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TR2/3/3A Side Mirror for TR3

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Russ Austin

Russ Austin

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The one in the photo above is on the driver's side. Australians drive on the other side of the road. Notice how he has turned it so close to the stanchion. This is because he wants to clear the mirror when he opens his door with the sidecurtain mounted.

This is the one I made for my LHD 1958 TR3A. It is secured by two screws that hold the stanchion together on the side. My first prototype went straight up but when I put on my sidecurtain, I had no rear view because it was too close to the the car and the vinyl in the front slope of the sidecurtain hid the view in the mirror.

So I made an off-set as shown, tested it, sent it for chroming and as we say up here in French Canada "Voila".

I tried flat glass but the rear view was too narrow. I could only see cars 100 feet back. So I changed the glass bit for a convex glass and it's a bit better. It's fine in good weather but after 50 years with no mirror (I always relied on my ears to know if there was a car just off to my side) I still don't use it as much as I should.

Last August, I had to put the top and sidecurtains for the first time in about 3 years (TRA & VTR concours shows excepted) and I found that when I opened the door, the sidecurtain hit and moved the mirror. So I plan to change the support from a LH wing mirror support to a RH wing mirror support. I'll try it out on the road this summer. If it still hits, I plan to move it all up to the two uppermost screws.

Today, it's minus 29 deg. C (minus 20 deg.F) and the TR is nicely tucked away in my warm garage.
 

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Don I spoke with a forum member by phone this afternoon, he lives in Mesa, AZ and had been with a number of friends driving there TR3's all over the place it was 74F. The high here today was 13.
 
That's right Russ, top down, shirtsleeves and a cloudless sky....sposed to be that way for another week at least.
Barret Jackson tomorrow but not with the 3...folks tend to borrow parts in those big park lots....
 
prb51; I grew up in Mesa, went to MHS and later moved to Phoenix and went to Central. Had my first TR3 there, I remember taking a pretty fast cruse up south mountain. Scary! Flying in Saturday morning and driving to Parks, AZ between Flag and Williams. My daughter and new granddaughter live there.
 
I use a convex Lucas mirror mounted to a homemade bracket that snaps onto one the LTD peg at the corner of the cockpit. Not as elegant as Don's and the one from OZ but functional and removable.

Darn chilly here this morning, about 40 I think. Had to slip on a sweatshirt for a couple of hours but it finally got up to 76 by afternoon.
 
I installed a motorcycle bar end mirror. It's a nice fit, and I can reach it if I have to.
https://www2.snapfish.com/slideshow/AlbumID=275043372/PictureID=6679940720/a=79220410_79220410/t_=79220410')

I thought the picture would come up, but cut and paste the url, and click on "play slideshow"
 
looks like a nice simple option. here's the link:
mirror
 
You can only attach a mirror to one of the points where the stanchion is secured with a bolt as shown if your TR3A is post TS 60000 - or a TR3B. My 1958 TR3A (TS 27489 LO) and all TR2s, TR3s and early TR3As do not have bolt threads here. We have quarter-turn Dzus fasteners to secure the stanchion to the car. It would take a different and more complicated way of doing it - possibly by welding the base to a 1/4 turn Dzus fastener.
 
I wrote the guy in Australia -- whose ad started this thread -- to ask if these were available in Dzus, or only threaded.

He's told me that they are "only available to TR Register members in Australia, who can pick them up from his shop." He hasn't answered the question about mounting, yet.
 
Don Elliott said:
You can only attach a mirror to one of the points where the stanchion is secured with a bolt as shown if your TR3A is post TS 60000...
Click to expand...

Moseso said:
I wrote the guy in Australia -- whose ad started this thread -- to ask if these were available in Dzus, or only threaded...
Click to expand...

Well it looks to me like the Aussie's TR3 is pre-TS60000 -- I see no plinth under the bonnet hinge -- so perhaps the base of that little arm has a Dzus-friendly fitting.
 
Although I've not looked into it; I'd guess its not hard to drill & tap the Dzus button for a mirror shaft.

Little trickier to make a functional Dzus button, but still not impossible.
 
The above side mirror on the 58 red car is an adaption of mine which is identical in the stem, except mine uses a Lucas rectangular mirror head instead of a round one.

The idea was to cut the head off the Dzuz and bronze on a stem from a motorbike handlebar mirror. The stem comes with the finisher nut that tightens the mirror against the staunchion, after it's engaged with a half turn. This makes it pretty much theft proof.

The challenges were to attach the stem to the Dzuz so the mirror was correctly positioned when fitted up. It had to be clear of the sidescreen when the door was fully opened, and be in the viewing area through the perspex window.

Keith is a skilled engineer who has drilled and tapped the Dzuz, and turned down and threaded the stem, so it's easier to adjust the stem to the correct position.

Moseso, that probably answers your question, and I'll ask Keith tomorrow if he'll fill overseas orders, and post the answer.

Regards,

Viv.
 
Viv --
Keith already explained to me that he's not interested in shipping them. It sounded to me that he didn't even want to ship them to Australia addresses -- much less the U.S.

I <span style="font-style: italic">am</span> curious what they cost, and whether (as you seem to think they do) they work with Dzus mount windscreens. It's mostly idle curiosity, as I have declared a moratorium on TR3 spending for a while.

If some unexpected "mirror money" shows up, maybe you could help negotiate an international transaction?
 
Yes Moseso, Keith's so busy with his main business that he can only produce a few mirrors for locals at the moment. For all those who have enquired from the US and Canada, he'll help out with export supply down the track a bit.

He's asking a nominal A$50 a piece plus delivery, which seems pretty reasonable seeing they're top grade stainless steel.

They are only available for the Dzuz windscreen mount cars right now, but it's easy to make a version for bolt on screens.

So if some "mirror money" suddenly falls into the back pocket, contact him again in a couple of months if you want, and remind him that I've given him a nudge for your order to be his first for export.

Regards,

Viv.
 
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