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joel55bug
Samba Member
Joined: January 26, 2005
Posts: 297
Location: Texas
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 Posted: Tue Dec 26, 2006 4:13 pm Post subject: repop albert mirrors and orignal? How to tell differences! |
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Just curious of some tricks of how to tell the difference between the two!
Thanks in advance,
Joel |
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semaphore
Samba Member
Joined: May 25, 2001
Posts: 161
Location: on the computer
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| Posted: Tue Dec 26, 2006 4:21 pm Post subject: |
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the arms look the same but i think the heads do not have the albert stamp
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63' samba
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joel55bug
Samba Member
Joined: January 26, 2005
Posts: 297
Location: Texas
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| Posted: Tue Dec 26, 2006 7:10 pm Post subject: |
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| Thanks, I knew someone on this forum would know! That's what I wanted to know! |
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aggro_jo
Samba Sticker Pimp
Joined: June 03, 2004
Posts: 764
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| Posted: Tue Dec 26, 2006 9:28 pm Post subject: |
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not true. there are repros that have the Albert stamp on the head. even so, that head was used on MANY different mirrors and not rare at all. The arm is the rare part
It is my understanding that the biggest difference is that the repro arms are aluminum and the originals were magnesium. |
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RareAir
Samba Member
Joined: May 11, 2002
Posts: 14577
Location: 18 miles North of the border
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aggro_jo
Samba Sticker Pimp
Joined: June 03, 2004
Posts: 764
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| Posted: Tue Dec 26, 2006 10:00 pm Post subject: |
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| RareAir wrote: |
| Magnesium? My Albert swan necks are potmetal that have been Chromed. Aftermarket swans are Aluminum that have been highly polished |
thanks rareAir. I stand corrected. 
I knew there was a difference in the arm material. |
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r39o
Samba Polizei
Joined: May 18, 2005
Posts: 9800
Location: San Diego
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| Posted: Tue Dec 26, 2006 10:30 pm Post subject: |
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| Amazing. When we made mirror arms we had them cast in a nice bronze. Nice to work with. Nice to chrome, too. Unless you remove the chrome, you can not tell. Well, almost. Why, oh why, do some cheese out and change the finish to be so much harder to maintain? It is obvious too. Pot metal is really cheap assed crap to begin with, but making something later out of polished aluminum is just too cheesy.... |
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RareAir
Samba Member
Joined: May 11, 2002
Posts: 14577
Location: 18 miles North of the border
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r39o
Samba Polizei
Joined: May 18, 2005
Posts: 9800
Location: San Diego
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| Posted: Wed Dec 27, 2006 1:33 am Post subject: |
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| RareAir wrote: |
| r39o wrote: |
| Pot metal is really cheap assed crap to begin with.... |
Many parts on Pre '60 VWs came in diecast potmetal. Door handles, hood handles, T handles etc.. |
YEP. Nothing new about that.
What fun it is to rechrome that stuff!
Filing, drilling, filling, sanding.....oh the joy of replating potmetal.
Only a few places will touch pot metal and even fewer can do it right!
Right means that it doesn't start to bubble up in a few short weeks.
Oh the joy!
I sure do like brass remade parts so, so much bettter! |
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Oldbug.com
Pheasant Plucker
Joined: October 12, 2001
Posts: 1054
Location: Aguanga California
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| Posted: Wed Dec 27, 2006 10:41 pm Post subject: |
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Aluminum? 
Not so Glenn.
The reproductions have a cast pot metal arm that is chromed, just like the originals. The chrome is of very nice quality but it will help to keep a coat of wax on them like any cast metal part.
Someone out there is reproducing Albert mirror heads that have the stamp...I believe the same shape has been used for BMW motorcycles.
If you wanted to make them look proper you could find those heads somewhere and then put them on the repro bases...then the illusion would be complete.
The base gaskets on our mirrors are different than the originals too... but thats about it.
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53 0val
Samba Professor
Joined: July 03, 2003
Posts: 11396
Location: Irvine, CA
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| Posted: Wed Dec 27, 2006 10:58 pm Post subject: |
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| Oldbug.com wrote: |
Aluminum?
Not so Glenn.
The reproductions have a cast pot metal arm that is chromed, just like the originals. The chrome is of very nice quality but it will help to keep a coat of wax on them like any cast metal part.
Someone out there is reproducing Albert mirror heads that have the stamp...I believe the same shape has been used for BMW motorcycles.
If you wanted to make them look proper you could find those heads somewhere and then put them on the repro bases...then the illusion would be complete.
The base gaskets on our mirrors are different than the originals too... but thats about it. |
I refuse to use the ugly base gaskets on my originals.........I trimed them o down so they don't show. Randy's gaskets look better than the originials IMO. 
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Jimmy Perez
Samba Member
Joined: September 08, 2003
Posts: 310
Location: Cruising in Cali, Nomad
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| Posted: Wed Dec 27, 2006 11:48 pm Post subject: |
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| Oldbug.com wrote: |
Someone out there is reproducing Albert mirror heads that have the stamp...I believe the same shape has been used for BMW motorcycles.
If you wanted to make them look proper you could find those heads somewhere and then put them on the repro bases...then the illusion would be complete.
