Outside Mirror Placement

WZ JUNK · October 02, 2016, 08:06:09 PM

I am using 55-57 Chevrolet mirrors on my 54 Chevy. I think they look a lot better than the original mirror. I am struggling with the placement of the passenger side mirror. The passenger mirror works better if it is farther back on the door than the drivers door mirror. I hate to do something different on one side of the car than on the other side. Am I alone on this or has anyone else experinced this problem?

John

kb426 · October 02, 2016, 08:16:56 PM

I have but I don't have a good answer. At some point you have to decide if you are supposed to see out the mirror or the passenger who will say: you just backed into that! John, I have struggled with symmetrical versus functional to no end. I finally decided that as the driver I should be responsible. You know the rest of the story.

BFS57 · October 02, 2016, 09:08:16 PM

Hello;
Don't have a good answer eithor but you can make the match and then ad one of those bubble effect mirrors on the P side to fully see whats next to you.

Bruce

idrivejunk · October 02, 2016, 10:27:36 PM

Staggered mirrors wouldn't trouble me much as long as the placement difference is kept minimal. The function has to be there, and you can't see both sides at once. I would not be suprised to find an OE example of stagger because it makes safety sense.

UGLY OLDS · October 02, 2016, 11:39:01 PM

Very seldom will you "study" something in the right mirror... ( Unless you are backing up..)
With me , it's more of a "glance" to see if the space is occupied .... :?

Typically, a true right side accessory mirror will allow the mirror head to "angle" more to the inside so it is useable ..

Bob...

WZ JUNK · October 03, 2016, 07:28:15 AM

Thanks to everyone for their input. The mirrors arrive later this week from Speedway. They are the version with the LED arrow turn signal. I am doing all I can to make other drivers aware that I am on the road and to look out for me. My reflexes, vision, hearing, and observation skills are not what they once were. However, I do not want these failures to limit my ability to stand on the loud pedal occasionally. I am not dead yet.

John

Ohio Blue Tip · October 03, 2016, 11:06:20 AM

YES, most of us feel the same way! Not dead yet so hold on and go fast.

GPster · October 03, 2016, 12:02:36 PM

Because of my only seeing with only one eye I have a restriction on my driver's license that I need mirrors on both sides of the vehicle I'm driving. The intension being that they will help me see rearward on both sides of the car. I figure if I was hit from the rear the offender's lawyer would get his cliant off if I couldn't see with the one mirror. GPster

UGLY OLDS · October 03, 2016, 07:02:33 PM

Quote from: "GPster"Because of my only seeing with only one eye I have a restriction on my driver's license that I need mirrors on both sides of the vehicle I'm driving. The intension being that they will help me see rearward on both sides of the car. I figure if I was hit from the rear the offender's lawyer would get his cliant off if I couldn't see with the one mirror. GPster

Joe.... Having the same issue with only seeing with one eye, and the same mirror restriction on my license, I always thought that it was so I could see who was in hot pursuit from either side...

The absolute stupidest thing that I have ever seen was that mirror restriction on my Class A , (with hazmat & air brake endorsement), CDL...
They finally refused to renew it after 15 years of incident free driving...Our at that time Governor , ("Buy your CDL Ryan" , remember him??), refused to renew it due to extremely poor vision in my right eye.... My question to him was why it was approved in the first place because my eye has been bad since I was a kid.... :?
There was never an answer provided .......

Bob...

wayne petty · October 05, 2016, 03:54:59 PM

i have not had the gumption to go thru each page..

i did notice that the 55 and up have accessory manuals.. that might describe factory mirror locations..

http://www.oldcarbrochures.org/NA/Chevrolet?page=2

i did not see anything on external mirrors in the 54 section.. might be who wants to look back when you are going forward sort of thinking..

functional mirrors are a must on street driven cars... on show cars that are pushed around and on and off trailers..

i am totally amazed that there are not modular mirror assemblies available.. with a bunch of different bases and a bunch of different mirror heads.. so one could mix and match..

WZ JUNK · October 07, 2016, 08:50:35 AM

The mirrors arrived yesterday. I am going to rely on the functional aspect of the mirror over appearance of the mirrors on the car, although I do hope to place them symmetrically.

As a side note the mirrors came without directions or a wiring diagram for the electric arrow in the mirror. I guess that the either of the two wires can be used for ground or positive but I will test today and see.

John

jaybee · October 22, 2016, 09:55:04 PM

LEDs should have polarity. They should work one way, not the other.

WZ JUNK · October 23, 2016, 08:09:22 AM

Quote from: "jaybee"LEDs should have polarity. They should work one way, not the other.

Even with very careful placement the right mirror is of limited use. I did add a round convex wide angle mirror to the top portion and that improved the view a lot. I do not care for the look of the added mirror but I decided to go for function rather than style.

You are correct, they do have polarity. I wired the mirrors into the dash indicator lights so that they would not light when you depress the brake. They work fine and it is easy to be sure your signal light is not on when you are driving. However, I do have a license to drive with my signal lights on. It is also a membership card for the AARP.

John