Installing Passenger Side Mirror

[Musicman]

Hello to all.

I'm thinking about installing a passenger side mirror. Can anyone tell me exactly what is involved to do such a thing?

Thanks in advance.

 

[ALLAN]

It depends on what mirror you are installing, but generally you will have to drill holes to mount the mirror mount, to do that you will probably have to remove the glass and frame to tighten the bolts. It could be done without glass removal but it will be tough to get to the fasteners. dont make the mistake I did, I installed 2 after market sport mirrors but mounted them back to far on the door. The mirrors need to be mounted as far forward as possible to get a good view in the mirrors. If I move my mirrors I am going to have at least one hole to fill in.

 

[jerrybny]

You didn't mention what type of car you are putting the mirror on. On my 73 TR6 the holes for the mirrirs are near the part of the door next to the wing. No need to remove anything. Just drill(oh no MR Bill) your holes and mount your mirror. If its not a TR6 then I will let someone else answer the question.

 

[Exotexs]

I may be in the wrong forum because I'm a Jaguar enthusiast, but I've been there done that: I installed Electric mirrors (YES) in my 1965 Jaguar S type. I got them from a modern Jaguar XJ-6 including the XJ-6 switch. Can't live without electric mirrors, especially in today's traffic conditions. It's a safety issue.

What I did in order to duplicate the driver's side mirror holes to the passenger side door, was to cut a cardboard template of the driver's door mounting holes and front-of-door edge shape, then I inverted it around and used it in the passenger door. Turned out perfectly. But if you make a slight mistake, one of the holes can be slightly enlarged and that usually resolves any problem. Just do it slowly, don't rush.

attached is a photo of the Driver's side XJ-6 electric mirror in my '65 S type. Incredibly, the XJ-6 mirror follows the door contours of the S type perfectly. Some things never change.

 

[Guest]

If you are thinking of installing the typical "bullet" mirrors as installed on all the US TR6's, save your money.
There is absolutely no way for you to adjust these so that the driver can ever use them. I cut one up to try and get some extra adjustment on it, all to no avail. Even installed a convex glass, no good. You can install it but it would be for looks only, and not yours. I resorted to purchasing the Winged variety from the original manufacturer in the UK, TEX, and now enjoy two mirrors I can use. Good luck.

Bill

 

[Exotexs]

that's the same reason I removed the Lucas "motorcycle" mirror from my Jaguar S type, they are totally useless, not to mention their manual adjustment. But if the car is for show, then use the original mirrors. My car is for driving and enjoying, so electric mirrors are a must. I also added a Center Top Mounted Stop Lamp from a XJ-6. People get too close trying to see "what kind of car is that?" Very dangerous in today's traffic conditions. For me it's Safety First.

 

[Musicman]

Thanks to all of you who responded with their ideas. I'm actually leaning towards no passenger side mirror rather than installing one. You can actually see a lot (almost everything) behind and to the right of the car by adjusting the rear view mirror just right. Even with a passenger side mirror someone could be lurking in your "blind spot." In cases like that it's just too easy to turn your head around momentarily to check. And to be honest, drilling into the body of the car is not something I really want to do - for anything.

 

[bobh]

TR6BILL. My TR6 has the bullet mirrors on both the passenger and drivers side. There are a couple of options to "adjust" the mirror so that the driver can use it effectively. If your's is a 4 1/4" or 4 1/2" (can't recall exactly) diameter mirror you can come bery close by backing off the screw at the tip of the bullet and rotating the reflector housing. If the driver is approximately 5'8" tall or less you can adjust it to work this way. If you are taller, as i am, I bought a 3.75" round convex stick on mirror and stuck it on the mirror centered as best I could. It looks a little odd but is quite effective.
The other option is to buy the smaller bullet mirror with a convex reflector.
As for mounting the mirror both of mine are forward of the area of the door where the glass is contained. They were mounted using sheetmetal screws. One of the first things I did was to replace these with #10 stainless machine screws, washers and nyloc nuts. I also cut a gasket to sit under the base of the mirror between the base face and the painted surface of the door. The original black gasket had no material in this area. I treated the holes and tightened the screws. Now they are both solid and useful. By the way, I intended to hide both nyloc nuts in the base of the mirrors. However the rear screw head interferred with the screw that mounts the bullet to the base. I had to put the nut on the other side (it can bee seen when the door is open) to allow the bullet to base acrew to be fully tightened.