Post to the EFV-8 Forum
Post Classified Ads
Shop the Online Store

User Login

Not Registered Yet? Click Here to Sign Up!

Early Ford V-8 Club Forum

FORUM RULES: Users agree to these Rules when using Forum.

The site administrator reserves the right to change the terms and conditions of the user agreement without prior notice to the user. It is the responsibility of the user to regularly review the terms of this agreement.

The user agrees to the following terms:

All information that you provide to us for your membership is correct.
You will not use your membership to spam, harrass, or exploit other members in any way.
Vulgar, Abusive, Racist and Sexist Language will not be tolerated.
Commercial-type sales postings will not be allowed.
No mass posting or flooding of the boards is allowed.
No Advertising of parts or cars; no Ebay or business/commercial ads (please use the "Classified" for ads Wanted or For Sale).
VIEWING MULTIPLE TOPICS ON SCREEN: You can choose to see more than 10 Topics at a time ... Log In and choose "Preferences" from the top bar on the Forum page. Scroll down and Change the "Default Topics Returned" parameter to 25 or 50, and save the changes. Since this setting is stored in your browser 'cookies' (if enabled), it seems to use that stored value even if you are not logged in. So, if you use a PC that you haven't logged into the forum from, the setting still seem to remain at the default.
EXTERNAL PHOTO LINKS ON FORUM: You can still use external photo links in your posts on the new forum. They follow the rules of any link in that they have to have the URL link qualified down to the full image file name (example: .jpg). The links will open in a new browser window, the same as an uploaded image attached to a post. Since an image attachment to any post does not display inline with the post, the results are the same. You can use multiple external links within a post. This link is from photos on a site from Don Clink's 'Deuce@75' albums:

http://donclink.com/deuce_75_1/images/dscn2950.jpg

Using links from photo sites such as Photobucket can help in "size" issue with uploaded attachment files. For best viewing in web browsers, photos should be around the 800x600 pixel range, and probably not more than 1024x768. Most cameras today store HUGE jpg image files, as the default settings are in the 7, 8, 10, and 12Mb image sizes. The image files that are then attached are very large, and the browser can't display the full image size without using the scroll bars. Use the re-sizing functions of your photo editing software to reduce the image to 800x600, which reduces the file sixe and the image load time in the browser. Don uses Google's free Picassa3 software, which is an excellent photo management product. All of the photo albums of the Deuce, Grand National, and Auburn that are links on the NORG site were built using Picassa's web creation functions. And it's free? (THANKS to Don Clink for the info!)
HOW DO I SHOW MY EMAIL ADDRESS ALONG WITH MY USERNAME? You can LogIn on the Forum, and select PREFERENCES. On this page Members can add optional information such as their City,State, Country; Occupation; Hobbies: list a Homepage; list AOL Instant Messanger Handle; Signature; "Make Email Address viewable to others;" and even change the number of Default Topics shown on a page. WHEN others click on your profile, they will see this information.

EFV-8 Club Forum / General Mercury Discussion / Outside rear-view mirror(s)...

Reply to Discussion | New Discussion

<< previous || next >>

Posted By

Discussion Topic: Outside rear-view mirror(s)...

Peder D

12-05-2016 @ 1:41 PM

reply profile send p.m.

Member
Posts: 95
Joined: Oct 2009

Hi! Those of you who have 46-48 Mercs, what are the best mirrors for these cars? Have mounted relatively small mirrors on my 46, but they're more for show than blow...would like to find the most suitable mirrors...if they exist? Also ideas on the best 6v fog/driving lights for this car....thanks, Peder

len47merc

12-06-2016 @ 6:13 PM

reply profile send p.m.

Senior
Posts: 1165
Joined: Oct 2013

Peder - I gave up on a PASSENGER-side rear-view mirror on my '47 for two reasons: 1) Desire for (Rouge class) originality and 2) Never could find a mirror that was functional/viewable from the driver's seat. Regarding item 2 every mirror I tried that gave the minimal appearance of being 'period-correct' (which of course NO exterior mirror would be period correct) was completely unusable/unviewable/out-of-sight and hence, as you say, more for 'show than blow'. Those that were viewable could not be adequately adjusted to be functional and/or did not provide any useful degree of rear-view. The cowl mount passenger-side mirrors are completely useless (as are most all available passenger-side mirrors for '46-'48s) as it appears you already know.

For me personally if something provides no functionality - particularly safety - then it should not be on the car. As well, over time, and to my eye, passenger-side mirrors have begun to have a '...it should not be there...' look to them regardless of the year of most of our V8s.

