Plymouthy Adams

The west coast style as on your Dodge look great, and the reason is, your door frame is sufficient to allow the upper mount to be installed neat and clean. The Dodge mirrors from the Tradesman series of the 70's smaller but stylish base that would have fit this door and looked a bit spiffy but alas, the size of the mirror heads were out of proportion as again, they quite large heads, also not suitable for head swap due to head mount position. Ability to cleanly mount any mirror in regard to proportion and to NOT have other functions of features blocking view or mirrors or inhibiting functions such as glass regulator and latch rods, well all has to be considered well ahead of drilling a hole in a finished door. I have a set of the mirrors similar to what you have on your truck but with the slim stainless steel glass frame that is fixed and the glass enters this frame thus preventing any fasteners.

Thanks for taking the time to post the pic, there-in lies the biggest problem with the later mirrors. while they are some nice looking units out there, they do not play well with vehicles that have functional vents. And while I have a small corner void for a mirror in this location, it would be a stem mount only and was a thought, but icks-nayed due to the fact if would mount, the mock up proved the division bar would now be in the view as would be the vent glass if opened....so for clean and practical install with fewer trade offs, I think I made the best choice.

I would like to see a picture of the Cheb mirrors you think may work.....I walked the wrecking yard over and took in about any and all mirrors on site...saw nothing on a Cheb that came close to what I think would have fit. My friend bought Chebby stalks and 5 x 7 heads and to me it is flimy and prone to vibration, the mounting hardware on the head a bit anemic and the ones he had the ball mounts were not as snug as they should be and no provision for tighteneing. He offered these to me to mock up and I decided not to even consider it. For the record, he has chosen these Ford mirror for his van after seeing and riding in the vehicle. The convex mirror is ALL the difference and not offered with the Chebby set he bought. I would never considered anything that is referred to as west coast as the door frame would not allow such fit. Dodge has a smaller base but the mirror heads are even bigger. I went with these Ford mirrors with a slight frame tweak and they then aligned perfect onto the door both top and bottom mounts. Removed the door panels and ensured that the door latch/window mechanisms would not interfere with the mounts, backers and bolts. Popped 4 holes in each door and the rest is history. Win or lose be a good sport and to be sure I have excellent vision to the rear and the mirrors are cosmetically pleasing also. Just for you Los I walked out and snapped a picture, it is on the lift as I study adapting a sway bar to the front. These never came with a sway bar and while there is an aftermarket unit being solid, it does not have the best reviews and folks say it hangs too low below the chassis and even the ear mounts look totally cobbled.....I hope to do better than cobble for a lot less money.

Thanks.....was a fun build with the only aggravation being the re-pop parts were closer to re-pooped parts.....lots of rework and finding alternate products to do the job.

As an update...off the fence and the mirrors are installed pernamently onto the doors. They look right at home there (blue tape does not define the mounts well) and the best part is my vision to the rear is great with the convex mirror on the left door (RHD car) I also received in the mail my fender mounted T/S indicators which are a Mopar item, these utilized the wing mirror holes and covered that sin completely, they are wired in the T/S wiring and work great. Flipping through my pics....the engine bay when I got the vehicle and the manner I finished it out during the build. You can see the ineffective mirrors and as removed the Mopar lights on the finished picture.

and with modern vehicles, especially AWD you can get things like traction control warning from the same said sensor for this system base solely on the computer fed tech data of tire size and rear axle ratio (rev per mile) is the computer reference all future sensor data output is compared and causes the flag to be set. Where the front tires due to the manner they are constantly changing load and position during driving and wear quicker. My neighbor could not grasp that concept, my bud also does not think tire wear is relevant in his traction control alarm case whereas, new tires corrected all issues....same sensor, no resets, no computer reprogramming. Modern cars have lots of modern issues....the computer is smart, but they are not programmed to prorate wear but offset only by a preset +/-value off stock programming

PLAY DAY---- PLAY DAY...playing with my newest arrived older tool today.....good news....the aimers are the cats meow....bad news the aftermarket adjusting pop in screw nuts from Jolly Ole UK....not made well at all....one already busted....aaaarg! Good to have had a spare on hand.... This is the final adjustment known needed on this project and that is now behind me. Time to clean and detail it a bit and get rid of fingerprints etc.

engine mounts are not at all that difficult to make....late model 5.2 mounts will fit the early Dakota bolt to frame receivers and with that, you just fashion the plate for these. Walk in the park...

The TPMS serves but two purposes, report a low tire and cost you lots of headaches and money when a sensor fails....Thanks Ford....mandatory since 2007...if the sensor reports a low tire and in fact it is...this could affect braking due to differences in tire pressure...but it is NOT tied into the braking systems directly. Indirect sensors rely on the ABS sensor to gather and report data

1941 Dodge D19 (series not model specific but all shared same frame) WEIGHTS & MEASURES WHEELBASE 119.5 inches OVERALL LENGTH 202.81 inches OVERALL WIDTH 75.7 inches OVERALL HEIGHT 67.7 inches FRONT TRACK 57 inches REAR TRACK 60.28 inches CURB WEIGHT 3,149 pounds

DOT has no mandates.....only suggestions Tire Age Limit Law While there is no specific law, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) recommends replacing passenger car and truck tires every 6 years, regardless of wear. However, they strongly advise that all tires, including spares, should be replaced after 10 years, as a precautionary measure for safety.

youth is wasted on the young, often there is no intelligence associated with them......and if you wish to defend their intelligence, let call it lack of experience.

