'96 Replacement Mirror

[Floyd B.]

The driver side mirror must have kissed a mailbox post of garage door rail somewhere in its spotted past. My piggy bank is full and I'm ready to order a replacement. However, I've run into a bit of confusion.

Inside the mirror housing I can see what looks to be a GM part number cast into the surface. I can see all of the numbers clearly except for the last digit - 2028780x. I performed 10 searches on gmpartsdirect replacing the last digit (i.e. the 'x') with 0 through 9. I got no hits. I then searched the catalog by entering in the year, model, etc. and found the outside mirror w/heat. However it provided a part number of 10273679. My car is a convertible so the mirrors have black plastic wind deflectors attached to the inside surface with three pop rivets. The description of the gmpartsdirect mirror makes no distinction between coupe and vert mirrors. This is an expensive 'no returns' part so I don't want to end up with the wrong thing.

Does anyone know if 10273679 is the service replacement for 2028780x? Should I be able to find a new service replacement with the wind deflector already attached? or is it normal to have to drill my own holes and attach the old one to the new mirror. I don't mind doing this as long as the coupe and vert mirrors are EXACTLY the same shape, the only difference being attachment of the wind deflector.

Thanx,

-Floyd-

[Terry M.]

Re: '96 Replacement Mirror

Floyd -- The number you found on your mirror is a CASTING number -- it has NOTHING to do with the mirror ASSEMBLY part number. Perhaps our resident part number expert, Joe Lucia, will provide the correct part number for the mirror for your convertible -- or you might inquire at your local Chevrolet dealer, however I would have a lot more confidence in Joe's information.

[Joe L.]

Re: '96 Replacement Mirror

The driver side mirror must have kissed a mailbox post of garage door rail somewhere in its spotted past. My piggy bank is full and I'm ready to order a replacement. However, I've run into a bit of confusion.

Inside the mirror housing I can see what looks to be a GM part number cast into the surface. I can see all of the numbers clearly except for the last digit - 2028780x. I performed 10 searches on gmpartsdirect replacing the last digit (i.e. the 'x') with 0 through 9. I got no hits. I then searched the catalog by entering in the year, model, etc. and found the outside mirror w/heat. However it provided a part number of 10273679. My car is a convertible so the mirrors have black plastic wind deflectors attached to the inside surface with three pop rivets. The description of the gmpartsdirect mirror makes no distinction between coupe and vert mirrors. This is an expensive 'no returns' part so I don't want to end up with the wrong thing.

Does anyone know if 10273679 is the service replacement for 2028780x? Should I be able to find a new service replacement with the wind deflector already attached? or is it normal to have to drill my own holes and attach the old one to the new mirror. I don't mind doing this as long as the coupe and vert mirrors are EXACTLY the same shape, the only difference being attachment of the wind deflector.

Thanx,

-Floyd-

Floyd-----


GM #10273679 is the correct part number for the left (driver) side mirror assembly for your car. This is not only the current part number, it's the original and only part number. This assembly is the same for both coupes and convertibles. It is expensive, as you say, at over 300 bucks per copy.

Convertibles only did use the wind deflector which you mentioned. However, as far as I can tell, this is a separate part which is not supplied with the mirror assembly. The part number for the driver side deflector was GM #10077387, but it's discontinued. As I say, I don't think this part is supplied with the mirror. However, you might get lucky and find that one is included. I doubt it, but you never know for sure. Otherwise, you'll need to find an NOS or good used example.

By the way, the mirror assembly is a "paint-to-match" item. So, you'll need to get it painted to match the car.

[Floyd B.]

Re: '96 Replacement Mirror

Thank you gentlemen. The difference between the casting number and the part number makes sense and I just ordered the part from gmpartsdirect with confidence that I'm ordering the correct one. It was expensive - $232.98 delivered to my door. However, this was by far the best price I could find.

Of course, the expense doesn't end there. I bought a pint of PPG Delstar acrylic enamel in Torch Red back in June. That set me back another $78.82 (for a stinkin pint of paint!). Geeeesh! With primer, solvents and shop supplies, this little job is going to relieve me of about $350. Maybe I should take up a less expensive hobby - like collecting gold ingots.

Taking the wind deflector from the current mirror assembly and installing it onto the new mirror doesn't concern me. It's attached with three common pop rivets. The only nerve racking part will be drilling the three holes in that brand new $232.98 mirror Assembly.