Hot Rods Driving at night - update 3/27/2020

Maybe this technology is available for 12 volts.

 

It wouldn’t take much to make a template of your mirror and cut a piece of Lexan or plexiglass to copy the VW shade design.

 

My OEM 32 mirror was made of a tinted glass , most of the silvering was gone . The replacement is clear glass and yes it is a BITCH at night x10 .

 

Flamethrowers don't seem so stupid anymore now do they?

 

You ever notice they sell boxes of BBS at the Truck Stops. When you get a tailgater behind your rig you throw a handful of BBS out on the road. Its getting where I cant see that black pavement when its raining at nite and I meet oncoming traffic the glare blinds me. Run a vacuum hose into the inside. Plug it with a pencil. When you get a bright beam on your tail remove the pencil and stick the hose into a gallon jug that mostly gas but has about 25% diesel and outboard engine oil mixed in it. The thick cloud will shield you from there bright lights. and the willnot be able to see your taillights. Of course I would never do such things?

 

People around here have those lights that melt ice cream at 5 miles ( not just the deer , kangaroos and wombats but highway patrol with reflective decalwork).
I don’t need to see behind me in the dark outside city’s so I just point the rear view down at the floor, problem solved.

 

Just pull over and let them pass...
Then light 'em up with your "brights"

 

While it does not address your inquiry about a rear view mirror, I will say that I have been driving with sunglasses on at night for years. They really help my old peepers.

 

On my coupe I used a Ford day night mirror for about 55-6 I think. Did a little rigging to make it look nice. Worked great for me and gave better rear vision period. Had some ornate ribs on the front side.

 

Check with a glass shop. I can't think of the name of the glass maybe something bronze. My inside mirror on my coupe has it. Stock mirror I got off ebay that some one had already fixed.

 

You guys talking about tossing out BB’s and such, that worked in the old days when headlights were glass. Now they are all plastic, and stuff just bounces off them. With the old sealed beams, one hit, air got in the light and it instantly burned out. With the introduction of halogens, that went out the window, they will still burn if they are full of water!

With all that flat glass in your sedan Danny, I don’t know how much a day night mirror will help. The shade in the back window might be a good alternative. Look in the baby aisle at a department store and find one of those roll up shades they use to shade the babies with. I’ve got an old one in the semi I hang on the drivers window some afternoons, it really helps knock out the sun and you can still see through it with the tiny holes it has in it. Might be a pain to pull it down every time you want to drive at night, but when rolled up you’d never notice it.

 

Have you tried the yellow lens models? They cut down on the glare a lot plus they lighten up the darker surroundings so it isn't so dark. I have found they work great day or night. The style I wear go over my regular glasses. They have the side panels so the bright light doesn't shine in from the sides.

 

United Pacific sells a day/night mirror for early 1950s Chevys that doesn't look too bad.
https://upcarparts.com/early-50s-chevy-style-day-night-rear-view-mirror-for-1947-53-chevy-gmc-truck
It appears you can buy it right off their website, but it's also listed on Amazon.com if you prefer that.

 

HRP,
This may not happen on your sedan but on my '34 Pickup when the brights are behind me, the flat windshield basically goes opaque and you see nothing ahead.....Have to crack open the windshield to angle the fools lights out of my vision....

 

Maybe apply a little window tint on your rear view mirror-You wouldn't want a very dark tint-but it could be effective...and cheap.

 

My neighbor swears by the glasses version, been thinking about those myself.

 

This is very similar to what I ended up getting for the '54 Ranch Wagon and it actually appears as though it could have been installed at the factory, slightly longer but it doesn't look out of place.

As for the sedan it's to wide to fit in the the original position, I have the original style sun visors and they just barely clear the mirror.

The Fulton style or the VW glare shield would simply clip on when needed and slid under the seat when not in use. HRP

 

Another thing to take in consideration and I'm sur the guys that have T's & A's will agree is the flat glass reflects, what comes in from behind you also reflects off the windshield, it's bad enough at night, worse yet if you get caught in the rain at night. HRP

 

I'm using one of the mid 50's Ford factory day/night mirrors in my 50 and looks great in there. May or may not look ok in the older cars. I found mine on the auction site and it seems to work good enough for me.

 

Good subject but this turned out to be a little different than what I thought it was gonna be...
I was just thinking the other day how cool it use to be, lone wolfin it back from a cruise night about an hour away, rollin down the highway with only my 55 gauge cluster glowin back at me, vintage headlights glaring ahead, summer night air blowin in along with the sound of a continuous mellow tone rumble coming from the exhaust,
and thinkin to myself "this is the same view someone had all those years ago when this car was new"
Weird how things change and how some things stay the same, maybe we would almost have to look at those same dash lights now differently than they possibly could have back then???....but only for a moment there....

Dash lights at night would also be a interesting thread

 

There's one in every crowd

 

Some people just like to complain.

 

November, that was last year. This is now!

 

Honestly, what you are looking for is super hard to find... But if I was in your shoes HRP... I would get some windown tint laid on the mirror, Just about 50% or 35% vlt and it helps a bunch.... Its a little trick I learned a while back.... during the day its just like having tinted windows... night same just without the tint on the windows...

Option B.... The sunshades that clip onto visors, were sold at the wall mart, you can probably cut one of those down to size and modify as needed to fit the mirror like your photo.... Will be tinted plexi at that point but same idea...

Option C Get a piece of plexi from the hardware store, tint it, make little clips out of aluminum or stainless to go over the mirror like shown in the photo from earlier.

End of the day its a good modification to do and I am right with you on the lights being too bright some times... My 31 was super low and I couldn't see anything behind me with headlights on behind me. I just took it as.... well someone is back there and if its the cops the color will change.

 

It has been said in the past and bears repeating, There is probably nothing that hasn't been discussed time & time again on the hamb, I'm sure the member that pointed out the past thread remembered seeing it and felt compelled to comment and he was correct to a certain extent and from that post I did locate a day/night mirror for the '54 Wagon but never was able to locate anything for the Deuce sedan.

In the end there is no problem. HRP

 

I used some of the dark tint on my mirror and it helped a lot.

 

Nuts and bolts bounce better and cops wouldn't suspect a thing seeing them trailing a HD

 

In the sedan or even in a coupe I would consider some window blinds in the back window. It would be traditional in a sense as it was an option chosen back in the day.

I remember my dad when I was a kid just flipping the mirror down in the roadster. But that is probably not desirable.

 

They’re just as stupid as they always were

 

The last 3 years I drag raced I used the yellow shield on my helmet, I couldn't believe the difference. My Mom couldn't hardly drive of a night because of the bright lights would bother her, I give her a pair of the yellow safety glasses and she said it made a big difference.