side view mirrors

[Plymouthy Adams]

where are your mirrors placed..and how effective are they? many know that swan necks are very sharp looking and having one on each side provides not only a balanced look but a very attractive looking car..placement however will often render the passenger mirror as having only an aesthetic value. Who has what and where and how effective are they for viewing through..???

[windsor8]

On my D24 the mirror was originally mounted just above the side trim. I found it better for me to move the mirror up on the door. The photos show the transition period when I was deciding on location.

[Young Ed]

I have my so cal mirrors mounted near the vent window. Just positioned so the vent will still open all the way.

[BobT-47P15]

find a picture of Robin's P15 convert mirrors

He mounted them for maximum usefulness as he is driving the left

drive car in right hand traffic of the UK.

[Plymouthy Adams]

ah..but the passenger side..is it truly usable as a rear view mirror..I gain have the seats back out of the coupe asthe glass and do not have a method to simulate mirrors at this time..for the ones clipped on the forward edge of the door..the peeps as they are..is this also visible thorugh the paseenger vent. thanks...am looking for the general location where both sides are balanced and effective..

[greg g]

I have an old rectangular clip on on the drivers side. Had one on the pass side but the arm was not long enough to be able to see anything in it so I took it off. I have it oriented vertically, when it horizantal, it makes to much wind noise.

Currently looking fo something to use on the Studebaker. Not a fan of west coast style or overlarge mirrors. Keeping my eye out for some at swap meets.

[oldodge41]

I have the clip on mirrors. Both are useful. One is useful for the driver and one for the passenger. Not both for either. When I was a kid I remember Grandpap had his mounted on the door frame just above the point where the vent window and side window meet. Thought about trying mine there but have not to date.

[Niel Hoback]

I recall my grandfather put them on the top of the door frame just behind the vent window. That way he could actually use the right side mirror. They were kind of curved downwards.

[T120]

My mirrors are usable.They extend 8" out from the doors.I have 1 3/4" dia. shallow convex bubble mirrors at the outer ends of the mirrors on both sides.While they work okay for me changing lanes and merging,I'm not travelling in bumper to bumper multi lane traffic at freeway speeds with the old Dodge trying to shoehorn my way in, changing lanes trying to reach an exit...

[Plymouthy Adams]

I am finding it quite a challenge to mount the swan necks in a fashion that will:

A) look good

be of use

C) stay adjusted while getting in and out of the car..

I pretty much figured that a drivers side would be the only really useable mirror..

then looking at my mirrors they are what looks to be mismarked..the left should go on the right and the right to the left..UNLESS you hold them flush to the top of the window frame just above the vent divider..then it looks normal..so how many swan neck are nounted in this way..mystery to me..

[BobT-47P15]

Found a pic of Robin's mirrors from a previous post........says they are from

So Cal Speed Shop............mount on door.........

Looks like Young Ed has them also.........

One thing I've noticed about mirrors for the driver's door is - they need to

stand out from the car far enough to see around that slight "bulge" in the

side of a P15.

They also make a rectangular mirror that clamps on the door edge, which

gives a wider viewing area.

[Plymouthy Adams]

Bob, thanks for the pics..those shown are like the mirrors I have on hand..they are very heavy polished stainless bases with polished 4 inch stainless backed mirrors heads. I have test fit the mirrors from the position as it appears other have used, its almost a given this is the better mount position on the car for looks...but I cannot see diddly from the passenger side mirror..It looks like it would have to be mounted on a 3/8 inch wedge to get it to angle in enough for the head to be seen from the drivers seat..maybe i am asking for too much..looks and functionality

[BobT-47P15]

Tim......you'd think there would be some way that a right mirror would

be useful to the driver. There are many shapes and styles out there,

but not all are easily available any more. And some might look kinda

out of place. So, don't know what to suggest aside from something

later model which won't jive with the car.

