Side View Mirror Brackets for '51 to '53 Trucks

[Jocko_51_B3B]

Q1: Does anyone have photos they can post of original left and right side view mirror brackets (the ones that mount on the door hinges) for the later Pilothouse trucks (51,52,53)? These seem to be one of those rarer Pilothouse parts.

Q2: Does anyone know if accurate reproductions are made of these brackets and, if so, who sells them? I know DCM sells repros of the 48,49,50 style brackets, but apparently they are really not correct for the last three years.

 

Even if this is one of those nearly impossible part searches, it would still be interesting to see how other Pilothouse owners solved the '51 - '53 Pilothouse side view mirror bracket problem.  I'm looking for a good solution and a picture is worth a thousand words.

 

Edited December 21, 2018 by Jocko_51_B3B

[Blue]

This is driver side front and back view. I have not seen these for sale. They may be a salvage yard find. I just purchased something from VPW off of a donor truck. They still have a few donors and might have these (slim chance). Good luck! PS. This is on my 50 B2d.

Edited December 21, 2018 by BlueberryDodge
Other info

[Bluzhog53]

This is a supposedly original....less the cob webs...lol

[Dodgeb4ya]

The medium to heavy trucks used this arm...

 

Edited December 22, 2018 by Dodgeb4ya

[ggdad1951]

Look thru my build thread for pictures of what is stock original.  No repops are made, you have to find them.  The driver side is more common, passenger sides are rare.  They aren't the most robust, so they tend to have been replaced over the years.

[ggdad1951]

13 hours ago, BlueberryDodge said:

This is driver side front and back view. I have not seen these for sale. They may be a salvage yard find. I just purchased something from VPW off of a donor truck. They still have a few donors and might have these (slim chance). Good luck! PS. This is on my 50 B2d.

 

Yah not stock, someones homemade job or mod of parts

[Dodgeb4ya]

Light truck stamped mirror brackets...

Edited December 23, 2018 by Dodgeb4ya

[Dodgeed]

I've looked at the major suppliers for a passenger side bracket for my '51, and no one has them. I've been keeping an eye out for them on the usual sites, w/no luck. 

 

[FlashBuddy]

DCM has 'em for about $80 bucks, as seen in @Dodgeb4ya's post above. Isn't that the same thing I have on my '50, or did they change. Hard to see in your pic, but what I can see they look the same.

 

I love the look of the older telescoping arm units. Found a set on my last junkyard run and am now wrestling with keeping her stock or going with that super cool vintage look. I should have sprayed them with PB Blaster while I was there so when I go back I'll have a fighting chance of being able to pull them.

[ggdad1951]

The ones DCM has are not for B3 or B4 trucks...they are for B1 B2 trucks.

[Dodgeb4ya]

This must be the factory mirror on 51-53 trucks...

Not the best looking style of mirror?

[Brent B3B]

I have a drivers side, same as Bluzhog53 for my 1/2 ton

 

like GGdad1951 said not the best quality

but, I REALLY like my "West coast" mirrors for "Rob"  

 

 

Edited January 11, 2019 by Brent B3B
Photo removed

[Jocko_51_B3B]

I bet it wouldn't be hard to have the correct 51-53 mirror arms fabricated if plans having the original dimensions were available. If I had the plans I'd be willing to at least go around the local area and get some estimates. It might not even be too difficult to make reasonable facsimiles for anyone having a MIG welding setup.

[ggdad1951]

10 hours ago, Jocko_51_B3B said:

I bet it wouldn't be hard to have the correct 51-53 mirror arms fabricated if plans having the original dimensions were available. If I had the plans I'd be willing to at least go around the local area and get some estimates. It might not even be too difficult to make reasonable facsimiles for anyone having a MIG welding setup.

 

go for it!  I just know the tooling is pretty unique and if you wanted to TRULY repop them it'd get spendy quick.  Now if you just want to make something that looks close and with the liberal use of a wire and a grinder it's a different story.

[Jocko_51_B3B]

All that's needed is for someone who has original drawings OR who owns a pair of the real mirror arms and can have drawings made from them to make them available so estimates can be obtained.  It seems odd that considering the demand that apparently exists for these things that DCM, Roberts, or Bernbaum hasn't taken on this project.

Edited January 9, 2019 by Jocko_51_B3B

[ggdad1951]

15 minutes ago, Jocko_51_B3B said:

All that's needed is for someone who has original drawings OR who owns a pair of the real mirror arms and can have drawings made from them to make them available so estimates can be obtained.  It seems odd that considering the demand that apparently exists for these things that DCM, Roberts, or Bernbaum hasn't taken on this project.

 

I was working on passenger visors for a while...the costs were pretty high.  Eventually DCM took it on (outside of me) and did them.

 

I also have been working on seeing if anyone would repop the B3/4 grill bars to no effect due to tooling costs. 

 

Considering the passenger side arms are even MORE rare...but I seriously wonder on the market.  Maybe Steve or Gary will see this and take a look.  I have parts that could be used as templates.  Then you have the mirror....those aren't re-popped either and there is no modern version that would be "correct" per stock for look.  But I DID find a place that would re-glass and repair old ones.

 

All comes down to demand.  Tooling isn't cheap and these arms are at least 4 tools...figure $6k...big investment.

[Jocko_51_B3B]

For me personally, exact accuracy isn't absolutely critical. Close would be good enough as long as the final product was of good quality. Round mirrors are available and, for me, would be OK even if not absolutely correct. I mistakenly bought a pair of reproduction mirror arms for the 48-50 trucks and considered using them but after a while I decided against it. (If someone wants to buy them, let me know. They're still in original packaging.) I wonder if Steve or Gary have already looked into this at some point.

[FlashBuddy]

I too like the older brackets. What I have on my 1950 B2B is different from what I'm finding in the salvage yards on pre 1950.

 

[HughForrest]

This one is a bit different that the others pictured, but I believe it is also a Mopar bracket.

 

If anyone wants it, it is yours for the cost of shipping. The mirror itself needs re-silver or replaced.

 

[Kris Bolstad]

Driver side bracket and lower/outer arm are original to '48 BID.  Passenger side bracket was on truck at purchase.  Two sets of brackets and arms came in an open box.  Part number matches.  Lower/outer and upper/inner arms are same length as original  Set screw/nut and pinch ring are the same.  Tapered bottom end and brackets are different.  No date on box to know when changes were made. 

[Navy Chief]

9 hours ago, Kris Bolstad said:

Driver side bracket and lower/outer arm are original to '48 BID.  Passenger side bracket was on truck at purchase.  Two sets of brackets and arms came in an open box.  Part number matches.  Lower/outer and upper/inner arms are same length as original  Set screw/nut and pinch ring are the same.  Tapered bottom end and brackets are different.  No date on box to know when changes were made. 

 

 

The last picture you posted is great, I think I can manufacture the brackets I need for my 51 B3D based on that.