The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Interiors Interior mirror

I have an old mirror, original to my ‘54 3100 , I think.
I’d like to have the mirror itself re-silvered or replaced, but I am hesitant to disassemble. The two sections are held together by little tabs - see images. I’m pretty sure I would mar the steel if I pried it apart.

Anyone know the technique for this? Is there a technique, or was it considered a once and done assembly?

My '56 Cadillac mirror is assembled in a similar manner (or one of these jalopies is) I was able to carefully push in the tabs while prying the mirror to get it apart. How bad is the face of the mirror?

Looks like this…

I see what you mean.

Ya, I'd have a go at taking it apart. There are repros available, right? Just in case the r&r doesn't go as planned.

Agreed. I’ll work on the top surface where minor dings will be less noticeable. Slender knife blade, maybe thin feeler gauge blades , no hammers.

Came apart easily.
Interesting detail - the glass is tapered; probably has to do with the day/night tilt. The spring loaded mechanism for that function sproinged apart upon separating the 2 halves; I’ll worry about that later. If I cannot get the old glass re-silvered I’ll just go with the thicker dimension and abandon the flip function.

I have never used the day/night feature on any mirror of any car I have ever driven in my entire life. When the "night" mode is selected, you can't see squat. Completely worthless feature from the day it was invented.

Agreed.
I will get the original glass re-silvered if possible though, just for the sake of preserving an old original part.

End report:
I got new glass cut for the old mirror assembly, cost me all of $6. Got out a rattle can of hammered bronze ; now I’m all set.
It’s nice when job turns out easy.

No, dimming mirrors are the 3rd greatest automotive invention of all time.

1. Fuel Injection
2. Air Conditioning
3. Dimmable mirrors (esp. autodimming)

When are you using it? I usually use the dimming feature during the day to minimize glare from the sun over my shoulder.

Of all time? Wouldn’t we have to consider the wheel?

My ‘54 is a hot rod - 4 bbl Edelbrock, no fuel injection,
No a.c. , and as of a couple of days ago no dimmable mirror.
I couldn’t get the original tapered glass re-silvered, so I just padded the interior of the mirror case with adhesive backed neoprene to stabilize the new mirror in the metal body and abandoned the flip mechanism. I rarely drive at night with that rod anyway, so it won’t be missed.

I would consider the wheel, springs, ICE, and similar as prerequisites to *be* automotive.

I am one of those stupid young people that are obsessed with creature comforts. Kids these days are awful

At any rate, your final product looks great. It is definitely an improvement over where you started. Are you doing more of the interior in the hammered bronze?

I used the hammered bronze as a finish on the the heater I built out of spare parts. Also on the inside door window frame. Great stuff - lays out like a dream and makes it look like the guy who did the painting knows what he’s doing.

And now I’m curious- what is the age of this young ’Bolter who likes his creature comforts?

The hammered finish has some texture. Does it clean well? I have never used it on anything that I cared that much about keeping clean.

I will be 40 in a couple weeks, which makes me slightly out of diapers compared to most of the crew around here.

39??!
Holy cow - I didn’t know that people of such a tender age were allowed here. Now I understand why you put the invention of air conditioning above the invention of the wheel- you take the wheel for granted. Those of us who’s lives were transformed by the introduction of the wheel will never forget how difficult life was prior.

Hammered paint does have a bit of texture, but not as much as appearance would lead you to think. I doubt that there would be any cleaning problems, but at the same time I don’t think it’s intended to be used in a high friction area.
It makes for a nice accent on a few select pieces or components , suggests a period look despite new finish. As I said earlier, it looks like it really belongs on the heater box.