Andrew Smith Posted September 30, 2012 Report Share Posted September 30, 2012 (edited) Hello fellow sidescreeners, Well, after a 24 year wait and 10 year search, TuRK has finally been fitted with the correct Mazak lightwight racing mirrors which it had fitted when the PO bought it in 1968 until the mid/late 80s! Dear friend of mine Fred Johnson bought TuRK in1968 (2nd owner) and at that time it was fitted with mazak racing mirrors, these stayed fitted until the mid/late 80s when the nearside one broke and shortly afterwards the other was removed an binned! Fred gifted TuRK to me in 2003 after it had been off the road since 1992 following engine failure, and Fred's long battle with illness. Since then I have searched for a pair of the correct lightweight racing mirrors to fill the holes in the wings which remained. Thanks to ‘Alannid's Cave - The Sequel’ Alec Pringle had put a pair on eBay, and these looked exactly right from old photos of TuRK, so after checking the stud centres were 22mm (7/8"ish) with Alec these would drop straight into the holes! So I bid and won, Alec and Diane dropped them off on Wednesday night on their way back from Spa and I fitted them yesterday. I have to say they look great and right at home adorning the wings of TuRK. I couldn't resist taking a few photos today and had a bit of fun creating a slideshow of 'then and now'..........hope you enjoy it: http://www.photobox.co.uk/slideshow?album_id=1480657371 Cheers Andrew Edited September 30, 2012 by Andrew Smith Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Richardtr3a Posted September 30, 2012 Report Share Posted September 30, 2012 I like the story and the perseverance, well done. Send me a message with the paint shop address as the paintwork looks very good and I am not all that far from Farnham. My rear wings need attention and i need to take more care when reversing. Perhaps i need special wing mirrors? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
robnob Posted September 30, 2012 Report Share Posted September 30, 2012 Hi Andrew TuRK and new mirrors look the absolute nuts... Great stuff mate, pleased for you Cheers Rob Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Pogo Posted September 30, 2012 Report Share Posted September 30, 2012 Excellent Andrew . . . full circle! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
pfenlon Posted September 30, 2012 Report Share Posted September 30, 2012 great slide show, hasn't Madonna got a pair of them somewhere, ........................? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guest ntc Posted September 30, 2012 Report Share Posted September 30, 2012 great slide show, hasn't Madonna got a pair of them somewhere, ........................? nice turn around as that was his taste Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Andrew Smith Posted September 30, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 30, 2012 Thanks folks, I'm chuffed to nuts with these and yes, full circle. Richard, That paint has been on TuRK since 1988, but had died during the time off the road so I had to cut it back by hand with wet & dry, G10 cutting compound and then mop and hand polish it which took about two week in my spare time. It does look good in the photos, but could probably do with touching up here and there. Peter, These are too small for Madonna's use! Cheers Andrew Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kiwifrog Posted October 1, 2012 Report Share Posted October 1, 2012 Looks great Andrew fantastic find Turk does look like a wonderful car. I was at a rally yesterday and there was a TR3 there with its origonal paint complete with blemishes and everyone was commenting on what a great looking car it was and trying to convince the owner to keep it with its patiner. It got more admiring comments than the showroom condition XK140 the Farrais or1939 Bently and all the other cars combined. To get to the point people love cars with character like Turk Cheers Alan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
sidescreen Posted October 1, 2012 Report Share Posted October 1, 2012 Andrew, Nice to see her back to former glory ! Compliments as well for your slide show with nostalgic flashbacks. Raymond Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BrianC Posted October 1, 2012 Report Share Posted October 1, 2012 Those mirrors look very similar to the pair of Alexander mirrors that I fitted to my car in the 70s. Whenever I see this picture I'm tempted to fit a pair of bullets again, but the best ones were on the car when I bought it in 1977. These had a long Mazak base and the mirrors were swingback which minimised the risk of damage whenever someone catches their clothing on the fixed variety. In fact, maybe I'll dig them out and see if they can be salvaged. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ashley James Posted October 1, 2012 Report Share Posted October 1, 2012 I don't like wing mirrors on old cars, so have this, which is really from a twenties design! It's very effective. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BrianC Posted October 1, 2012 Report Share Posted October 1, 2012 If you want the best of both worlds - bullets and stanchion mounting, then Racetorations have a nice solution. Very expensive but looks good, and having seen them on Chris Glasbey's TR3A I've been thinking of adapting Tex bullet mirrors in the same way. The Racetorations installation does require drilling of the stanchions, although it should be possible to fabricate a bracket attached via the stanchion screws or Dzus fasteners. However, I have little doubt that the best visibility (and minimal vibration) is using flexible arms similar to Ash's. It's all down to compromise to get a solution which works and looks right (to the owner if no-one else ). Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Andrew Smith Posted October 1, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 1, 2012 (edited) Alan, Yep, TuRK has bags of character that’s for sure and still has the original interior, instruments and dash crinkle paint (Edit: and bent front bumper - PF take note!) - well, Ok, the carpets were replaced in the mid-70s! But I do agree with you as I like cars to reflect their age rather than being over-restored, unless it’s purely for concours – but that’s another matter altogether. Thanks Raymond, I have a rather nice collection of old photos of TuRK which my friend Fred gave to me along with receipts etc dating back to 1968, including his original Bill of Sale in January 1968 where he paid £295 (with 19,00 miles n the clock) on Hire Purchase – Oh, that reminds me I must do a HPI check! Brian, Those do look like the ones I just fitted to TuRK and whilst the driver’s one is useful I can’t actually see the nearside one as the rear view mirror obscures it. Ash, That looks functional on your car and probably does a good job, but sadly not much use with aeroscreens fitted…………. Cheers Andrew Edited October 1, 2012 by Andrew Smith Quote Link to post Share on other sites
foster461 Posted October 1, 2012 Report Share Posted October 1, 2012 Enjoyed the slide show a lot Andrew. Some great shots of TRK and the Madonna Mirrors. Stan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BrianC Posted October 1, 2012 Report Share Posted October 1, 2012 Brian, Those do look like the ones I just fitted to TuRK and whilst the driver’s one is useful I can’t actually see the nearside one as the rear view mirror obscures it. That reminds me - I never had the rear-view mirror when I bought it and realised it would be in the way, so fitted one to the top windscreen frame. Still have the extra holes so may have to do the same again, even though I now have a repro mirror to fit. FWIW, even the nearside Racetoration's stanchion mounted bullet is apparently only really useful for the navigator/co-driver. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.