[Plymouthy Adams]

Bob..I have found the P15 to run true to the other cars I have here..the design of the door being almost flat on the side, the wing vent and keeping it fully functional limits the style and placement of mirrors along the door skin. Cowl mount is out of the question and as you know these cars are not made in the UK so wind mounts are out also..I have in the past used edge mount peep mirrors and such but not exactly the look I am going for with this car..the inverted look was fully functional but..the mounting would put the head fo the bolts right on the weatehr strip and could interfer with the actual closing of the door..seems there is always something..guess I may need to devise a good beveled transistion mount..will look at it more tomorrow..or the next day..

[Andydodge]

I have these aftermarket mirrors on the door edge on each side, this allows me to see the drivers & passenger side rear fender and beyond o/k.......these were on the top of the door edge when the car was purchased and hung down, but were useless so i moved them.....andyd

[Young Ed]

Tim its a challenge to get my passenger one adjusted but I can see ok if its just in the right spot.

[Jim Yergin]

Passenger side stock mirror is purely for looks. Can not be seen from the driver's seat.

Jim Yergin

[Richard Coney]

These are clip-ons that fit on the front edge of the doors with grub screws, and I can see both sides of the car, but it's not great, especially as I drive the car on the "wrong" side of the road.

[greg g]

Hey Tim how about some motor cycle mirrors. The ones that have the longer arms and have a screw in mount for attaching to the handle bar clamp.

http://www.jcwhitney.com/chrome-plated-mini-classic-mirrors-with-round-stems1965-2004-h-d/p2002251.jcwx?filterid=c14469u0j3

[Plymouthy Adams]

don't think I have not walked over to my bikes for a look see...the mounting for these mirrors have to be quite beefy based on their design of having the use a jamb nut to lock the shaft in place and prevent rotating..they do not have anti rotating pins or screws built into the base..this would mean mounting a heavy metric threaded base inside the door and permanetly attach to the door skin in order to adjust and not have to remove the door panel to complete the job..my Lucas wing mirrors have a similar hinderance..

[greg g]

I have a couple of pieces of L shaped stainless steel. I was going to use thes to mount to the doors of my truck, then attach the MC mirrors to those. A bit tacky but still not as bad as some of the stuff I have seen on trucks.

Hey maybe one of those seatbelt anchors that Julianos sell would work as an inside the door base????

[Plymouthy Adams]

it was a while back but if you recall I posted some finings on a set of mirrors from a later model vehicle that had threaded mirror heads..now the originals head were rectangular but I used a set of peep mirrors and cut the stems, threaded them the correct size and inserted for use on the Suburban..these units have a nice heavy base an reinforcement bracket to back the door skin..while these will look good on a utility style car like the wagon..and the fact that the wagon has a rolled section on the door skin makes these a bit more useable for 49-up..I will probably dig these out and try them against the P15 for suitability..I know I never trie dthese against the body of the P15 when I first worked the heads for use on the wagon..if I get lucky and these are decent. I have a second set of bases and know where to get threaded 4 and 5 inch mirror heads..

[Ed Griffin]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v136/19489Dodge/1948%20Dodge%20Sedan%20custom/a7876aeb.jpg

As you can see my 48 has a long straight mirror coming out of the cowl trim area. It has only a slight bend at the base. Same place you would put the swan neck mirrors. It looks to have come out as a factory accessory. When the car was drivable I could see out just fine on the drivers side. Those extra inch's sticking out helped. For the passenger side I just used the rear view mirror and turned my head alot. I have a set of what I call actual swan neck mirrors to put on the car though I think they were actually made for a Ford. The only difference in the base of the mirror compared to the one mounted is the base is just a tad skinnier than the original cowl trim. I know from past reading that the passenger side will just be for looks but it will be no different than it is now with no mirror.

[Plymouthy Adams]

Eddie..the original D24 cowl mirrors are a bit more common than P15 cowl mounts but still does not nake them any cheaper if you should find them

I did test fit the one's I spoke of earlier..the flat slab side fo the door just renders most mirrors useless. The Lucas were a bit better but would have to drill a locator pin and then that would put them right on to the glass if mounted at the vent divider...but these are genuine Lucas mirrors..bit hard to come by...just can't seem to find my happy place..I believe I will eventually be adjusting my happy place to one that is just a place to bang my head against the wall..

[deathbound]

Only on the driver's side, clamps onto the door edge.