Interior rear view mirror glass replacement

[50 Dodge Lug Nut]

Hello All -

 

I need to replace the glass (only) for the interior rear view mirror on my '50 Dodge Coronet.

 

The frame and dimming mechanism are fine, but the mirror itself is rapidly becoming useless as the silver and other compound coatings are "dying of old age."

 

Local glass shops are of NO help. They can cut auto mirror glass to the width & length of my mirror, but they can not taper the glass from approx 1/4" to 1/8".

 

This taper is required in order to  achieve the dimming effect by manually flipping the tab at the bottom center of the mirror.

 

E-nay has turned up zero results for my search/match. A Google search has yielded plenty of glass & mirror replacement shops but no one who has stuff for our cars.

 

The usual range of the regular auto parts stores has hundreds of rear view mirror replace units as a whole assembly, but of course nothing for the year/make/model I need.

 

Has anyone solved this problem on their cars, or know a source for this type of mirror glass?

 

Thanks,

 

Frank

 

[Don Coatney]

How often do you drive your car at night? Better to have a good daytime mirror than a not so good day/night mirror?

[knuckleharley]

Maybe buy a larger rear view mirror from a junker,and cut it down to size? Lots (most?) rear view interior mirrors in mid-50's to mid-70's cars were much larger than the one in your 50 Dodge.

[Young Ed]

Is this an aftermarket mirror? I didn't think these cars had day night mirrors available

[DJ194950]

Some NOS? or NORS day/night mirrors for our old Mopars show up on EBAY occasionally . My only real problem I have with them has been the price! Appear some would fit my 50 Ply. 4 dr.. Still happy with my fair condition stocker. $60+ ( + shipping) is not for me.

I do not drive much after dark, but when I have,  the eye surgery I have had gives me Some of that "starburst" effect when someones headlights get too close and those new "sunburn type of super lights make me turn my mirror some that I cannot see them at all.  Not the best idea but I cannot see them anyway!  The other thing I have tried versus moving the mirror angle is to put my daytime sunglasses back on!  Just slide down in the seat a bit and Cruise! 

 

DJ

[knuckleharley]

 

I do not drive much after dark, but when I have,  the eye surgery I have had gives me Some of that "starburst" effect when someones headlights get too close and those new "sunburn type of super lights make me turn my mirror some that I cannot see them at all.

 

DJ

Those yellow-tinted sunglasses you see advertised on teebee and in magazines (also at the Dollar Store) really work great for eliminating glare and increasing vision at night and when it's raining. They really do work that well.

[bobostski]

Mirrors can be re-silvered. Not sure what it would cost. We had it done when I use to restore antique furniture.

[Andydodge]

Dunno if this helps at all but the most recent Oz Hot Rod magazine has an advert from a US store advertising a range of mirrors, WWW.STREETRODHQ.COM phone 360 816 0211.........might be worth a call as they may have a mirror that will work with your original arm or an arm and mirror that will bolt up to the centre bar.......either way I'd give them a call.........regards, Andyd

[50 Dodge Lug Nut]

Thanks everyone for your ideas and comments.

 

I tried earlier today to reply to each of your replies in one single post, but somehow I lost the reply before it was posted and couldn't find an auto-save.

 

So, trying again:

 

Don - YES, the thought of how much night driving I do and how little will likely be done in the future has been on my mind. Replacing the mirror glass with a regular daytime would be the simplest solution. But since when do we do things the easy way?

That aside, I'm trying to keep the car as original as possible --within reason and affordability.

 

Knuckleharley - Junk yard visits are on the list as the next stop if I can't find a direct replacement for the mirror. Problem I do have is there is only one auto junk yard/salvage yard in Sebring. The next closest is approx 45 miles away. This is likely the court-of-last-resort.

 

Young Ed - The mirror was in/on the car when I bought it. It is not listed on the build-sheet, although that is barely legible.

The mirror was probably installed as a dealer option--it is shown in the Dodge Accessory manual that was in the car --at a cost of $2.20 plus installation. Really!

Maybe I should take the car and the manual to the local Dodge dealer............

 

DJ194950 -- I too have searched Ebay but haven't found anything recently fitting what I need.

YES, nighttime driving, especially when facing head-on those blue laser headlights on some vehicles, is becoming difficult.

It's almost like you imagine they delight in burning opposing driver's eyes and brain housing groups with those headlights. Maybe there's a special corner in hell for those people that own them.

 

Bobostski - Outstanding idea. Thanks. Any memory of who you had used to that re-silvering work, or a current vendor?

 

Andydodge - Thank you for this lead. Well done! I will call/be in touch with them next week.

 

Again, thank you one and all for your thoughts and ideas. It's appreciated.

 

Frank

[knuckleharley]

 

Knuckleharley - Junk yard visits are on the list as the next stop if I can't find a direct replacement for the mirror. Problem I do have is there is only one auto junk yard/salvage yard in Sebring. The next closest is approx 45 miles away. This is likely the court-of-last-resort.

 

 

Frank

Frank,I wasn't suggesting using the whole mirror with bracket from the modern car. I was suggesting you buy the complete assembly from a modern car that has a larger rear view mirror,and then cut the mirror itself down to size and mount it in your original bracket/rear view mirror housing.

Edited August 25, 2016 by knuckleharley

[Bingster]

I know in my area of Iowa I asked recently to have a mirror re-silvered and they said they'd have to send it to NY, or maybe it was Chicago. Anyway, it wasn't local. But when I lived in LA I found somebody locally to re-silver an antique mirror and it came out great.  Fortunately, it's easy to ship a small rear view mirror to have it done anywhere.

[BobT-47P15]

Hi Lug

 

This mirror is currently on eBay for buy it now of 29.95    Listed as for a 1947--53Chevy o GMC pickup.

I searched by putting in  "vintage day/night rear view mirror".   Brought up mirrors for various brands of vehicle.