OSRV mirror

[Plymouthy Adams]

nla

[Normspeed]

Tim, my son bought me a pair of repop door mirrors from ebay, they are for 55-56 Chevy but real similar to the original mirrors on my 53. They run about $50 a pair. Pretty nice quality.

[BobT-47P15]

This pic give a good idea what the 54 mirrors looked like.

I suspect these are original items.

These are probably the items Normspeed was talking about.....

Ad: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/55-56-57-Chevrolet-Chevy-side-mirror-new-pair_W0QQitemZ190150576372QQihZ009QQcategoryZ34204QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[BobT-47P15]

I bought this mirror at the recent Springfield swap meet for $3.

It sticks out about an inch farther than my previous mirror. Can see around the bulge in the side just a little better. And I guessed right....so it attaches with the same holes as the first mirror. Only using one mirror-- on the drivers side.

[Normspeed]

Seems like in the old days, side mirrors were not a factory option, but a dealer install. When you look at the old Mopar ads, none of the cars is depicted as having mirrors. Bob's correct, those are the ones my son bought me. They are real similar to my originals, but just a bit more upright (less of the forward look).

[BobT-47P15]

Yes.....several things were dealer installed options, probably including the outside mirrors. There were, according to the parts manual, a couple styles of exterior mirrors.

One was the famous "swan neck" type.....that mounted in place of the cowl stainless trim.

The other kind was a clip on for the edge of the door......

Other add-ons were glove box lights, trunk lights, under hood lights, probably heaters, jiffy jet windshield washers, clocks, radios, cigar lighters ; backup, fog, and spot lights, sun visors, and the lesser known "spare tire extension tube".

[Young Ed]

Bob I've got a brand new in the box spare tire extension! I also have the switch that would turn on a glove box light and the pump for a washer system. I don't have the rest of those systems though.

[BobT-47P15]

Well, Ed......it gives you something to be always looking for.

I stopped on my lunch hour today at a former service station, now used

just as an auto repair, owned by a guy I've known for years. He gave me

a handful of real skinny side trim for some model Chrysler product in the 70s.

Don't know what I'll do with it, but never look the ol gift horse in the mouth, ya know.

[Young Ed]

With all the holes you have to drill for that washer system I'm not sure I would even install it if I had it all. Same reason the tire thing is still in the box. Interesting conversation piece but I don't know that its worth a hole in the 1/4 panel.

[Don Coatney]

Norm (Winconsin) started a thread a month or so ago about new mirrors he installed on his coupe. He claimed they worked well when he backed his car into his garage but I dont think he has actually driven the car on the street after installing these mirrors to report on how well they work.

[Young Ed]

I have the swan neck SoCal mirrors on my 48. I think they look good on there but I don't think they would fit in so well on the 51. I think I would go with these 55 chev repo's for it. Price is certainly right and they look period enough for me.

[Young Ed]

I like them. And 10 bucks more for a set isn't too bad. You may even get a deal on them if buying in person.

[BobT-47P15]

Yeah....if not a deal, at least no shipping charge.

[Norm's Coupe]

Norm (Winconsin) started a thread a month or so ago about new mirrors he installed on his coupe. He claimed they worked well when he backed his car into his garage but I dont think he has actually driven the car on the street after installing these mirrors to report on how well they work.

Don, Think I did give everyone a followup. The mirrors do work good on the road as well as backing into the garage.

As for all those reproduction chrome mirrors, be careful if ordering those or buying them on ebay. I've looked at a lot of those the past couple of years trying to decide which ones I wanted to use. A lot of those mirrors have a cheap plastic base and plastic housing for the glass. The only ones I found that had metal bases ran around $60 each or more. Even if you get lucky and find a nice pair of old NOS ones, they will run about the same or more. So, if it's good door mount chrome mirrors you want be ready to spend at least $100 or more for them.

[Normspeed]

Norm, I don't know about that. The quality of the Chevy mirrors that I got is pretty good. All metal, decent looking chrome, a good mounting system and quality molded gaskets. The mirror glass looks nice too, with a slight tint. Granted, I doubt that the metal base is as thick as the original Plymouth mirrors, but at it's solid and the chrome is new, where on my originals the chrome is literally wearing off after so many years.

You may have guessed, they are not made in USA like the originals:rolleyes:

[Young Ed]

Now if Tim will report back on the Falcon mirrors we'll be set to pick which one we like based on looks. If the falcon ones are nice I would certainly buy a set.

