Horse Posted June 22, 2006 Report Share Posted June 22, 2006 Gentlemen, I wish to fit wing mirrors to my newly purchased 4A. They are the period single point fitting non bullet type. Be most grateful if anyone could advise me exactly where on the doors (measured from the leading edge and the window rubber trim strip) they were fitted by the factory as optional extras. Horse Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Andrew Smith Posted June 22, 2006 Report Share Posted June 22, 2006 I wish to fit wing mirrors ............. on the doors Horse Why mount 'wing mirrors' on the doors? Better still, leave them off although as they’re real pain. Cheers Andrew Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Don Elliott Posted June 22, 2006 Report Share Posted June 22, 2006 I saw a nice mirror attachment on a TR3A this past weekend at TRA on a car from New York State. Does anyone recognise where the mirror comes from ? Anyone got a right and a left ? Let me know. Don Elliott, Montreal Quote Link to post Share on other sites
gwr Posted June 23, 2006 Report Share Posted June 23, 2006 Horse, I've just fitted bullet mirrors to the doors of my '4. I'd recommend searching the Forum for "mirrors", as there's quite a bit of debate on the benefit vs bother/aesthetics balance. From my reading the balance was that the benefit wasn't worth the bother. Nevertheless, for personal reasons, I went ahead and fitted them anyway. My mirrors were two-point fittings and I measured and re-measured very carefully and only just got them onto the top leading edge of the door ahead of the door internals. If you're fitting mirrors on both sides and are positioning them evenly on either side, make sure that there is sufficient angle available to give you a good rear view and that the nearside isn't (too) obscured by the windscreen upright. Obvious I know, but I had to fettle the structure of my mirrors to get enough angle on the nearside. I put masking tape over the area that the mirrors were going to go on each door and drew a datum line. I got "my beautiful assistant" to position the mirrors. and I fiddled and adjusted (the mirrors!) until I could see an object I'd placed behind the car. I then drew round the base of the mirror and measured up the mounting holes, put a dab with a punch at each hole centre to stop the drill bit slipping, took my courage in both hands and applied the drill. Good Luck. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Horse Posted June 26, 2006 Author Report Share Posted June 26, 2006 GWR, Many thanks for your helpful advice. I have some sympathy with the aethesetic argument, but having recently been obliged to drive nearly 200 miles at a stretch, most of it perforce on dual carriageways, I have decided on offside mirror is essential, and with the hood up (one has to occasionally) a nearside mirror is also desirable. One cannot always use single carriageway roads even if they are more pleasant to drive on. Perhaps to be clear I should have called them door mirrors in my original request! The point about door internals is well made, which is why I asked if anyone could advise me on the factory positioning. I have not yet taken off the door facings but appreciate the potential difficulty. At least I should not have the field of view problem you describe as mine have a single point fitting plus a ball attachment for the mirror assembly. Looks as though I will have to follow your lead and employ my still willing helper with the positioning. Regards, Horse Quote Link to post Share on other sites
North London Mike Posted June 26, 2006 Report Share Posted June 26, 2006 Bullet mirrors are the right 'period' ones to have but are frankly, **** However, with a works rep its the only way to go (see 3/4/& 6 VC) Offside is Ok'ish but nearside is only good for hedgerows and bus queues. On the verge of doing something to alter the angle to get it closer to the line of the car so if you know of a fix please share Quote Link to post Share on other sites
gwr Posted June 26, 2006 Report Share Posted June 26, 2006 Mike, To get a reasonable field of view on the offside mirror I had to position the stem of my bullet mirrors so that the leading edge was almost flush with the door edge. In this position I couldn't get enough of an angle on the near side. The bullet is held onto the stem by a stud (a plain raised boss) and a bolt. To provide sufficient angle I elongated the bolt hole (on the side nearer the windscreen). This allows the bullet to pivot around the stud and provides a little more angle. The benefit is that this keeps the stem mounting parallel with the door line. The very slight misalignment of the bullet is not noticeable. If your bullet mirrors are like mine - purchased from Rimmer's - the mirror pivots around a long screw that protrudes from the front of the bullet. The screw is tightened to lock the mirror in place. You could also prvoide a little more angle by filing a notch in the back of the mirror shroud to allow the screw a little more movement. I decided against doing this because I noted what I presume is a drain hole on the mirror shroud and I couldn't guarantee that this would be anywhere near the bottom of the shroud when I had rotated the mirror to the desired position. I'm sorry if this is all a bit @n@l, it probably shows why it takes me hours to do even the simplest job! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
