What's the best source for the aero convex mirror head? ....I need one . ~Alan
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I ordered a couple of them from NLA or Stoddard a few months back. Very reasonable price.
I got mine at sierra madre... found a few other sources on line- stoddard, klasse..... but chose sierra madre due to a discount coupon i had. quality is good... Iim expensive and Fit and finish is good-- better than the Chinese repos... But I would suggest getting two ( if you have two mirrors...). The white rubber surround is different than the chinese mirros and noticeable if you are a perfectionist.
visibility is improved.
Does anyone know if they are a "universal" fit to any existing mirror stems? I need new convex mirrors for both sides and I'm not sure of the source of the mirrors and stems that are on the car now. Thanks...
The sierra madre convex mirror fit perfectly on the repo stem that came stock on my VS. The mirror could be purchased without the stem, making it a bit cheaper. Reference attached;
Yes, Lfepardo, I just ordered the convex face only from SMC. I expect my stem will match up like your did.
Art
Now Troy probably could tell us, but if I was responsible for inventory control, for one of our suppliers, I cruise this site daily. Just to see what were the hot topics at the time, that might increase sudden sales.
Another vote for Sierra Madre.
They're $65. Here's the link:
http://www.sierramadrecollecti...ct_detail&p=5348
The rim is also smoother than the originals on my VS, without the 'crumpling'. And it's always nice having something on your Speedie that says, "Made in Germany."
And, if you were wondering, the thread is compatible with the Chinese repops, so you don't have to order Sierra Madre's adjustment bolt ($5).
OK. here is the Stoddard part number, but call them because it doesn't show up on their site. NLA-731-002-02 AERO PONT 09H05 Just the head, no base.
I bought two of them, because the price was super good. As I recall, they were less than $50.
So, note my previous comment. Via email SMC informs me the convex mirrors are 2-3 weeks on back order.
For future orders I would suggest calling stoddard/NLA.
Sierra Madre this week increased their price from 65$ to 95$ ( for the convex mirror only.). Reasons provided - increased manufacturing cost, increased demand and limited supply. All good reasons for the nearly 50% increase ;-)
i needed only one from SM ( my drivers side was damaged wile car was parked) , but ordered two from NLA for less than the price of one at SM.
cheers
Boy I must have lucked out. I placed my order at the old price and they went BO. Showed up about 7 days later.
Got mine from Stoddard...drivers and passengers side. I bought the heads by themselves.
Call the east coast #. Ask for part number 731-002-02 for the convex mirror only. 22.50$ per mirror plus shipping. If you call the west coast number, they tell you they discontinued the mirror only part years ago.... And offer to sell you the complete mirror + mount for $129 each.
I ordered two for good measure... (as I never expected to run into problems replacing one of my damaged mirrors.)
Discontinued years ago???? I just ordered and rec'd mine in the last few weeks. What a great way to run a business.
Thanks for the great info Lfepardo, I'll try your way for my passenger side convex. The drivers side is a huge improvement! Now whom do I call East Coast Stoddard/nla or Sierra Madre, thanks!
Art
do you have the East Coast number?
Alan...the number is 1-800-342-1414. I ordered two mirror heads a couple of minutes ago and got the $22.50 price too and the buggers were nice enough to mail them to Canada. Some won't. It seems the part number needs the NLA ahead of it so NLA 731-002-02. Murray took my order and they're in Cleveland.
Wish I'd heard about the cheaper alternative before ordering from Sierra Madre. Oh well, they're supposed to be delivered today. Guess I'll live.
order Thanks!
Got the mirrors from Stoddard quick - not 1 day quick - but really fast given I used the cheapest shipping.
All good, but I assume that is some kind of protective film on the mirror glass? Assuming so, how did folks get it off without scratching up the mirrors? I'm sure this is simple, but I'm somehow baffled.
DMAC, same concern here. I just put a fingernail on the outside edge, and scratched the plastic film protector up until I could peel off like Saran Wrap. NO PROBLEMS.
I'm just not sure I am sold on these "convex" mirrors. I have one on my blue car and it is nothing like the convex mirror on a conventional car. Maybe that is because it is so far out on the fender? I don't know, but it seems to display a much smaller amount of what is behind me than my regular mirror. So much so that I actually wondered if China screwed up and made a concave mirror instead of a convex mirror! Or would that invert the image?
Anyone else have one way out on the passenger side fender?
Mine was pretty useless, too, Troy. I bought the smallest stick-on mirror I could find (1.5, 2"?) at the local parts store, and it's way better.
Troy, as I posted a while back, I tried some of those three dollar stick-on convex mirrors, since I found the flat mirrors pretty useless on either driver or passenger side.
These turned out to be pretty useless, too, on the driver's side, because they show too wide an angle and cars look a mile away until they are on top of you.
So, I got one of the convex mirrors for the driver's side and that has worked much better for me than the flat mirror.
On the passenger side, I think it would also be too narrow an angle of view to be useful, so I kept the flat mirror with the stick-on mirror there. Not the prettiest solution, but it works better for me than either the flat or convex mirrors would.
Be advised that once you apply one of these stick-on mirrors, they're almost impossible to get off without breaking the glass of the mirror they're stuck onto.
Photo of stick-on mirror I first tried on the driver's side:
I installed the new Stoddard convex mirror heads on the existing posts, which are waaay out on the fender on mine. While the mirrors themselves are rather small, the difference is significant. They are now far more usable than before.
Which means that Lane now sees those container trucks in Charleston just before they hit him, rather than just after.......
I just put my convex on the passengers side, it is an improvement but not like the drivers side! But the cause of the issue is, both are mounted the same distance out on the fenders! I didn't major mathematics / geometry at the university, but from the drivers view both can't work placed at the same position on both fenders, duh! I may try Sacto Mitch's idea for the passenger side, those round stick on ones with the outer circumferences fairly matched, the look ok to me!
Great city Sacramento, hope you enjoy living there Mitch! I lived there for many years, mid town and in the fabulous forties. Some really nice restaurants, this goes back to the 60's into the 80's. Cheers all.
Same position, but set at different angles works fine for me.
Originally Posted by art:
I may try Sacto Mitch's idea for the passenger side...
Art, I can't overemphasize that once the stick-on mirrors are mounted, they're pretty much there for good. I broke the car's mirror glass trying to remove one.
So.... try mounting it temporarily with masking tape just to see if it works for you - before removing the backing film and applying permanently.
And if you think the midtown restaurant scene in Sacramento was nice 30 years ago, you wouldn't believe it today!
Got the plastic covering up pretty easily by asking my wife (who has finger nails) for help. Easy to mount - got my 7 year old daughter to do the honors - and shined them up. Maybe 10 minutes including instructions for my daughter.
I would say on the drivers side it has made a good improvement, on the passenger side lets just say visibility went from scary/horrible to just bad. My mirrors are mounted just in front of the doors right next to the windshield.
Other reason to buy these - glass quality. Better than the original mirror from VS, and massively better than the recently added mirror from VS. Curl on the metal that holds in the mirror was also MUCH cleaner than the recently added mirror from VS.
Well worth $60 and 10 minutes.
Then my daughter decided that she loves cleaning the car and actually followed daddy's instructions about not pressing hard and just dusting the car with the cloth. Good daddy-daughter afternoon task.