<VV> Re: A 60 question, rear tag escutcheon

[Tony Underwood]

At 06:58 hours 07/02/2004 -0400, NOSVAIR@aol.com wrote:
>> 
>> Humm...  the '60 Monza in the driveway doesn't have one and it was an
>> all-original car.  Likewise the '61 Monza a friend has.   And, on both cars
>> there are also no fastener holes to secure the escutcheon if it had
>> originally been there but for instance removed for some reason.    I think
>> we'll find that the escutcheon was first used on the '62 900s.   The 700
>> and 500 models through '64 didn't use the escutcheon.  
>> 
>>  
>> tony..  
>> 
>> 
>To Ed and Tony and anyone interested in this subject,
>As usual I've jumped the gun again.  Nothing I can find indicates the use of 
>the licence plate surround prior to 1962.  It looked very much like all 
>Monza's had them due to Ed's relatively unmolested '60 Monza having one.
Look at 
>your copy of the Franklin Mint model and there it is!  Further investigation 
>shows that Tony is correct.  It first shows up in factory photos of '62
Monza's.  
>Interesting to note that my '63 dealer presentation book shows the
escutcheon 
>as offered as an accessory for lesser models yet there is no accompanying 
>code for such an option.  OK...back to working on my '60...with no
escutcheon or 
>outside mirrors ;^)
>



The red '60 Monza among the fleet (Ed knows the car) had a pair of dealer
installed mirrors mounted on the front fenders just ahead of the
windshield.  He sent me a photo of the car as it was delivered, with the
mirrors etc and the owner w/crewcut hair standing beside it.   When I
painted the car (still had its original albeit somewhat sunburned Roman Red
lacquer on it) I noted the holes in the top of the front fenders with an
"impression" of a mirror gasket.   No rear view mirror on either door...   

There's still no mirror on the outside of the car now and I did fill the
holes on the fenders.   However, now I'm wondering about opening them back
up and securing two mirrors back on the fenders just the way the car was
delivered from the dealer even if they *were* put in the wrong place.
The mirrors were already gone when the car came here to live (this is the
red '60 Monza we got from Curt Jones when he was thinning his fleet a few
years back) so I didn't know what had been there until Ed sent me the photo
of the car he'd managed to turn up from the previous owner when it was
still new, time capsule image if there ever was one.  

How many people have a '60 Corvair Monza and also have a photo of the same
car when it was new?    
 
It was the photo that showed that the mirrors on the fenders were standard
appearing 1960 Vair mirrors, only there were two of them in this instance
and in the wrong places.  


Anybody else ever see an early Vair with dealer mounted mirrors on the tops
of the front fenders, just ahead of the windshield bow?    I have to admit,
they kinda grow on you after you think about it a while, kinda makes me
think of the mirrors on 1960 Oldsmobiles...  and the holes are still there,
wouldn't be hard to "unfill" them and mount two '60 mirrors back on the
fenders again, and I haven't yet drilled any holes in the door to mount a
mirror there.   

Now I'm wondering how much a pair of nice '60 mirrors would cost...  


tony..