Rearview Mirror Swap
Thread Starter
7th Gear
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 7
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Rearview Mirror Swap
Hi everybody -
I've got a '79 that someone had performed some bad resto-mods on before I bought it. I'm trying to clean it up a little now and, because it's already been taken away from original, I'm making a few changes that I hope are tasteful.
It's got sport mirrors on it now. The mechanics of the driver's side mirror are broken, so I need to replace it and would like to put some '79 correct chrome mirrors on. The mounting holes are different though, so I'm wondering if anyone has information on exactly where to mount them and the best way to do it.
The mounting kit that came with the mirror only has two machine screws for the mounting plate. Do I just drill and tap the fiberglass of the door, or am I supposed to make holes in the door and then use washers and nuts on the back side?
Thanks,
Sean
I've got a '79 that someone had performed some bad resto-mods on before I bought it. I'm trying to clean it up a little now and, because it's already been taken away from original, I'm making a few changes that I hope are tasteful.
It's got sport mirrors on it now. The mechanics of the driver's side mirror are broken, so I need to replace it and would like to put some '79 correct chrome mirrors on. The mounting holes are different though, so I'm wondering if anyone has information on exactly where to mount them and the best way to do it.
The mounting kit that came with the mirror only has two machine screws for the mounting plate. Do I just drill and tap the fiberglass of the door, or am I supposed to make holes in the door and then use washers and nuts on the back side?
Thanks,
Sean
Former Vendor
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 76,656
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From: Jeffersonville Indiana 812-288-7103
St. Jude Donor '08-'09-'10-'11-'12-'13-'14-'15
Sean,
The C3 cars with Chrome mirror had a plate inside the door on the driver side. This plate had two nuts on it that were spot welded to it and were spaced the same distance apart as the holes in your mirror mounting bracket.
This plate was riveted in the door with two aluminum rivets and is a complete PITA to install if it is not on the door or messed up. The cars with the sport mirrors were held in place by the two studs made in the mirror head with a pair of nuts.
On C3 cars that had the passenger side mirror added to them, holes were drilled and rubber expander (well) nuts were installed in the hole. When the bracket screw is tightened down the expander nuts swell up and hold the passenger side mirror in place.
The above method will work for the driver side too. I have a couple C3 cars but neither have a passenger side mirror on them. But from what I understand the mirrors held on with well nuts tend to wobble in and out when the doors are shut.
Maybe someone will add to this for you and I hope this helps.
Willcox Inc.
The C3 cars with Chrome mirror had a plate inside the door on the driver side. This plate had two nuts on it that were spot welded to it and were spaced the same distance apart as the holes in your mirror mounting bracket.
This plate was riveted in the door with two aluminum rivets and is a complete PITA to install if it is not on the door or messed up. The cars with the sport mirrors were held in place by the two studs made in the mirror head with a pair of nuts.
On C3 cars that had the passenger side mirror added to them, holes were drilled and rubber expander (well) nuts were installed in the hole. When the bracket screw is tightened down the expander nuts swell up and hold the passenger side mirror in place.
The above method will work for the driver side too. I have a couple C3 cars but neither have a passenger side mirror on them. But from what I understand the mirrors held on with well nuts tend to wobble in and out when the doors are shut.
Maybe someone will add to this for you and I hope this helps.
Willcox Inc.
Thread Starter
7th Gear
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 7
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Excellent. That's a huge help. Thanks very much for the information.
The ends of the mirror do seem to be very helpful, so I can imagine them being very wobbly without a plate inside the door to reinforce them. Doesn't sound like it would be very hard to fabricate a simple plate to put inside the door though. Filling the holes from the old mirror will probably be more of a chore.
Now I just need to figure out exactly where to place it. I'd rather not just eyeball it from a photo. Would someone mind taking measurements for me? Maybe from the top of the door to the top of the mirror's foot and a measurement from the front edge of the door back to the point at the front of the mirror foot?
I really appreciate the help.
== Sean
The ends of the mirror do seem to be very helpful, so I can imagine them being very wobbly without a plate inside the door to reinforce them. Doesn't sound like it would be very hard to fabricate a simple plate to put inside the door though. Filling the holes from the old mirror will probably be more of a chore.
Now I just need to figure out exactly where to place it. I'd rather not just eyeball it from a photo. Would someone mind taking measurements for me? Maybe from the top of the door to the top of the mirror's foot and a measurement from the front edge of the door back to the point at the front of the mirror foot?
I really appreciate the help.
== Sean
Thread Starter
7th Gear
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 7
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Looking at the door again, I can see why installing the support plate will be a pain. Wasn't thinking that there's that metal skin with only a few holes in it right behind where the mirror is supposed to mount...
== Sean
== Sean
