The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk How does the right side mirror mount on an AD?

Ok, I gave it the good old collage try, been a Searchin’ every which way for the last hour and taint been able to score.

I checked out all the pictures in my archive and no luck there either. And I taint found any instructions or templates in the manuals that I have.

So, here’s the question; I received a right side rear view mirror for my ’50 today and I am guessing that this is the way to mount it;

http://rides.webshots.com/photo/2507514970098611668SnFnlD

However, with it mounted like this one would have to look at it through the passenger’s windshield, this doesn’t seem right but any other position and it would bump the door.

Denny Graham

Sandwich, IL

Denny, you are correct in the placement. If you look at the bolts that hold the left side mirror on from inside the cab you will see an open place where the nuts go. The same place is on the right side inside the cab. Hard to explain but easy to see. Take a look at the inside of the cab and you will see the placement. Confusing but I hope this helps.
Tom

Look at mine, Denny:
http://alanhorvath.com/54chevy/mirrors.php

I found the BEST way to do this was to have someone hold the mirror in place while I sat in the driver's seat -- this way, you'll be sure it works!

Thanks Tom, but I think with my heater and new glove box in place it's gonna be real hard to get at the inside. I've had the left side off for restoration so I'm familiar with the way it attaches, what I was wondering about was the direction the gooseneck went. Looks like there is only one way it can go. But like I said, looking through the windshield at the side view mirror just seemed a little odd.

Hey Alan, "Acoustic Rock", taint that what Bobby D. used to play before he betrayed us and went electric?
Thanks for the pics, those are the first ones I've found of the Right Side mirror. Think I might just wait till I pull the cab off this winter to mount up the mirror. I really hate to have to pull the box to install the mirror.
I ended up pitching the piece of crap they sent me for a glove box and bought a sheet of water proof panel board from the upholstery shop to make my own. I laminated it with leather book cover material and made dies to compress the areas where the folds were made in the wrapper and the back end just as the original one was. Then I made a long-reach anvil the air stapler mounts to so I could staple it from the inside like the original one was. All of that and an evening to install it leaves me with some hesitation in pulling it out at this time.
Thanks guys,
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL
OH, by the way, she sure is lookin purrrty Alan!

Once you get it mounted and adjusted (2 man job)you'll find that it is basically useless! It's not conventionally located, so you actually have to hunt for it through the windshield, and when you do find it....well, it's not one of those quick reference devices that you might think it was designed to be.

Huh! Now you've got a couple extra perforations in your cab skin, and an ackward organic shaped metal sculpture adding to the drag. Might be a good place to hang a wet bathing suit but hold on.....get the biggest stick-on convex mirror you can find that will fit inside the chrome rim, and you've morphed it into one-fine-rear-view-mirror. NOBODY will sneak up on your blind side!!!!! Their mere presence, triggers your peripheral senses! When you glance at your interior high-mount rear-view mirror, you'll get two senses for the price of one. It's great for backing up also. Sorta like having a period correct wireless video view of what's happening behind you as you cruise down the byway.

It's also a great conversation starter for all the former AD owners who comment that they never had one "back in the day". Once they sit in the driver's seat and can effortlessly put an eyeball on me standing aft of the box, they walk away realizing that they've missed out on another of life's little wonders!!!!

Aren't old trucks great?????

Dave

Hey, Denny

Like I said, mine works great - I use it all the time and the visibility is right as I want it to be.

Forget about removing the glove box ... I just removed my mirrors when I sent my truck off to the painter's -- the passenger side mirror is well to the RIGHT of the glovebox, so you don't need to removed the glovebox at all.

With mine, the driver's side is very easy to get to ... but for the passenger side, I have to open a panel on the side kickpanel ... and get my hand up there. This isn't easy, but it *is* manageable.

From the TECH TIPS section of the SBP:

Mirror Installation:

I want to install a passenger side rearview mirror on my Advance Design truck. I got a mirror arm and bolts from the parts vendor, but no diagram on where to drill the holes. How do I do it?

There should be a plate under the cowl once you remove the glove box. From there, drill through the stamped holes, use the bolts, plus flat washers and fine thread nuts, and your right hand mirror is on!

denny, here are a few shots of the right hand mirror i have on my truck. as mentioned before a parabolic mirror works best and yes you do have to look through the windshield to use the mirror. it really isn't a problem once you get used to it.

i bought my parabolic mirror at napa. it looks very similar to the original style and is the same diameter (or close enough). you will have to drill out the mounting hole a little bit to accommodate the mounting bolt, but it's an easy modification.

http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2209410070099732965cOZObS

it is a pain to get into the inside cowl to find the mounting holes for the mirror base, but you can take a center punch and just dimple the metal with hand pressure to mark it for drilling from the outside.

good luck!

