The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Bottom bolt - driver's side mirror '54 HELP!

I fiddled with this for over an hour tonight and gave up. How can I tighten the bottom bolt on the driver's side outside mirror on my '54 3100? I can't get to the back of the bolt to put on a nut. Was the reinforcement for the mirror that was welded at the factory threaded for the mirror bolt? If so, it's stripped and the hole enlarged. The bottom bolt on the passenger side threads into the hole - no nut needed. The bolts are 5/16-18 X 3/4 Phillips oval head.

If it's impossible to get to the back of the bolt, what options are available from the front?

Thanks for your help,

- Lonnie

If the mirror is in the stock location you can get to the threads from under the dash.

cletis,

Maybe the previous owner made some changes. Here are pics of the mirror location and the panel that blocks access to the lower bolt. Do you see something "wrong"?

Mirror location view #1

Mirror location view #2

The lower bolt is blocked inside by a ledge and panel. below the upper bolt. The ledge and panel are below the upper bolt and nut.

The ledge/panel that block the bolt is behind the wires in this pic.

>> Is there any (simple) way to lock the lower bolt into the oversize hole from the outside?

FYI - the mirror has been held by only one bolt since I bought the truck. Never real tight. Just waiting for a kid - adult - to grab hold and damage the mirror arm or body.

Thanks for your help,

- Lonnie

You might have to drill an access hole through the support to access the back. I'm not familiar with your application but I'd wager there was a weld nut or cage nut that's failed.

Go to a bodyshop and have a collaspible Rivnut put in....
a Rivnut is a threaded insert installed like a rivet...
you can install it yourself, modern trucks have these holding on the mirrors...

I think that none of my 1954/55 Chevy/GMC cabs had captive nuts for the side mirrors. Yes. you have to be somewhat of a contortionist to hold a nut on the screw/bolt on the driver's side. You can take out the glove box to get at the threads on the passenger side (for the optional mirror on that side).

Here is a picture that Denny Graham posted a while ago.

Lonnie,I check my 54 and the mirror arm is facing up on mine ? don't know if that matters to you or not. Just thought I would pass it along since your fooling with it , better to change it now if you want then after you fought with it. see attached for mine.
Today, I'll crawl under my dash and have a look,if I see anything that will help I'll post it.
http://i1091.photobucket.com/albums/i381/snipewarrior/5.jpg
Take Care

That was of my 1950 Tim, I just posted these of the '54 left side stock mirror.
http://www.pbase.com/dennygraham/image/133002025/large
http://www.pbase.com/dennygraham/image/133002024/large
http://www.pbase.com/dennygraham/image/133002026/large

The nuts are completely accessable.
DG

Thanks, Denny.

I just now got home and checked out my cabs. No captive nuts, and, as you posted, the screw-threads and nuts are accessible.

Jimmi & Lonnie,

Here is the angle of the driver's side mirror arm.

Lonnie, from what I can tell yours was mounted wrong to start with. They should be accessible like in Denny's picture. Don't know what to tell you for a fix.

Thanks guys,

The "panel and ledge" in my pics is the kick panel (cowl inner panel). The top bolt on the driver's side is above the top ledge of the kick panel. The bottom bolt is hidden below it. The bottom mirror bolt on the passenger side can be accessed above the kick panel, but it is too close to the ledge to accept a nut. It threads into the mirror bracket reinforcement. The '47-'54 Assembly Manual shows a nut on the top bolt only.

> Denny thanks for the pic - was your third pic taken without the kick panel in place? Mine is welded in. The bolts on the driver and on the passenger sides are through the mirror bracket reinforcement as in your pic.

> Tim - how close to the top of the kick panel is your lower mirror bolt on the driver's side?

Are the 5/16-18 bolts correct? Ordered some from Jim Carter but they are 1/4-20 and wallow around in the mounting holes.

If I can't access the bolt, then I may drill a 1" hole in the kick panel as Tony suggested. I believe that I will need to enlarge the mouning hole on the body to use a Rivnut.

JimmiV - Although my mirror bracket is correct, the side mounted spare tire blocks the view.

cletis - the truck may have been assembled wrong, or reassembled wrong by a previous owner.

I really appreciate your group effort to identify and help me.

- Lonnie

Lonnie,

You refer to a kick panel (I am assuming it must be near or under the mirror bolt holes). Is this a removable item or are you referring the sheet metal that runs on the inside side cowl from below the ledge to the floor? (sorry but I am not good on terminology)

The Factory Assembly Manual only shows one of the two attachment bolts for the mirror arm.

Here are some very poor photos of the holes in the reinforment plates. Sorry about the quality being bad - my cabs are in unheated and unlit garages for the winter (and it is also very cold out there).

The holes for the mirror are through factory holes in the reinforcement plate on each side. If you look at the passenger side plate, you'll see that the holes in the plate and the undrilled top/outside sheet metal. The locations of the two holes provide plenty of space for washers and nuts.

5/16" screws/bolts will fit easily in the holes. 5/16" hardware is what is shown in the diagram in the Factory Assembly Manual.

Mystery solved / Problem kinda corrected.

Tim, your close-up picture identified my problem. It looks like the holes for the bolts were not bored correctly. The holes in my mirror bracket reinforcement plate are the same as yours. I assume that the holes for the mirror bolts should have been bored through these holes and into the cowl from the inside. Looks like the holes were probably bored from the outside of the cowl and obviously did not hit the holes on the reinforcement plate. Don't know if it was done at the plant, or if it was done in a previous restoration.

Here is my reinforcement plate side by side with yours. Looks like the holes in my plate have some type of adhesive or bondo in them, which makes me think that the error was made during a previous restoration. The bottom bolt is under the tab on the top of the panel. Sorry for the small pic.

The piece that I called a "kick panel" is called the "cowl inner panel" in the Assembly Manual.

For the fix ... I cut a sliver of stainless steel less than a mm wide. Super Glued it into the bottom hole so it wouldn't move. Then screwed the lower bolt into the hole with the SS shim. It worked. The bolt is tight.

Thank you to everyone who helped brainstorm my problem. I've said it before, and I'll say it again - - this is a great forum.

- Lonnie