I just bought a 34 coupe, and want to mount some type of side view mirrors to the car; driven trucks and passenger cars with side mirrors all my life, and I do not want to change my driving habits at this point in time. Since there are no hinges on the A' pillar, how do you make a provision for a side view mirror stand / post - do you drill through the upper portion of the door frame , or what? Please, educate me on this one - I am stumped Thanks, Steve
Get a clamp-on, like the Lowriders use...hang it 'high' on the door's leading edge. Position it to see, they are round (don't use a rectangular on a '34...just 'wrong'! "Peep" mirror is what to ask for.)
Most of the suppliers should have an online catalog you can view. My first choice would be the one that "hangs" over the door edge. No holes to drill. Drilling the windshield post is not something I would want to do. Check out one of the 33-34 threads and look at some of them to see what is popular. Tim Edit: guess I don't type fast enough.
Sit in the car car and have somebody hold it in the approximate position before you tighten the screws (and scratch the paint). Make the hinge isn't in your line of vision. The body of the car gets wider at the B pillar and sometimes these mirrors don't work well.
Swan neck mirrors. You need to drill. Convex 3 1/2" stick on mirror for passenger side. $35 a pair on EBay.
if you go for the lower priced clamp on outside mirror, can remove clamp and drill a hole (?) through door edge and just run a threaded screw through to tighten down. usually best to get one with a longer arm for passenger side.
As others mentioned make sure it's mountable away from the car enough to actually see behind you. I bought one that didn't; when I tried to modify it, I broke the arm, now it's junk.
Thanks to all of you; a lot of great ideas and options that I will need to look into further or possibly develop an arm of my own (copied) design and then buy a mirror head. Always a pleasure Again, thanks.
I bought a pair of clamp on's gotta say I didn't like them. They come loose and squeak when they do. I haven't lock tighted them yet but plan to. I think the more permanent solution of a weld on is better... Just my 2cents
Peep mirrors were a dealer option back in the 1930's. At least GM sold them. My Grandpa had one on his, (then new), 1936 Buick.
I have a set of clamp on peep mirrors here I'm not using. They're yours if you want them. Might be a good starting point for you. PM me your address. Also got a set of billet 90s "street rod" mirrors I don't know what to do with, if you can think of a use for them. I've gone with SoCal swan neck mirrors on my 37. I like the way they look, and they give some rear visibility, but not a lot. I didn't have much choice in mounting location, they replaced the billet mirrors, and I didn't want to make new holes in the painted doors. I don't know if a different location would matter much though.
Check out the cowl light mounted mirrors in this thread. http://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=112968&highlight=34+cowl+light+mirrors
After all the great suggestions & pictures to refer to, I am going to try and mock up a set of swan arms to fit behind the cowl light mounting studs and see where the mirrors end up with a good view of what is behind me. If that does not work, I will probably try the arms in the cowl light holes and move the cowl lights up front to the horn locations; seemed like an easy enough swap and there is no modifications to anything - just to try it. Thanks again........