will come out of pocket substantially more - $260 as opposed to $60 for the junk one. But, when you get this product you have a beautiful solid piece of billet aluminum in your hands. The mirror has 6 set screws around the pivot ball to secure it place. The mount fit perfectly into the existing holes and was tight on the car with the rubber gasket. The mirror is secured to the mount with four additional set screws.



I am very happy with purchase – Fits perfect, looks great and stays in position.

 

I agree Din, the aftermarket replacement mirrors are all pretty weak. A good wind or even closing the door a little too hard will usually knock them out of adjustment. Original GM is the only way to go.
But this aftermarket one you've installed looks to be pretty stout without straying too far from the original design.
Cheers, Greg

 

yes Greg this was time time where I got what I paid for. it is a solid product and the six set screws really hold the mirror in place very happy with the investment

Happy New year

 

Slightly off topic buy is your 74 the factory "corvette grey" color?

 

No. It is a Harley Davidson color called Industrial Gray. They used it on the 2019 Sportsters. It is a gray with a greenish tent to it. .

 

Really looks a lot like the one year old 74 corvette grey my car originally had.

 

OK Augidoggy Ill take this opportunity to show off a bit. I included a photo of the motorcycle I took the color from and some shots to show that this color looks very different in different light. I am very happy with the color. The nightmare getting the paint job is another story.

 

I struggled when I was trying to decide whether to paint my 74 the factory grey color or go with the molten orange pearl I ended up using I believe I even looked at the green tinted harley color because it was so close.... The deciding factor ended up being the gold mirrored glass in the old school glass Ttops it came with... I actually bought replacement factory t tops but they fit so horribly I said The hell with it and went with the orange. They dont look gold in the pic below but they are... it would have clashed with the grey too much.

 

GOOD CALL. You have a very beautiful and unique car. I dig the black rims and black side pipe covers.74 to 79's C3's need some accents a lil something extra to make them pop.It's obvious the factory didn't do it. Your glass T-tops, which I really dig, hood, side pipes, and color make for a stand out car. Nice work

 

Thanks,
I also Like the look of yours which is why I asked about it. I pictured something like that for mine but with black accent paintwork of some sort on the top..Mine had british green paint bubbling and falling off it when I bought it... someone painted it a few times before I stripped it down

I had to repair the fiberglass on the glass t tops which I wasnt confident I could do while having it hold up since the areas the locking mechanisms bolted in were broken away but It turns out my repairs held up well. Its my first amateur restoration of sorts as I bought the car for $2,700 in very poor shape but I really liked the turbo hood when I saw the ad lol. Plus since everything was already butchered and roached I knew I wouldnt feel bad building it as I wanted and messing up an original car.
The tires and wheels were like $650 total new from ebay. The side pipe covers are actually $50 chrome patriot side pipe covers from summit that I sanded and painted, then pop riveted stainless hose clamps to. I used header wrap as a spacer between the pipe and hose clamps which spaced it off the pipes and helps keep it cool. The whole car was a budget build from $800 paint job to the replacement engine I pieced together from used and new parts I accumulated over a couple years before assembling. I just bought the stuff to do a roller cam conversion and the suspension and bushings which is another first for me but now that I'm in better shape financially I was able to buy decent quality parts. I want to lower it a bit especially in the front where it seems to be sitting higher since I replaced the blown out shocks.

 

Fixed my own mirrors. Works great. If anything they are too tight now LoL.

 

Yes I followed your directions to repair the mirrors on two of them. On one I obviously did not get it right. After 5 minutes on the freeway it started flopping around. The second one I got a lil better it would only drop an inch. No mater where I adjusted it, it would drop and inch. So I broke our the credit card. This Billetrides Mirror is really solid. I scored a couple compliments on it already.

Not to be outdone by a $40 aftermarket mirror. I am going to follow your directions again and attempt to repair these two mirrors and get them right. I ll have them as a back -up or give them to another frustrated soul.

Your time and effort to put these detailed instructions on the forum are greatly appreciated.

 

Looks great Din! I am thinking about going almost the same route except using the c10 billet mirrors to get some extra clearance to see around or over rear fender. Thoughts? Thanks

 

Yes even though I am very happy this mirror, cause GM only put one on the 74's, a lil extra clearance would be nice. As far as quality this is a great product - the mirror hasn't budged a bit and looks really good.

Happy Holidays

 

CHRISTOPHER PRIZGINT
Do you have a link? Or image of these c10 billet mirrors?

 

 

Any tips / tricks for removing the glass? Not familiar with RED RTV... is it for glass adhesion?

Thanks!

 

A few years ago, when this was a topic of discussion, someone said they submerged their mirror assemblies in gasoline. Look a day or so for them to come loose. I think I would try acetone or lacquer thinner. These two solvents are probably just as much of a fire hazard as gasoline, but I think I'd feel more comfortable with the solvent route.

 

The acetone might damage the reflective coating on the mirror though.. not sure.

 

looks very close to 71 -72 steel cities gray very nice color congrats