I clearly understand how a small date code on the backside of a reproduction WWW tire could truly affect the appearance of a mounted tire on an older car..not ..I have other comments but would not serve the forum at large as they seem to accept poor quality at high cost as the norm.

I think your 4th post to the forum in 2007 was in regard to what size tires for your DeSoto, good to see you making progress.

if staying stock transmisson, rear gear and speedometer head, match you wheels to that of stock for accuracy...change something be prepared to learn to drive with the offset in accuracy or install a ratio adapter.

225/75/16's on my 48 Plymouth and the fronts are zero issue but I admit, at the rear...you have no fudge room for sure. They are there as they match the diameter of the donor vehicle and thus no reprogramming of the computer was needed for speedometer accuracy. For a shop roller, the tires in question should not be an issue at all.

I remember some sage advice from long ago for dealing with stress (actually I think it was comedy skit) ...find the source of the stress, break both kneecaps......

Hats off to the lady of the house....congrats are in order for you both. You hopefully will see a big big difference in the heating bill. The hole is an unfortunate side effect of progress.

lighting is a safety issue if you are forced to park along the road at night.....you do not need to burn out the points with the key on. Too bad these cars were not set up like the Porsche for parking along a street.

lights should be able to turn on static...odds are a PO wiring change as you surmise.....should not be a tough fix given you a flexible enough person.....

Hey Pete, look at the yellow/orange color to the left of the van....third Brit car in that bay. LOL I rolled the Damask Red Austin out for a 65 mile jaunt Wednesday. I do like that color. AND many thanks for going to the trouble to double check and report the manner it fit and view from the driver's seat....much appreciated. I think my position of the mirror head will be close to what you show. Being able to see what is going on around you in traffic in very important and I refuse to drive this again till suitable mirrors are in place. I have done a single bracket tweak that places the mounts nicely, as in flat against the door top and bottom and just returned from a hardware run for stainless steel button bolts. After this coffee, will drill and tap the backing plates and go from there. If weather is nice, the ole boy may makes its debut at the Dec. cruise in, am hoping my new indicator lights for the fenders will be here in time.

As usual, mums pulled another fantastic feast together and all was on the table at the minute she said it would be. Son and family and a good friend in attendance and after the meal, we all sat about the fire pit on the patio enjoying a warm fire. While not cold, there was a bit of a nip in the air and how they had room for toasted marshmallows I do not understand. The two grandkids were a hoot and a half running about. This morning, doing what I do best, drinking coffee and looking ugly plus killing a few rolls and some turkey. Most enjoyable holiday for sure.

Thanks for sharing those pictures, the larger mirrors on these vans is a must for sure....the position you have these mounted I was going to cut aluminum blocks, drill, countersink the frame, tap the block and mount mirrors here also. With the cover cap you never know the support block is in place. Sadly the only mirrors I have to place here were again, the swan neck and the heads just are not ample size for good view for safe driving and do not come with convex mirror head. My bud has a single stem mirror arm 10" length and 5 x 7 mirrors he plans to use on his truck and van but not mocked any of them up yet, also not listed as convex mirror in the set. He has offered them to me to test fit and function. I may do that this weekend. In back of my mind though, I feel these may vibrate/shake when traveling at speed or shudder a bit when closing the doors. I think the fender mirror scream Brit and I like the look, but as the van box is wider than the cab....they are not at all effective even with the greater offset over the original Lucas style. Do you recall if the far side mirror was visible without the glass division bar being seen mounted in that position? Swapping the mirror heads on the ones I show is so easy and allow for proper use of the convex mirror so that is a win also. We still on the fence here for mirrors, the fender mounts are clearing going away and the indicator lights are in concrete so to speak.

Nearing the goal, I hit a major snag with the build....while it was originally fitted with fender mirrors I figured they had some saving grace....NOPE !!! Basically driving blind. So the wing mirrors as useful as tits on tree trunk, I am backing up to punt. First off, how to fill the holes in the fender this late stage with fully painted car...proved easier than the relocation and selection of mirrors. I looked at tons of photos of these cars/trucks/vans and station wagons and all had either a peep mirror or fender mirrors. One had swan necks where I thought of locating them but they are not without issue and totally look anemic and still the very small mirror head. So plan B is shaping up....the indicators are used and rough so new ones are on the way to me. Mirrors are a bit large but unless you have driven one of these....the mirrors need to be large for safety. Before mounting these I will get the damaged set out of the yard, the mount bases are good, and see if I can alter the shape and shrink the physical footprint a bit. The tape is about twice the size of the mount bases and look a bit out of place but they protects the paint for mock up.....keep in mind, this is right hand drive....if not for the over ride on the reverse camera, my drive to town I was totally blind on the left and rear. This is the current mockup I am reviewing for now.