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Positioning of driver's side mirror

S

Spoo 2

Silver Level Sponsor
Can any one tell me what kind of sideview mirror was sold with a 62 ' beam , type 2 ? Where was it positioned ? I've looked at a thousand pictures and there are a thousand variations of mirror type and position . Thanks
 
The alpines did not come with a mirror as standard,

There were a variety of mirrors offered by the factory as options and by dealers on the alpines, including the series II models. Mounting was by preference of the driver, and also depending on what mirror you have.

Some mount them on the dorr at the window guide area, someon the front scuttle and some down the front guard.

The factory offered the "delswift" antenna mirror, talbot berlin jnr bullter mirror, and wingard rectangular style ones.

Period correct ones include, walpress, raydot and lucas mirrors in bullet, 1/2 sphere, and round and rectangular on stalks.

Ultimately it will be to your preference. Most people who mount the bullet mirrors on the door find them difficult to see out of as they have a short arm, so further forward makes them easier to see out of. The ones on the arms give good viability but also give a more touring look.

Choose ones that work for you and look good on the car
 
Mirror placement

I wouldn't want to raise your hopes but I don't think that putting mirrors on the front wing/guard help a lot either. I have bullet/racing mirrors on my front wing and they look great, but rear visibility is confined to a limited "tube" of space behind me that easily misses things - almost dangerous. At least on the door you have the option of adjusting them from the driving position. GB
 
I had Lucas fender mounted curved glass mirrors on both fenders, right above the wheels. They worked great. The key with mirrors, small ones anyway, is to angle them so that when you are looking into them, together with the corners of your eyes, if you see a car in the mirror, but not the corner of your eye, it is in your way. Too many people try to use side mirrors to look backwards. That's primarily what the center mirror is for.

That said, I did not put them back on when I rebuilt the car a second time. I thought they interfered with the "flow up to the fins" that Howes designed. I did however put two Raydots with curved glass (close to impossible to find), on the doors towards the front of the quarter windows. Look great IMHO.
 
Jay,

There are many repro Raydots available now, in satin silver, chrome and spun aluminum. I replaced the flat mirror with a convex one to broaden the field of view and mounted it on the scuttle.. the only weird thing, i can see myself in my field of vision when i am just looking forward.
 

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Spoo 2 said:
Can any one tell me what kind of sideview mirror was sold with a 62 ' beam , type 2 ? Where was it positioned ? I've looked at a thousand pictures and there are a thousand variations of mirror type and position . Thanks
Click to expand...

You got that right, no rules on this one.
 
What do people find works best and where positioned on an SV?
I have one racing bullet style mirror that wobbles mounted outside the fixed glass window on the drivers door. Find I’m missing the right side mirror.
 
My bullet door mirror is ornamental.
I've been using a clip on overtaking mirror on my weekend driver.
The negative is you have to remove it to roll up the window.
 
A few years back, I replaced the mirrors in my bullets with convex mirrors and have them on both doors just ahead of the edge of the quarter windows. With how far I sit back, I can see both mirrors. I have a wider rearview mirror (clipped to the stock one) that I use that I can see both behind and the 'blind spots' of the Alpine that doesn't look out of place on the car.
 
I have stuck on a convex mirror on some mirrors. The trouble is finding one the same diameter as the original glass. Same cars with the same problems. Interesting to see and old thread revisited.
 
I have a bullet mirror on my door. I never use it. I quickly turn my head to see what is going on next to me. That applies to both sides of the car. The rear view mirror is useful. I use that to keep track of cars coming up on me and know if someone is next to me.
 
The one thing I hate about my 67 is the huge goofy black mirrors the previous owner installed. They just don’t stay adjusted. I’ve measured the holes and there aren’t any mirror sets with the same center to center measurement.
 
Series6 said:
The one thing I hate about my 67 is the huge goofy black mirrors the previous owner installed. They just don’t stay adjusted. I’ve measured the holes and there aren’t any mirror sets with the same center to center measurement.
Click to expand...
Nick. Make a nice mounting plate with countersunk bolts and match the profile to your new chosen mirror
 
Given the foregoing discussion, I think I like the idea of putting a Delswift aerial mirror in this location of the broken antenna mast. I was planning on installing a radio at some point. This avoids another hole in the body and would double as an antenna. Does anyone see a problem with this location for a Delswift aerial mirror on my '65 SV? Is this the scuttle (alpine -64)? Of course I would have to then get another for the driver's side, so in the end, I'd have another hole in the body and patch up my driver's door crummy bullet mirror holes.
 

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Mbgardner said:
Given the foregoing discussion, I think I like the idea of putting a Delswift aerial mirror in this location of the broken antenna mast. I was planning on installing a radio at some point. This avoids another hole in the body and would double as an antenna. Does anyone see a problem with this location for a Delswift aerial mirror on my '65 SV? Is this the scuttle (alpine -64)? Of course I would have to then get another for the driver's side, so in the end, I'd have another hole in the body and patch up my driver's door crummy bullet mirror holes.
Click to expand...
That's the front guard ( outside the screen line) but let's just call it the scuttle for convenience...
That location will work fine... Having to find a delswift aerial may be more tricky.

You can use one of the raydoyt style mirrors like I have to just plug and play over that hole... And then use a loop antenna for the radio under the dash or at the base of the screen ..

That said.. your aerial is on the passenger side.. my car was LHD... So the aerial was the passenger side... When the car was converted to RHD it became drivers side and opportune for me to install a mirror...
 
October 2025. I have the old antenna out of the RH scuttle area The hole is huge compare with the threaded mounting post for the Delswift antenna mirror. And there's no practical way to get a wrench on the nut to tighten it even if the hole was closed up. Too much metal inside the dogleg of the quarter panel. Unless someone has a better idea of how to mount it from the top, I may just bag the idea altogether. selll my pair of Delswift mirrors.

The only other place for them would be further forward on the fender at the closest point you can get to the nut from the wheel well. These are pretty tall to be sticking up out there on the fender. delswift.png

Thanks!
 
I don't have an answer for you. But I need to correct my spelling! I misspelled "Raydyot." I know, what an odd spelling. We now have real ones for our Elva - so no more excuses. Ha.
 
Mbgardner said:
October 2025. I have the old antenna out of the RH scuttle area The hole is huge compare with the threaded mounting post for the Delswift antenna mirror. And there's no practical way to get a wrench on the nut to tighten it even if the hole was closed up. Too much metal inside the dogleg of the quarter panel. Unless someone has a better idea of how to mount it from the top, I may just bag the idea altogether. selll my pair of Delswift mirrors.

The only other place for them would be further forward on the fender at the closest point you can get to the nut from the wheel well. These are pretty tall to be sticking up out there on the fender. View attachment 36757

Thanks!
Click to expand...
I'll see if I can dig up the article on how I did mine .. solo... If you have a helper....you be much better... I used tape, glue and a lot of swearing but got it done.
You will need a washer under the hole.. id recommend using a small amount of blu-tac to put it up there so it's moveable later... Then have the mirror taped ( or better held) in position...then the gymnastics commence to tighten it.. and hole the nut on a socket end or use fingers to start the thread ...
 
I seem to recall that to get access to the antenna, you have to remove the foot/kick panel. And then you have uncovered holes that give access up to the antenna hole.
 
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