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I haven't heard of anyone reproducing or seen these repoduction heads. (But who knows)  There is nothing (accessory parts) sacred anymore, when buck can be made 
As for the mirrors themselves, Albert made mirrors for different vehicles and the heads are universal, so they can be changed or replaced! Some are aluminum, stainless steel, solid cast hooded, hooded with a plastic insert, ect.
But as mentioned earlier originals will have the logo on them
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Skim
Rants Master
Joined: April 15, 2001
Posts: 17082
Location: GFK 31 Year Vet
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| Posted: Thu Dec 28, 2006 4:06 am Post subject: |
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yep, Glen needs to come up off those hooded albert heads. 
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GFK
Samba since before the towers collapsed. Still here.
1953 Kabriolet
1954 Sunroof
1959 Lowlight Ghia vert
1960 Lt Grey Double Cab SMZ LEGIT
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Kais Collection 
vintage treasures
Joined: February 18, 2005
Posts: 1570
Location: Rotterdam, The Netherlands
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| Posted: Thu Dec 28, 2006 6:03 am Post subject: |
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| Jimmy Perez wrote: |
As for the mirrors themselves, Albert made mirrors for different vehicles and the heads are universal, so they can be changed or replaced! Some are aluminum, stainless steel, solid cast hooded, hooded with a plastic insert, ect. |
There are some (late) hooded Albert heads that have a Volvo stamping on them. Other then that they are the same from the 'normal' hooded heads.
Sorry to hijack this thread, but what period are these hooded Alberts correct for?
I always thought these were 50ies, and the later plastic insert heads 60ies.
But since Bob has the plastic insert ones on his '53, does that make those oval and later, and the thin seal ones in the picture above splits only?
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53 0val
Samba Professor
Joined: July 03, 2003
Posts: 11396
Location: Irvine, CA
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| Posted: Thu Dec 28, 2006 8:45 am Post subject: |
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You are correct Kai. I believe that the ones you are showing are '50s and early '60s. The plastic I was referring to is the gasket between the arm of the mirror and the body of the car and not in the mirror housing itself. Both early and later arms had the same ugly gasket. If I were running hooded Alberts on my car, I would look for some just like yours.
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coad
Samba Scapegoat
Joined: September 12, 2002
Posts: 7552
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| Posted: Thu Dec 28, 2006 9:13 am Post subject: |
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| Jimmy Perez wrote: |
| I haven't heard of anyone reproducing or seen these repoduction heads. (But who knows) There is nothing (accessory parts) sacred anymore, when buck can be made |
These are the guys making the heads:
http://members.aol.com/vechbmw/ |
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Brezelwerks
Samba Member
Joined: March 17, 2003
Posts: 1421
Location: Tyngsboro, MA
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| Posted: Thu Dec 28, 2006 9:14 am Post subject: |
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| r39o wrote: |
| Amazing. When we made mirror arms we had them cast in a nice bronze. Nice to work with. Nice to chrome, too. Unless you remove the chrome, you can not tell. Well, almost. Why, oh why, do some cheese out and change the finish to be so much harder to maintain? It is obvious too. Pot metal is really cheap assed crap to begin with, but making something later out of polished aluminum is just too cheesy.... |
Amen to that. Best reproduction casting material to work with is bronze, brass is second. Bronze though produces less casting defects than any other non-diecast metal part, takes to chroming equal to brass, is nearly 100% stable and will not pit or outgas like potmetal, plus the material, process, and finishing costs are noticeably less expensive. The other big advantage of bronze is that can nearly match the structural properties of steel, the other materials nowhere near measure up.
Gary |
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RareAir
Samba Member
Joined: May 11, 2002
Posts: 14577
Location: 18 miles North of the border
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| Posted: Thu Dec 28, 2006 2:59 pm Post subject: |
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| Oldbug.com wrote: |
Aluminum?
Not so Glenn.
The reproductions have a cast pot metal arm that is chromed, just like the originals. The chrome is of very nice quality but it will help to keep a coat of wax on them like any cast metal part. |
You're not the only person in town reproing Albert swan necks. Check with Javier Tenorio (Tijuana, Mexico) He was making swan necks since '95 and they're made of Aluminum.
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1956 Typ 151
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1959 Typ 265
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RareAir
Samba Member
Joined: May 11, 2002
Posts: 14577
Location: 18 miles North of the border
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RareAir
Samba Member
Joined: May 11, 2002
Posts: 14577
Location: 18 miles North of the border
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| Posted: Thu Dec 28, 2006 3:01 pm Post subject: |
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| kai wrote: |
Sorry to hijack this thread, but what period are these hooded Alberts correct for?
I always thought these were 50ies, and the later plastic insert heads 60ies.
But since Bob has the plastic insert ones on his '53, does that make those oval and later, and the thin seal ones in the picture above splits only? |
Those are definitely the earlier ones. I thought I was hoarding them, but damn!
I also like nearly everything in that pic. Coat hook, Australian hood badge, Motometer Rallye Package, 100km medallion, Amphicar horn push, early Empi door pull, Cog 100mm fuel cap. The Nevada plate you can keep
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1947 Typ 11a
1954 Typ 117
1956 Typ 151
1959 Typ 117
1959 Typ 265
1961 356B
1966 Typ 151
1966 Typ 241 |
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