North London Mike Posted June 26, 2006 Report Share Posted June 26, 2006 I'm sorry if this is all a bit @n@l, it probably shows why it takes me hours to do even the simplest job! Thanks Gordon Nice and technical, something to work with anyway Anyone else before I start drilling holes Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jmathias Posted June 27, 2006 Report Share Posted June 27, 2006 We've got bullets on our '4. As you say, Mike, the offside one is OK-ish. Originally we had the nearside one mounted identically (i.e. with the holes in a line parallel to the centreline of the car). This was useless, and I wish I'd experimented more before drilling ! The mod we did later was to move the forward mounting point down by about 20mm - i.e. rotate the mounting anti-clockwise around the rear mounting point. This was very effective and the mirror now gives a reasonable field of view. I'll try to remember to take a couple of photos and measurements and post them tonight... From memory, I think the mirrors were from the Holden catalogue (probably part no. 090.134) - not too bad quality-wise, unlike a lot of the tat we've bolted on over the years... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jmathias Posted June 27, 2006 Report Share Posted June 27, 2006 (edited) here's a pic of the nearside mirror - the offside one is similar but with the mounting holes at the same height as you can see, it's a bit of a bodge - the first two efforts are visible nevertheless, it provides rearwards visibility - useful on rallies when you've got nutters in pale blue cars trying to overtake you on the inside.... the mirrors are mounted with their front mounting holes about 15cm from the front edge of the door and about 5 cm down from the top edge of the door Edited June 27, 2006 by jmathias Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tr4Tony Posted June 28, 2006 Report Share Posted June 28, 2006 Hi Jon I hope youre not refering to me ....... id push you out of the way with my spotlamps! Regards Tony Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TR 2100 Posted June 28, 2006 Report Share Posted June 28, 2006 Anyone else before I start drilling holes I rigged up something on my TR4 that didn't involve drilling holes. Fixing point(s) were the two bolts at the top of the A post. The bracket was drilled for the first bolt, slotted for the second as you can't remove it completely. The bracket was a flat plate, bent outwards slightly to fit between the scuttle and wing, then bent again to create a flat area for the mirror. This was the Mark 1 'design'. It worked in that it fulfilled the legal requirement in HK to have two rear view mirrors and that I could remove it when I wanted. It didn't work in that there was so much vibration that it wasn't exactly effective! It looked neat, though, and close to the rally car position, so the Mark 2 design will be made out of thicker metal. I still have the paper template which I will post if you wish - despite the embarassment! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mikesloan Posted June 28, 2006 Report Share Posted June 28, 2006 Just to add to the debate, I have bullet mirrors on my TR4 and find then very useful, especially in France where I go every year. I've just replaced the nearside glass with a cut down convex glass from a stick on "blind spot" mirror that I bought in France. At least now I can see the blighters coming when they overtake. I endorse everything that has been said about test fitting before drilling, and don't forget to paint the edge of the holes afterwards to stop rust.Mike. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Horse Posted June 30, 2006 Author Report Share Posted June 30, 2006 Apropos painting the holes for mouning of mirrors, my local restorer tells me that Finnegan's Primer (Hammerite) is a very good anti-rust primer, and equally importantly, is compatible with cellulose. I have used it add the top coat went on without ant bubbling etc. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
North London Mike Posted June 30, 2006 Report Share Posted June 30, 2006 Just to add to the debate, I have bullet mirrors on my TR4 and find then very useful, especially in France where I go every year. I've just replaced the nearside glass with a cut down convex glass from a stick on "blind spot" mirror that I bought in France. At least now I can see the blighters coming when they overtake.I endorse everything that has been said about test fitting before drilling, and don't forget to paint the edge of the holes afterwards to stop rust.Mike. Mike Have you got a photo of the convex glass ? PS: How do you 'cut down' glass without breaking it Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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