Do you prefer? Fender mount, door mount, peep? Trying to decide what I want on my Sunliner. Kind of hate to drill holes in the body and like the look of peeps hanging off of my vent window frame but they will keep me from fully opening the vent windows. Although I sort of doubt I will use the vent windows. Anyway, what do you prefer?
Mornin' Joe, I've got door mounts on mine. At our age, it's not so easy turning your head around quickly in freeway traffic, so you want the best lane 'coverage' you can get. Door mount location makes for a wider view than fender mount. You can prove this out by just holding a hand held mirror close to you face and then at arm's length. Location on the door is critical to prevent interference with the wing windows. I ended up with Chevy, I think 67 Caprice. The ones made by Fargo are a good quality, but I had to put embossed ford logo stickers over the Chevy bowtie, lol. The reason I went with those........they had one of the largest gl*** areas I could find, I really liked the shape/flow to them, and the post/upright (whatever you want to call them) are slanted, giving more room for the vent window. Oddly enough, I believe the one designated as "left side" I mounted on the right, and visa versa. I'll look for pics. BTW, I mounted mine with the gl*** area rearward of the wing window frame, so there wasn't any more than necessary in the way of a good view.
This might not be a popular opinion but when I drive I really need to see. So, esthetics are sort of secondary. Here’s what I have. The mirror alone wasn’t good enough so I attached a parabolic mirror to it. It’s not original but I’m happy with it.
Peeps for me. Summit specials, ran me less than $20 each. Get the convex for the p***enger side. Works well with my vent windows.
Thanks Rich, good info. Venom51 I have done the same in the past, have the Fatties heads on my 40. Bob I wish I had a door top to mount to but I do like the peeps.
Don't make the mistake the previous owner of my Vic made - sit in the driver's seat and make sure you can actually see the mirrors. He mounted the mirrors on the door, and they look fine on the outside, but the p***enger side mirror is also completely blocked by the A-pillar. On my Town Sedan the mirrors are mounted on the fenders and work just dandy.
I agree Bruce, I spent hours deciding where to mount the mirrors on my 40. I am leaning towards the peep mirrors.
The Summit peep mirrors mentioned above work good on my '38. I use the convex type on both sides. The convex isn't as exaggerated as those stick-on mirrors and provides good perspective on the location of those around you. I have a Hagan Fatties convex mirror on the p***enger side of my '55 Victoria. While somewhat expensive, the clarity and view is unexcelled. The p***enger mirror is mounted on the door and visible through the vent window, just about the best option for visibility. http://www.haganauto.com/category_s/208.htm
I saw this mounting of a peep mirror on a 57 Ranchero at OKC recently. I like the idea [although I would have used a stainless screw] but am a little unsure of the stability of the vent shade, seems like if someone ran into it that it might bend the metal shade. Still thinking.
Back in the late '50s/early '60s the mirror we lusted after in my part of the world was the Yankee 3-bar mirror. We wanted them mounted on the top of the front fenders. Probably not many folks remember that trend, so today with traffic like it is I opt for better vision by mounting them on the door.
I used 55-57 Chevy convex mirrors on both sides. It takes a little while to get used to backing up with them. I got them from Cl***ic Industries, not a bow-tie on them and right at $20 each. Mine had these on the fenders when I got it, I bought new mirrors right away and mounted them on the doors where you can actually use them.
I actually have a pair of those exact mirrors, bought them with full intentions to use them. May still.
I stole the picture of the Yankee mirrors from 40cpe but they are exactly like the pair I have somewhere in my garage.
I for one never cared for the fender mounted mirrors, to me they distract from the clean lines of the 50's Fords. HRP
Looking at your build album Danny it looks like you don't have side view mirrors. I don't think that I could do without them. Heck I backed into a friends entry column on his driveway before I got them mounted on my 40.
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