Checking Out the Rear

[Norm's Coupe]

Finally got around to taking my Sally Hill mirrors apart and painting them. Put them back together today. Painted them Cruiser Maroon to sort of match the car. Of course the paint on the car is a little faded though, so won't match perfectly. Good enough until I'm ready to paint the car though. With luck, I'll get a "round tuit" this weekend and get them on the car.

Then I can check out the rear a little better to see where I've been. Picture is a little dark, guess due to lighting. Orange is before as they came. These are going to look neat on the car now.

[Normspeed]

Norm, I'm guessing you'll have a 4-5 mph top speed gain just due to less wind resistance. Close to what I gained with the Moon Disks.

[Don Coatney]

Then I can check out the rear a little better to see where I've been.

Norm;

Curious if there was a spec sheet that came with your mirrors? Exactly how far can you see where you have been? Will you be able to see your garage from the end of your driveway? If so these mirrors should work well for you. If the mirrors can see further than that they will not work for you so box them up and send them to me:D

[Norm's Coupe]

Norm;

Curious if there was a spec sheet that came with your mirrors? Exactly how far can you see where you have been? Will you be able to see your garage from the end of your driveway? If so these mirrors should work well for you. If the mirrors can see further than that they will not work for you so box them up and send them to me:D

Don, no spec sheet other than mounting instructions. However, before painting them I did hold them on the car to check them out. With them I can sit in the driveway and see the whole back wall of the garage. I still can't see Sally Hill in them though.

What's really neat about these mirrors is the adjustment features. If you cannot adjust the glass the way they are, you can change the mirror movement inside. Just remove two screws on the bottom of the mirror and the glass, and glass adjustment mechanism slides out. Once out, there is a screw/spring adjuster (like that on the vent wing on the doors). Simply turn that screw for more or less movement of the mirror. Since I was able to see when just holding them on the door, I didn't mess with that adjustment. We'll see if that stays that way when actually mounted. If not, I can make those adjustments without removing the whole mirror housing from the door.

[Don Coatney]

Sounds good Norm;

Do you have to drill holes to mount them?

Remember if they do not work you can send them to me. I will supply you with a paint sample so you can paint them blue prior to sending them:D

[Norm's Coupe]

Don,

Yes, I'll have to drill two mounting screw holes in each door. In that respect they are just like any old 50's and later model door mirrors. I've always wanted some nice door mirrors that I could see out of, so it doesn't bother me to drill the holes for them. It's also the reason it took me so long to pick out some door mirrors. Wanted to make sure they had the look I wanted for the car before drilling holes. I've seen a lot of 48 Plymouth coupes and convertibles at shows and in magazines with this type of mirror on them and they all looked neat. Was thinking about buying these anyway. Then my brother in law won these at the Milwaukee NSRA meet in a drawing and gave them to me a couple of months ago. So, I lucked out. Said they wouldn't look right on his 36 or 38 Ford Coupes.

These are keepers, so you gotta find your own. I've seen these in catalogs going for $65 and up. The box they came in said $65 also. However, before I got these and still looking I found other similar brand names going for about $39 and up. Don't know if those came apart like these though. That's what makes these so nice is the fact that each part is removable and adjustable. That and the fact that the right mirror is a convex mirror. However, it took me a whole can of special blended aerosol paint to paint them @$13 a can, to cover that orange plastic mirror body, inside and out.

[BobT-47P15]

Norm.....sounds like your special blended paint is a little better deal than where I get mine. I think mine cost about $16 or $17. And - the last couple of cans they did, the color has been just a liittle off. The earlier ones were right on. Therefore, my fender skirts are just a teeny bit different shade than the car. Will take the car by the place some day and show the guy who does the mixing to make sure he can see the difference.

I need to find a new outside mirror (only have one) as the current one looks good and is an older style, but it does not stick out far enough to see well around the bulge in the side of the car.

Not a high priority thing, but another thing to do. I have seen the style mirror you got on an old Plym recently.....looked pretty nice. Not sure it's the style I want.

[Norm's Coupe]

Bob,

You are almost stuck finding another mirror the same as the one on the car. If you change styles, you would probably have to drill new holes to mount the one on the left. I've seen a lot of them the same style as yours, so you should be able to find one to match. That's a pretty common type of 50's/60's mirror.

As for the paint, yes they were $13 per can from Tower Paint in Oshkosh, WI when I bought them about 4 years ago. However, I didn't add the shipping charges to the $13. Actually paid about $60 for 4 cans then with the shipping. Found another place that can make the same color for me though a couple of weeks ago. That place is only about 4 miles from the house. He said he has the same paint as Tower and can make whatever color I want for about $14 or $15 per can. So.......I'll be paying him a visit not to long from now. Only have two cans left now. The new paint doesn't match my older paint due to the old paint being old and faded. That's ok though because eventually I'll have the whole car repainted after doing some minor body work. If you look closely at my coupe you can see the difference in person. Have three shades on there now, but they are close. On a cloudy day it all looks the same.

[Normspeed]

Norm, not sure if it applies to the P15 body style, but on my P24 the left mirror which looks like the original dealer installed accessory, does not allow my left vent window to open. Measure thrice.....

I noticed some new replacement mirrors on the bay that looked a lot like my mirrors. Mentioned to my son and he called to say he bought me a pair for my birthday. They are chebby repop units but will look good when I finally do the paint/body work and install them.

[Norm's Coupe]

Normspeed,

When I just held the mirrors in place on the doors, I checked to make sure I could still open the vent wings. No problems there.

Those mirrors in the picture you posted look nice too. Actually, that style with the bullet is a Mopar style mirror. I've done a lot of looking at mirrors, both original and aftermarket type in the past couple of years. Forgot the year for that style off hand, but think they are close to late 50's Mopar style mirror.

If you plan on painting the wagon, I'd go ahead and put them on the car now. That way, you can make sure they are in the right spot. If you mess up, just fill the holes and put a little touch up paint on them and drill new ones. When it's time to paint the car, just take them off. That way the holes are already where you want them and you can just put them back in the same holes.

That's what I'm doing. Only difference is, when I get the car painted, I'll leave the mirror housings on the car and they can paint them too. I'll just remove the glass from them. That way, I'll be sure the paint matches.

[Normspeed]

Good idea about not waiting to install them. I was going to wait but you're right, better to have the locations dialed in before doing the body work.

[Norm's Coupe]

Well, it took awhile, but the mirrors are now on the coupe. It's been raining here ever since Friday night and I wanted to install them with the car out of the garage. Finally, we see the sun today. Supposed to rain again tonight though.

Here's how they look on the car and you can see good with them, without the vent wing or the window bar interfering.

[55 Fargo]

Looks real good Norm, the 2nd pic almost looks like "Old Glory", is mounted on your roof of the car.................Fred

[Norm's Coupe]

Thanks Fred. I've tried to stay period with custom additions but strayed a little with the mirrors. Liked the more modern painted ones because they blended in with the car better than the old chrome and stainless mirrors. So, finally relented a little on the period correctness.

Never noticed Old Glory looking that way until you mentioned it. Does look like it's mounted on the car though. Couldn't mount Old Glory on the garage peak due to motion sensor lights up there. It would keep the lights going on and off if I had mounted it up there.