The 5" round black mirrors from Vision View Mirror Products, Inc. look like originals and come in flat and convex styles (5" diameter - as original). After installing the convex mirror on the passenger side, I decided to use convex mirrors on both sides.

They also have larger diameter stainless and convex mirrors with the same older-style backs.

These convex mirrors, mounted with original arms and in original locations, seem to provide much safer rear views than the original mirrors and they look "period correct".

Great report Dave, kind of what was running through my head but I’m nowhere near as articulate as you are.

Tks p.j., I was just going to make a cardboard template of the left side to transfer it to the right side. Do you mean there is a stiffening plate with predrilled holes inside the cowl on the right side??

Alan, the heater is right there and I can’t get my and between it and the glove box, also no opening on the kick panel on mine.

Thanks guys, lots O' ideas for me to think about.

And Tim that looks like a great upgrade that no purist in his right mind could fault you for making. I wish I had seen those before I ordered the one I got from Classic Parts of Am with the bracket, same price also. I just might order one for each side.
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

The mounting post on the Vision View mirrors are a little larger diameter than the posts on original mirrors. The hole in the mirror arm has to be drilled out just a little. Also, a simple hex mounting bolt came with each mirror. I used a stainless stud and stainless acorn nut to attach each mirror.

yeah. inside the cowl (at least on my truck) there is, as i recall, a reference for the mounting location for the mirror arm base nuts and washers.

when i added the right hand mirror 4 or 5 years ago, i too was amazed that the kit didn't include a template for locating the holes from the outside (some sort of reference based on horizontal/vertical dimensions). i even asked the counter person if it came with a template and they said it didn't but you could mount it wherever you wanted...? o.k.?!?

after crawling under the dash and removing the vent/kick panel, i could see the two points where the bolts should come through. it seems like such a simple thing to include in a r.h. mirror kit but i guess they just expect everyone to figure it out on their own.

as i stated previously, i would highly recommend going with the parabolic mirror vs. the flat. it really gives you a clearer image of what is on "the dark side" of the truck, and looks pretty original (something i know you have a keen interest in maintaining).

Well if I had to choose one thing that really bothers me when driving the old girl it would be not having good rear view mirrors. I guess that's because I'm so used to having them on my new vehicles. I ordered a pair from Vision View this morning.
The second thing would be seat belts! Ok, maybe I’m not such a purist after all!

When my hot rod buds start talkin’ at me about all the mods I should or will eventually be making to my AD I always tell them if I wanted a wanted a truck with a 350 automatic, tilt wheel with power steering, Boise stereo, bucket seats, carpeting, formed one piece headliner, sound deadener, a fuel tank under the bed, independent front suspension, Air-Conditioning, tinted window, power windows, electric bear claws, mag wheels, Base Coat Clear Coat and finally the 12v electrics, (as he takes a breath) I simply tell them. If I wanted all that, I’d go out and buy a new Chevy truck, wait a minute, I drive one of those now!

I was trying to explain to my wife and daughter the other day and my two nephews and all those hot rod buds, that the old girl is supposed to be a step back in time. She’s supposed to be an example of what you would have driven out of the Chevrolet show room 60 years ago. But I am going to allow for a couple of changes for safety sake, ya know, a man just has to know the limitations!
The “Soiled Purist”,
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

If you look at the left side mirror holes from inside the cab you will see three punched holes through a brace that gives a rigid support to the mirror base. There are the EXACT SAME THREE HOLES punched on the right side, just no holes through the outer skin. The factory didn't make two different cabs depending on the one or two mirror option. The factory right side mirror with the double curve like a swans neck still didn't offer the best vision but much better than some of the repops.

Yes, I finally got a few minutes and I took a look tonight. This is the left side mirror bolts and stiffener plate. The right side is a “mirror” image although I can’t get to it right now.
http://rides.webshots.com/photo/2041904370098611668JLukvN
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

Adapting Vision View convex rear view mirrors
Tim clued me into the Vision View web site and I ordered a set of the convex mirrors for the old gal. They are a pretty well made mirror and the same price as the vendors replacement mirrors, both under ten bucks. He was correct in saying that the stud for the mirror head is tapped for a 5/16-18 bolt. I dint like that option, because I didn’t want to drill out my original brackets to 5/16” so here is my solution.
Real simple, make a 5/16-18 to 1/4-28 male-male reducing stud from a SS steel 5/16-18 bolt. Now I can mount the Vision View convex mirrors or the stock mirror and keep the original 1/4” hole in the bracket.
http://rides.webshots.com/photo/2701196370098611668tsrSsT
http://rides.webshots.com/photo/2878329560098611668yZzDUP
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL