Side view mirror
- Thread starter pfreen
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The factory correct side mirrors are the talbot berlin jnr. You can buy them repro from California.. Much nicer looking than the other repro bullet mirrors from Tex and mustang suppliers etc..
Iirc the companies name is aardvark .. Not cheap but very nice.
That said...all bullet mirrors are mostly useless if mounted on the doors as the stems are to short and the mirror head to close to the body to see out of... Unless you are sitting on the floor.
Warren
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If you can find one that has a three-in head you can just get the convex mirror.
A lot of us got a car or cars that came with mirrors.
You don't get a choice when somebody's drilled holes to put them into the wings.
I would say spend a bunch of money and get some nice ones because in the salt air the chrome ones that are cheaper don't last long at all.
A lot of us got a car or cars that came with mirrors.
You don't get a choice when somebody's drilled holes to put them into the wings.
I would say spend a bunch of money and get some nice ones because in the salt air the chrome ones that are cheaper don't last long at all.
IvaTiger
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Personally I don’t like door or fender mirrors, I say weld up those mounting holes and not have mirrors other than the windshield mirror as long as you live in a state that does not require them like Arizona. You can drive a car without side mirrors in California as long as it is not registered in that state.
All required mirrors for whichever state is supposed to have at least a 200 feet view to the rear
Anyways I think mirrors take away from being stock if they were dealer installed
All required mirrors for whichever state is supposed to have at least a 200 feet view to the rear
Anyways I think mirrors take away from being stock if they were dealer installed
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Here is the company that makes the talbot mirrors ( no connection to seller) :
http://www.talbotco.com/talbot_details.htm
They have a pdf for parts prices, i note the sunbesm correct ones are about 300usd.
Pegasus racing also stock them from the above supplier and basically double the price for them.. So avoid that.
I have seen the authentic repros and they are a great product. I bought some spare parts for my original talbot mirrors from them and was very happy with the quality
http://www.talbotco.com/talbot_details.htm
They have a pdf for parts prices, i note the sunbesm correct ones are about 300usd.
Pegasus racing also stock them from the above supplier and basically double the price for them.. So avoid that.
I have seen the authentic repros and they are a great product. I bought some spare parts for my original talbot mirrors from them and was very happy with the quality
Austin Healer
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There are mirrors that will clip on to the window channel on the qtr glass... Kind of nice if you don't want to drill holes in your car. I have had this conversation countless times with the Healey guys. The only way you could get factory installed mirrors on a Healey was to order a factory luggage rack. Otherwise all of the cars came without them. Jag's were the same way, and I suspect Rootes group cars as well... When you bought your car, the dealer would hand you an accessories catalog to try and upsell the car... You basically picked the mirrors you wanted (if you did), and pointed at a spot on the car where you wanted them mounted... This is why we now find holes drilled all over the place. Most mirrors in the 60's (for British cars) were made by "Tex", "Desmo" or "Magnatex". Bullet mirrors were also supplied by a company called "Turina". Of course, you could also go to your local autoparts store (or JC Whitney), save a few bucks and get something more generic.
I agree, the bullet mirrors are completely useless if mounted on the doors... The problem with most fender mounted mirrors is that they are impossible to adjust from inside the car, so a laborious task to adjust unless you have a helper...
Washington State requires a center mirror and a LH mirror, or a mirror on the LH and RH sides of the car. I've owned Healeys and Tigers for 42 years and have never mounted exterior mirrors... I've been stopped a couple of times and basically told the cops... "Fine, write me a ticket for today, AND tomorrow... I'm not drilling a hole in the car." They look at me with amazement, but have never written me a ticket.... My cars have state issued collector plates, so, theoretically have limited usage requirements... But, if the sun is out, they're getting driven. I'm sure if it was my Dodge truck, they would have cited me for not having the proper mirrors!!
Just remember the gumball rally... The first rule of Italian driving is... "What's behind you doesn't matter!"
I agree, the bullet mirrors are completely useless if mounted on the doors... The problem with most fender mounted mirrors is that they are impossible to adjust from inside the car, so a laborious task to adjust unless you have a helper...
Washington State requires a center mirror and a LH mirror, or a mirror on the LH and RH sides of the car. I've owned Healeys and Tigers for 42 years and have never mounted exterior mirrors... I've been stopped a couple of times and basically told the cops... "Fine, write me a ticket for today, AND tomorrow... I'm not drilling a hole in the car." They look at me with amazement, but have never written me a ticket.... My cars have state issued collector plates, so, theoretically have limited usage requirements... But, if the sun is out, they're getting driven. I'm sure if it was my Dodge truck, they would have cited me for not having the proper mirrors!!
Just remember the gumball rally... The first rule of Italian driving is... "What's behind you doesn't matter!"
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Here in central Ohio you found dealers sold accessories that made the most profit for them. Many Rootes vehicles here were sold new with after market items instead of branded items. If you look at Rootes accessory brochures H63203 for early Alpines you'll find non Talbot mirrors listed. It shows a door mirror that has a small base very much like the repros on my green car. The base is centered where the door turns towards the windshield. I have many accessory brochures with one that shows items available for all Rootes vehicles. It shows the Sunbeam " Easifit " mirror that had a large 4 or 5 inch base similar to many of the aftermarkets of the day as well as a mirror antenna and a "racing mirror". This same brochure also includes the LAT 18 jacket, LAT 17 T shirt and a necktie. I have Alpine part manuals covering all series and there are 15 different mirrors listed. In the 60's and 70's there was an after market accessory dealer in Scranton,Pa. with the name of Auto World that sold just about anything including slot cats. Their 1970 catalog lists both Jr. and Sr. Talbot mirrors at a cost of $6.95 for the Jr. and the Sr. at $7.95. They list a Talbot 2" X 7" interior windshield mirror that has a suction cup mount like the ones on todays Garmins. Selling price was $4.95. As mentioned there was an abundance of mirrors available. The fender mirrors on the Harrington were mounted on an early series Alpine once owned by a well known Alpine owner in the Dayton area and they seem to have a tint to the glass but I agree with them being useless. It's all a matter of what now makes you happy and whether you want a factory correct car, one that you're comfortable with or as we said in the 60's it was a matter of what you could afford. I'm now 73 and I got yelled at by my dad for driving an Alpine prior to being old enough to have a drivers license here in Ohio. You had to be at least 16. My green car was originally bought by Dad back in the 60's but I somehow ended up with a 105E Anglia my H.S. senior year of 1967 and I don't remember if it had a door mirror. Things like that didn't matter back then.
Warren
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Awesome, I cheaped out and stick on a convex mirror. I had a car with 3 extra holes in the drivers door, two in the passenger and two horrible wing mirrors.
As we say in boats never drill a hole in the topside unless you want a leak and are dam sure you want it there.
Or the old measure twice cut once... or drill once in this case.
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I have a small clamp on mirror, works well .. BUT, my only complaint is that it always hangs up in car cover during removal/replacement and very easy to bump it seems (requires special attention on mine). On my to-do list is to change to a door mounted bullet mirror this winter
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I don’t have a door mirror mounted, but if I did, I might lean toward this 65-66 small base GT 350 Shelby mirror. It’s a nice clean looking example that’s not too big for the door. You can get it in different length bases and different diameter mirrors. This is a short base with a 3 1/2” diameter mirror.
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