[Norm's Coupe]

Norm, I don't know about that. The quality of the Chevy mirrors that I got is pretty good. All metal, decent looking chrome, a good mounting system and quality molded gaskets. The mirror glass looks nice too, with a slight tint. Granted, I doubt that the metal base is as thick as the original Plymouth mirrors, but at it's solid and the chrome is new, where on my originals the chrome is literally wearing off after so many years.

You may have guessed, they are not made in USA like the originals:rolleyes:

Norm, are those the Chevy mirrors with the Chevy logo on them. I did look at those and as you mentioned they are metal. I just didn't want to put a mirror on my coupe that had a Chevy logo. That's why I didn't go with those.

[Normspeed]

No, I agree I wouldn't want a Chevy logo on my Mopar. There is a photo of mine earlier in this thread, in BobT's post, right under the photo of the yellow 54 Plym. They are real similar to my stock mirrors except the upright portion is more vertical, while on my stockers the upright part leaned forward a bit. Mine being a 53 model, my stockers are different from the P15-D24 units.

[Norm's Coupe]

Norm, those do look like nice mirrors. That's not a bad price on ebay for those either. I was just pointing out that most of the cheaper ones are chrome plated plastic most of the time, so you have to be careful when looking for them.

[Norm's Coupe]

Tim,

Those do look nice. I looked at a pair of those too and was thinking about buying a set like them. Then the Sally Hill mirrors came up for a much better price (free), so....... Did look at other cars to get an idea of how they would look on my coupe first though.

[Jeff Ivan]

Just curious here. I have a clip-on mirror on my car that I know is late 1940's-early 1950's era, could be an aftermarket goodie. It was in a box of car stuff that belonged to my late father so I know it is not repro.I don't have a clear pic of it, I'll try to get a close up with my new camera. The mirror lense is rose color tinted. I have never seen another rose color tinted mirror anywhere else, and a couple years ago at a car cruise at a local shopping center a shady looking older fella offered me $30 for it. I would not sell it for sentimental reasons, I told him he could get 2 new ones for about that price, but he kept following me around and bothering me, so I had to keep a close watch on him and my car all night, it is only held on with 2 stainless set screws and could disappear real quick. It makes me wonder is it a little rare or desireable? The chrome is not even close to perfect.

[Norm's Coupe]

I've never seen a tinted clip on mirror myself. That's not saying they weren't made though. They made a lot of different stuff over the years. However, I do know you use to be able to buy a tint paint for windows. Maybe your father bought some of that and coated the mirror.

[Jeff Ivan]

Norm, most definitely NOT a paint. This mirror has been thru enough weather the last couple years to be positive about that, and it is a little scratched too. I am sure it is tinted mirror glass. I will try to get a close up pic, but not so sure it will show up in a photo. It kinda reminds me of those old coffee tables with the tinted mirror tops, this is a rose or very pale orange color. Very cool in my opinion, and it does help with sun glare a little. Mostly notice it helps some at night when you got some crappy $1000 import with $950 welding arc headlites behind you.

[Jeff Ivan]

OK, got a pic of the old tinted mirror. I tilted it up to catch the reflection of the sky. I just wanted to play with the camera to see if I could get a pic that would show the tint.

[frankieflathead]

Just curious here. I have a clip-on mirror on my car that I know is late 1940's-early 1950's era, could be an aftermarket goodie. It was in a box of car stuff that belonged to my late father so I know it is not repro.I don't have a clear pic of it, I'll try to get a close up with my new camera. The mirror lense is rose color tinted. I have never seen another rose color tinted mirror anywhere else, and a couple years ago at a car cruise at a local shopping center a shady looking older fella offered me $30 for it. I would not sell it for sentimental reasons, I told him he could get 2 new ones for about that price, but he kept following me around and bothering me, so I had to keep a close watch on him and my car all night, it is only held on with 2 stainless set screws and could disappear real quick. It makes me wonder is it a little rare or desireable? The chrome is not even close to perfect.

Not saying I know for sure, but the reddish tint might just be due to natural degradation of the glass with age. I've seen headlight lenses of brass era cars develop a purple tint to them because of high lead content in the glass. Of course, this takes many years to occur. Do things behind you look better than they really are when you see them in this mirror?