Technical Outside Rear View Mirrors for 1940 Ford - opinions?

< On my avatar 47 Lincoln, I used the eBay swan necks, not installed yet in that pic. Very well made mirrors, have two mounting studs so the don’t loosen up and twist. I screwed up and mounted the passenger side using the measurement from the drivers side, the window channel blocks part of the view. It would have been better if I had of set that side more toward the back a inch or two, but I was trying to be symmetrical with them.

If you use that style, make sure you look inside the door where the studs will come through before you drill. Mine ended up closer to the window track than I wanted, made getting one of the nuts on tough.

 

^^^^this--too high and you will have a fit getting the nuts on the studs-hard enough when in the right spot

 

Great advice! Thanks again!

 

Hinge Mount Mirrors On A 40 Passenger Car Are Shown As A Accessory And Hinge Mount Mirrors On A Truck Use A Different Arm...

 

Hagan Street Rods has a large selection of mirrors called "fatties" www.haganauto.com.

 

35 years ago we used the cowl-trim-mounted arms from Drake. I don't remember how well they worked, but they couldn't have been any worse than the short peep mirrors. The problem with 40's is they are bulbous. You need an arm that sticks way out to see around the big mid-section and rearend.

 

Hello,

In our two 1940 Ford sedan deliveries in high school (flathead) and in our twenty something days, the outside mirrors were the hinge mount. The mirrors gave the distance away from the door and body paneling to the back. To say they were inadequate is an understatement. It gave some reflection from that right side passenger area, but that big blind spot created by the rear panel was hard to overcome. If we had a two door sedan, the rear side windows would have been just fine for my wife and I while we were 20 somethings.

My neighbor in the OC had some old vertical 4 x 6 truck mirrors and that opened up the whole blind side. But, the big problem was that they were truck mirrors and not a classic look for the sedan delivery. If we did not care, that solved the problem. But, my wife said if I put those on the outside, she would not get in the inside. HA…it was something both of us agreed upon. So, the hinge mount mirrors were left on both sides.

Daylight driving helped with the objects as they were in the mirror. But, night driving was ridiculous. We might as well have been driving with space goggles on for what we could not see. It was scary. Driving in the slow lane helped, but it was a sore spot in one of the most fun cars to drive anywhere.

Jnaki

My wife gave up driving by herself in the 1940 sedan delivery, as it made her feel like someone or something was going to crash into her from that total blind spot. At first, she gave up driving it at night. Then finally, when some little tyke came into the scene, we had enough ammunition to sell the sedan delivery for something that accommodate 3 people comfortable and safely.
A custom mirror
Even if you decide to get a fancy new version of an outside mirror, that blank rear quarter panel looks fabulous, but caused a big deficit for both of us.

Your sedan should have the benefit of those large rear passenger windows creating a good greenhouse effect for vision. So, the hinge style, stock looking, outside mirror will be sufficient. If we had a 2 door sedan with those windows, we probably would have kept that Ford for quite some time. Your surrounding vision is pretty good versus the sedan delivery. But, the rear door and room in the back for sleeping/camping supplies/ storage can’t be beat in the sedan delivery. It was a trade off of sorts.

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...g-one-make-model.1188106/page-3#post-13513707 Purists, this is just a suggestion… not a reality.

 

Thank You Sir And A Excellent Observation...It Is Indeed A Learning Curve...

 

Been driving this car for over twenty years but finally got tired of not seeing anything on the right side. I'm retired and don't have a lot of money to play with. Already have the cowl mount mirrors, from Drake, and agree the passenger side is worthless except for maybe a passenger, if you've got one. So, I decided that maybe I could modify the cowl mounts and move them up to the door. They work!! Not your SUV mirrors of course, but now I can see on the right side, pretty well. Had to make a base to attach the stem to so they could be mounted to the door. Used aluminum. Could have polished to come close to the chrome but decided to do a brushed surface for a little contrast. Anyway, nothing is perfect in this world but the mirror move sure helped my situation.

 

how about a Wink morror??

 

im having similar issues to you guys in my 38 chevy truck but driving a LHD in a RHD country multiplies the issues.i have a selection of mirrors but havnt fitted anything yet.i will have to make a set of stems and fit 5" lenses.i like the peep style but the lens are too small.i dont like the clamp on style if they were to fly off would damage the paint etc.mounting high on the door should offer the best view.heres my plan-i intend to make stems from stainless and bolt to the door tops.but theres a double wall in the door where i need to put the mounting screws so ill have to use m5 rivnuts with a 5" mirror head on the business end.mirror heads are from jim carter trucks.if the straight glass isnt up to the job ill have to go for hagan convex style mirror heads.ive seen the peep mirrors have 2" extensions available.so ill model the mirrors on this.hopefully i will end up with classic style mirrors you can see out of and fit for 21st century traffic.if they work as intended i will powder coat satin black to blend them in .placement is everything,luckily enough my doors have 1 piece glass which can only help

 

From experience, I know what it's like. Nice job!

 

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These are So-Cal swan necks with a parts store blind spot convex mirror stuck on. Way better than just a flat mirror. -Abone.[/QUOTE]

That's what I have been doing, on peeps or swan necks. MUCH better.

Obviously, swan necks with their wider and higher perches (which are ideal) are great on fat fender cars with running boards. On fender-less cars, people will walk into them accidentally, they get smacked by back packs or big ladies' shoulder bags. I've even seen kids whack them with their foreheads!

 

These mirrors work just fine. I don't have the vent wing to contend with on a 39. The key to the right side is a convex lens, it would be useless without it. It just has a convex stick-on on top of the glass mirror.

 

I use the 4" convex stick-ons on both sides.

 

Here’s the location of mine, perfect view from driving position on both sides.