Technical Suggestions for 40 ford mirrors

Hey guys I got clip on the top of the door “ peep mirrors “ on my 40 merc .

they completely suck !! Can’t see a dang thing outta them .


What can I get for a side view mirror that actually works ?

 

On my 40 Ford I use the BOB DRAKE 40 Ford driver side door mirror that fastens to the cowl.
If adjusted properly it works but you gotta be careful and look twice as the viewing mirror is small. Don't know if it will fit a 40 Merc.
Pass. side mirror is useless.
Here's more info:
The Ford Barn - Search Results

 

The original SoCal swan neck seems popular choice. I've had hinge mounted ones before on a coupe and the driver side was okay, but passenger useless for changing lanes. I fixed that by extending the mirror head back about 2 inches with a piece of pushrod. I bought the swan necks for the current build.

 

Make sure whatever you use, the wing window will open all the way without crashing into them.

-Abone.

 

At this point I’m contemplating these buggers

I took the car on a 4 hour drive today and it was a mix of highway and country roads .

you can barely see anything out of the rear view and the clip on peep mirrors are utterly useless .

I was reading up on the swannecks and heard different lengths are better than others but no one specified what length is best .

such a pain trying to navigate traffic , with it being a 4 door and the doors are short even turning your head only gets you a bit better view

 

How dare you….

-Abone

 

The cowl mount mirrors suck. Like Fordy said, you can't even see the passenger side and the drivers side is barely usable. I had a set on my avatar when I got it, couldn't wait to get rid of 'em. Pretty much useless. Buy a set of these...
Amazon.com: Hot Rod 4" Polished Stainless Steel Swan Neck Mirror Set : Automotive
Yeah, you'll have to bite the bullet and drill a couple of holes in the doors but these you can actually see in them on both sides. You won't regret it....

 

hinge mirror

 

Even those leave a lot to be desired, and the passenger side will still be useless. The closer you can get the mirror to you ,the better they work.

 

This clamp-on style has been around a long time and works well. No holes but hold the door lip very well. Still have 2 pairs in use on my 38 ford & 300K. Originally got them from Warshawsky's for a lot less money a long time ago.

 

Hagan Mirrors. Look em up.

 

original ford would be better
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fo..._acce70e1d5fd3181b944b7d9d98d91055fa23858.jpg

 

Not cheap but they work amazingly well.

 

That's an understatement!

 

What's that old expression? "cheap aint good and good don't come cheap"?
I run em inside

and out

they are graceful, the finish is beautiful and the glass is convex so you get a good view from a small mirror. They do require drilling through the door to mount but that was the only downside other than the expense.

 

dang !!!!!

this look great , expensive . Kinda

had to buy a new mirror for my 2018 ford and it was $1100

so in the big picture those mirrors are a good deal

 

My 40 came with So-Cal swan neck mirrors, clears the vent wings and are acceptable to see the back of the car.

 

Passing eye mirror. Mounts to the door frame.

 

This is what I used on my sedan, I got them from Bob Drake. HRP

 

Before & after shots of PassingEyes on two similarly equipped vehicles passing each other in opposite directions on the narrow 2-lane BelvidereNJ free bridge.

 

Does these just clip to the door ?

how’s the view ?

 

As mentioned, the cowl mirrors are terrible, the right one is totally unusable. The hinge pin model is decent, but getting the pins out on a finished is extremely difficult. The stock rear view mirror is also very limiting.

 

I have hinge mirrors on the '39 with a domed/wide-angle mirror added onto the passenger side. Works like a dream! I've contemplated added the wide view to the driver's as well.

 

No, those are hinge mounted.

 

My 40coupe with swan neck mirrors with Hagan Fatties lens offers excellent rear vision.

 

I feel I should mention that these are virtually the same mirrors being sold by Drake, Speedway, etc, just at a better price. When I bought mine off eBay, Drake wanted 3X the money for the exact same set. So don't be scared by the low price, these are quality items. The mirror head is polished stainless, the swan neck arm is chromed die cast with an excellent finish.

I had more trouble tracking down the '47-specific cowl trim to fill the gap left by the removal of the cowl mounted mirrors than anything else. The Hagens look nice, but I don't see them as 5X nicer and that square mounting base looks a bit too industrial for my taste...

 

"Honey, does this domed mirror make my ass look big?"

 

Boy VP you know how to stir things up. I feel I need to point out you don’t live anywhere near the west coast. Before you do that maybe some sort of fender mount, not traditional, not beautiful, but not west coast style ugly, a new sort of ugly. These were not as bad as the tripod mounted ones.

 

Flamed a bone and Dan Hay have some suggestions in the other thread about this.

 

I got me some of those little convex thingies - not pretty but it helps a lot.




Also a lot of motorcycle/bike mirrors that are a bit convex have the same size as the classic SoCal mirrors, so you can swap the glas.