Factory Mirrors

[kentdaryl]

I am wondering how many of you out there may have the small car type mirrors on your trucks? If so, are they factory installed, and could you give me some measurements to the mounting screw holes? I removed my Camper Special mirrors and welded up the holes and bought some repop small mirrors but am unsure of the exact mounting location. Also, mine came with some goofy plastic molly type insert that I'm not going to use, others I know just use sheet metal screws (NO WAY), but I'm wondering how the factory ones are installed. Do the factory ones use nutserts like the C.S. mirrors? Anyhow, any reccomondations would be appreciated
Thanks,
Daryl

[Joe Kriston]

My original driver's side just screwed into the body sheetmetal...I picked up a passenger side at a junkyard,but I'm not quite sure exactly where to put it either,'cuz you have to make sure you can see it w/o your vent wing blocking it...My driver's side mounted w/ the mounting holes in the middle where the door is at a 45 degree angle to the sides,and where the ball swivel is about a 1/2 inch rearward of the vent window strip...You can set it in place and make a pencil marking in the screw holes...Good and confused now?

[kentdaryl]

Thanks for the reply Joe,
Do the mirrors mount simply with sheet metal screws though? My Camper Special mirrors had Nutserts where the screws (machine screws) went into the doors below the side window. Any info? Anybody else know?
Daryl

[FoMoCo]

The small car like mirrors had well nuts pressed into the doors. My 67 doors have these but the mirrors had been replaced. I bought a pair of NOS mirrors and will do a writeup and measure the original doors.

Nick

[1968_ONEHUN]

Just a quick comment.Make sure you use stainless screws/bolts that don't rust over time.I used what was in the pacage with the mirrors I bought for my ex-old che*%@^let p/u looked like hell after a while.

[Joe Kriston]

And one more quick comment...Don't get the bright idea I had of using those plastic things you stick in drywall to accept a screw to hang a heavy picture...They don't work in sheetmetal...Once it started spinning I had a hell of a time tightening or loosening the screw ...

[kentdaryl]

Thanks a lot you guys, that gives me an idea on installation. And yeah, stainless fasteners and chuck the plastic mollys or whatever you call them.
Daryl

[shrektruck]

Mine were originally held on by the metal nutserts from the factory. When I bought the truck the passenger mirror was in the bed so I had to get new nutserts.
Here's where they're mounted:

[shrektruck]

And here's the square plastic nutsert from NAPA used to install it. It fits perfect and won't spin in the square hole. Some day I'll learn how to put two pics in one post.

[granitestate68]

Hey Shrek, to add two attachments just hit the add attachment button again after you have attached the first on and so on. Worked fine for me.

[kentdaryl]

Thanks Shrektruck,
The pictures helped, plus I found Nutserts at the local hardware store today. I'll try and install the drivers mirror tonight and tell you how it went, if I had a digital camera I'd post a picture.
Daryl

[Joe Kriston]

Just remember...there are no dumb questions...only dumb answers....

I'll be a monkey's uncle....I checked my mirror,which is original,and it IS plastic...They sure did a nice job of chroming it,though...It still shines after all these years...I know that the factories did a better job of chroming their plastic than these places that do rechroming of things like dash bezels,etc...I just checked the other mirror I got off a Ford Fairlane for the passenger side and it,too,is plastic...How the heck did they stay so shiny while the chrome on my plastic dash bezel went to hell?

I think Ford referred to these as "sport mirrors" when they were put on trucks,when in reality,they were standard fare for their automobiles...Even the remote mirror I saw on a '72 XLT was the same one that I had seen on a Mustang I had..

So,Shrek,how do you drill a square hole?....Those look like the same nutserts used to mount the rear side marker lamps,which have square holes...

[morganater]

I have the small factory like mirrors. they are screwed into the metal on my drivers side. tehre are noe holes and no mirror on my passenger side. Im gunna take off the drivers side, weld up the holes, and put on a set of those hang down ones out of LMC.

[kentdaryl]

The re-pop mirrors I got are chrome die cast metal and appear to be exactly as pictured in the old dealership literature I have. If what you are describing as "sport mirrors" are the contoured or bullet style, mine are different. Anyway, I mounted the drivers side last night using nutserts and they went on great and are secure and unlikely to wobble or tear out like sheet metal screws. I was a little nervous about drilling through my brand new paint job, but I put some masking tape over the area I was working to protect it, and made sure I touched up the bare metal on the insides of the holes (you know-rust, rain, Washington state).
Thanks for all the help from you guys, now on to the rest of my trim, emblems, chrome, etc.
Daryl

[hardtailjohn]

I still like the "West Coast" truck style mirrors... and will have them again someday.... haha
John H.