For safety's sake I absolutely had to have a driver's side mirror and threw originality to the wind and ended up with a polished stainless round clamp-on to the door. These are readily available from the usual suppliers (DC, C&G, Drake, etc.) and have design attributes that resemble other features/items on the car. I did not like the placement of the driver's-side cowl-mount mirrors (couldn't see it well/too far away and hence small image/vent window frame partially blocked the view) and the clamp-on allowed for personal-preference placement optimization up and down the door. While not perfect it is adequate in size to be functional yet has a look, size and design to it that doesn't make it stand out as being out-of-place.

In the end it comes down to what provides the maximum degree of safety yet still looks good and acceptable to your eye and needs.

Wish I could provide some perspective on the fog lights but I've no experience there and given they were not an 'original' item from the factory for these years I have never pursued them.

Perhaps others will weigh in with their thoughts - hope this helps in some way.

Steve

This message was edited by len47merc on 12-6-16 @ 6:21 PM

Peder D

12-07-2016 @ 12:08 AM

reply profile send p.m.

Member
Posts: 95
Joined: Oct 2009

Steve-thanks so much for your view on the outside mirrors. I also have the polished round clamp-on style on both doors. Passenger side is totally useless. I do have a view on the drivers side, but it's not good. Safety is top priority, but good looks are also "eye pleasing". My mirrors have relatively short arms, and I haven't been able to find ones with longer arms and more adjustability. Also the finish is very poor and signs of pitting are visible. So will most likely remove the passenger side and live with the driver side until hopefully something better is available? I too enjoy originality, but will sacrifice this for safety and necessary improvements/upgrades.

Peder

TomO

12-07-2016 @ 7:46 AM

reply profile send p.m.

Senior
Posts: 7250
Joined: Oct 2009

Peder,

Here is a link to an alternative to the common "peep" mirrors with their short arms. I cannot vouch for its usefulness as the clamp on style will not work on eith of my cars.

https://www.amazon.com/Fit-System-1705-Clamp-Universal/dp/B001A0IT5C

Good side view mirrors are difficult to find for any antique car. The current supply has poor plating and are designed for hot rods, not sedans or convertibles. Bob Drake's hot rod mirrors have better plating than most of the aftermarket ones here. He does have some clamp on mirrors also.

I was lucky to find an original Ford mirror for my 40 and then Bob Drake started to reproduce them, so I bought a couple of the left side ones. I had to use one of them after my original one was damaged at a car show. The left side cowl mount works very well for me. I tried a door mount and it interfered with the vent window. I have not found a satisfactory right side mirror. Neither of my cars can use the clamp on mirrors, because the mounting surface is too thick.

For fog lights, Unity makes the best reproductions and you may find some good used ones. Here is a linik to their site.

http://www.unityusa.com/Vintage_c_20.html

Tom

len47merc

12-07-2016 @ 7:56 AM

reply profile send p.m.

Senior
Posts: 1165
Joined: Oct 2013

Peder - one additional thing to consider is that the further off the side of the car your mirror is the more likely it is someone - even possibly you - will walk by the car and hit the mirror with your arm/shoulder. The chromed one that came on my car upon receipt, likely from the 50's - 60's and heavily pitted (hence why I changed it), did sit further off the side of the car but it did have a spring release in case someone hit it when walking by. I haven't seen any modern versions with a spring release and personally settled for a universal polished stainless edge-of-door peep mirror similar to an A-17741-UL. Some of the others I tried stuck out too far and I ended up accidentally smacking them myself when walking around the car and knew the same would likely happen at shows. Others the arms appeared to be too thin/fragile to survive a hit like this.

Just something to consider - cheers.

Steve

carcrazy

12-07-2016 @ 11:13 AM

reply profile send p.m.

Senior
Posts: 1651
Joined: Oct 2009

One thing you can do to improve rearward visibility with the right side round clamp-on mirror is install a wide angle mirror face on it. I found a 3 3/4" diameter wide angle stick-on mirror face that I applied to the right side external mirror on my sedan delivery which made lane changing in traffic possible.

Peder D

12-07-2016 @ 12:59 PM

reply profile send p.m.

Member
Posts: 95
Joined: Oct 2009

It's all good, guys....now have more options to work with....thanks...

Peder

<< previous || next >>

NOTE: YOU MUST BE A REGISTERED USER AND BE LOGGED IN TO POST (and reply to) messages in this forum. If you are a first time user, please click the CREATE A NEW ACCOUNT in the masthead above to register and Log In. After that, all you do is LOG IN to enjoy using this site.

DISCLAIMER: The V-8 Club does no independent testing of any of the opinions, thoughts or suggestions presented in the website on the Forum, in the Tech Tips section, or any section. A reader should consider the website to be a forum wherein differing solutions to a particular set of circumstances may be discussed. Ultimately, the selection of an item for an individual's vehicle must be based upon the independent study of the vehicle owner in consultation with people in the hobby and restoration experts.

Early Ford V-8 Club Forum

Merchandise Questions

Membership Questions