What side miirors are correct?

[LarryS]

I read somewhere that the side mirror style changed sometime in 1972.

My Tii was born on 04/72. I bought the Trap mirrors (with white gasket) but I'm wondering if the Flag mirror would have been correct.

[John_in_VA]

mike will chime in, again, I assume, but I recall the changeover sometime between the 1973 and 1974 offerings. The sales brochures show them both ways. The parts in stock were installed until they ran out.

You are "safe" with the traps, with the exception being the smaller mirror surface.

[02Les]

Larry,

Trpa mirrors are definately correct for a '72. They were actually original to my late '73 build Touring.

[LarryS]

Thanks for the replies gentlemen. I do think I like the Flag mirrors a bit more though...Maybe I can exchange them.

[eastsidebimmer]

I have dual traps on my 71 1600 1/71 build date. It's possible they were installed later on when the owner went nuts and added rear mudflaps and a VDO tach.

[LarryS]

I might switch the traps for flags. I just like the shape of the holder better. I talked to the guy and he said I could switch them out.

But the passenger side is really a mirror for a RHD car. Is this what you guys got if you bought new flag mirrors? Part# 51161821794

[PaulTWinterton]

I'm pretty sure that prior to flag mirrors there was only one trap mirror on the driver's side. A euro thing: "Why would you want a mirror on the passenger side unless you are pulling a trailer?" Very old school.

Passenger side mirror was only added after delivery of the car.

Am I right?

[Mike Self]

Trapezoid mirrors were introduced sometime in either late 1970 or early '71 model year, and were current through the 74 model year. The flag mirrors were introduced about the same time as the E21 was introduced in Europe, around 1975. I keep saying "around" because BMW was notorious for using up stocks of older parts until they ran out, causing some strange parts combinations on certain cars.

No US spec 2002s had mirrors on both doors from the factory, but right side mirror were available from BMW.

Many owners have swapped the two earlier style mirrors for flag mirrors as they are much larger and thus show what's behind you much better than the early ones.

Bottom line: trap mirrors are correct for your '72 tii, and a right side mirror is certainly "correct" and "authentic."

cheers

mike

[tups]

What about a 1967 1600-2 ? I have been wondering for the better part of 20 years whether the (driver's side and only) mirror that I have is original ... does anyone have a picture, or even better, know of where I can get one that looks like the original ?

Thanks :-)

Cris

[tups]

(nt)

[Conserv]

Quote

Trapezoid mirrors were introduced sometime in either late 1970 or early '71 model year, and were current through the 74 model year. The flag mirrors were introduced about the same time as the E21 was introduced in Europe, around 1975. I keep saying "around" because BMW was notorious for using up stocks of older parts until they ran out, causing some strange parts combinations on certain cars.

No US spec 2002s had mirrors on both doors from the factory, but right side mirror were available from BMW.

Many owners have swapped the two earlier style mirrors for flag mirrors as they are much larger and thus show what's behind you much better than the early ones.

Bottom line: trap mirrors are correct for your '72 tii, and a right side mirror is certainly "correct" and "authentic."

cheers

mike

Thank you, Mike. Now I understand why the '74 and '75/'76 U.S. brochures show only trapezoid mirrors on square taillight cars! I previously blamed it on (a.) an excessively-long "lead time" required for publication, (b.) corporate "laziness" as production for non-U.S. markets began to wind down in '75, or (c.) flag mirrors being a "U.S. thing."

 

The '74 U.S. brochure is undated -- the cover features an Inka square taillight car parked at a small airfield -- but I call it the '74 brochure because it includes square taillight 2002 and tii models. A single driver-side trapezoid mirror is shown. There are two '75/'76 brochures. The '75/'76 brochure with the earlier initial publication date -- August '74 -- features a head-on view of a Sienabraun car on the cover. This brochure was reprinted, at minimum and with only minor changes, January '75 and January '76. The January '76 reprinting shows "1976" on the cover. The '75/'76 brochure with the later initial publication date -- February '75 -- has a red cover but the same Sienabraun car inside. This February '75 printing of this brochure shows "1976" on the cover.

 

Given that both of these '75/'76 brochures shared the same photos -- for the most part -- and those photos were thus taken on or before August '74, I understood why a '74-style rear seat was shown in the '75/'76 brochures (next to '75/'76-style front seats!). But I could not comprehend, until reading your explanation above, why a square taillight car, in August '74, still had a trapezoid mirror!

 

So I guess this means that, technically, all tii's originally had trapezoid mirrors (except, possibly a number of the very last produced, e.g., December 1974). Good stuff!

 

I should have simply asked this question when I first noted it.

 

Thanks,

 

Steve

[jgerock]

Thank goodness we have to worry about details like door mirrors rather than meteors and asteroids....

It's so easy to switch them and the later "flag" mirrors do allow greater rearward visibility.

Here is a '71 with Trapezoid

My 73tii came to me with a single flag (not sure it was correct)

Picture taken by the PO who restored it in MD

Dual flag mirrors on 72 Tundra tii 2760240

Single flag mirror on 72 Tundra tii 2760543

Trapezoid on 2002ti (note the front bumper style, position of grill badge and knee level black side impact strips!)

Early mirror on 1600 (I think this is a '66 at the time of introduction)

Trapezoid on this car (note front bumper style)

Early mirror on 2002ti

[LarryS]

Well, I had the traps in my hand but sent them back to swap for the flags. I just like the way it looks better. Also it will give me a chance to look for alternitives to the cage nuts, I'm not really crazy over those.

My car has a 5 speed and the battery has been relocated as well as other things, so it's not completely stock anyways.

I should have explained the LHD/RHD thing better. The traps were listed as right side and left side. The flags were listed as LHD and RHD.

[Mike Self]

What are generally referred to as the "thin" mirrors were very similar to those used on the NK sedans and were used on 1600s and 2002s at least through the end of 1969 production and probably into early 1970.

The very early cars had the mirrors mounted way up on the front edge of the door, with a stud going through the door skin vs the later cars (mid/late 67 on) that used two cage nuts/machine screws and located the mirrors further aft on the door, in the same place as the later mirrors. It was found that the forward position interferred with opening the left side vent wing.

Interestingly, these early mirrors aren't "handed" like the later ones, so you can use the same mirror on either a left or right side door...

cheers

mike

[tups]

Thanks Mike,

It would be nice to have a picture of an original mirror located all the way up to the front of the door skin. Mine is located there, but when I took it off, there was an extra hole - which leads me to believe the mirror has been changed.

As soon as I can get to the car I'll take a picture of the mirror that is on there right now, but if any one has a close-up picture of one of those early "thin" mirrors, that would be most welcome.

Thanks!

Cris