I have been pondering over this for a long time now and want to get some feedback and opininons. What is the general consensus about outside mirrors on a mid fifties style mild custom build? Should they be there or not be there? I have a 51 buick 2door with those lame little peep mirrors for now but am considering getting som 55 buick side mirrors to put on her. I like the shape of the base but am not sure if they even belong on a mild custom from that era. I know that california state law says that I am required to have at least one on the outside drivers side but, then again laws were made to be broken right?
It's not about the law.....it's common sense to be able to see. Same with seat belts. I like the Tri-bar mirrors. I don't have any pics,but maybe someone can post a pic for you.
You are correct in your statement Bad Bob. However if I really want to nail that mid fifties mild kustom look do they belong? Or are mirrors like door handles, some kept them while others shaved them.
I've owned many of those old Buicks. I was also required to have a driver side mirror. Believe me that car will be like driving a drain pipe. You need mirrors on both sides. The tri-bar and any early style works well. After all, that's what we used in the good ole days. Update. I had shaved handles, etc on my 49 Dodge and 54 Ford. Also now on my 48 Chevy panel truck. All had mirrors on both sides. If you like that old Buick you will want to keep it in one piece without dents.
If you can find the tri-bar mirrors, go for it...but nothing wrong with 55 Buick mirrors......I noticed that a lot of period 40's-'50's customs had passenger side rear damage (Polynesian, etc, etc.) because they did not often run passenger side mirrors, they could not easily see their right quarter, especially when the top was chopped...Bad Bob is right, it's about safety.
Wow... I guess I must be the outlaw here... I shave the mirrors for better looks and turn my neck to be safe-ish. Although, I cant fault someone for wanting mirrors... but my 55 Buick looks great without them Edit : Annnnnd... I have never had anyone "down me" for the lack or mirrors. Maybe Im in the minority.
Yes it does. But my 49-50-52-53-55- and 56 Buicks looked nice with them on both sides and I could see the parking meters, lamp posts, and kids with toys on the other side. Okay, Johnny law said I had to have the mirror on the left cause I wore glasses. So I didn't want my cars lopsided and added the right mirror. Now I'm old and had Cadillac surgery so don't really need them.
If I cant get the ones from my other post I will end up using 55 Buick which I think have a nice design and flow to them. At least once the mirror is turn down to not stick up so high.
I think as longs you stay in the proper years of the build, builders choice. As for safety, I may not wear seat belts in my T Bucket, but I HAVE to have at least a drivers side mirror. Makes lane changing safer.
Those are pretty clean. I picked up a pair of swan neck mirrors off an Ebay vendor and liked them so well I turned around and orderd a set for my Model A. They bolt on rather than clamp on like Peep mirrors that from my experience usually end up shaking so bad that you can't see anything anyhow. Here are the mirrors complete with the blue film still on them. The second hole in the base is for a locator pin to keep them in place when they are bolted on. Updated Sunday 10-06-13 Spotted yesterday on a F-1 "streetrod" at the Maryhill Concours at MaryHiill Museum
I have a box full of used mirriors I can take pic's of of you want to see more chioces. I already sold the Tri-bars though. Rod
I have in the past used extremely strategically placed mirrors on the inside of the door on o.t. offroad trucks. It took a lot of trial and error to get the mirror lens and placement correct but I never worried about busting them off. I don't see why you couldn't do the same. Sent via Illinois Bell Telephone Company's Car Radiotelephone
saw a deal on mirrors that have a mechcanical "suction cup" on the base that you can use while driving then remove them to keep the clean look of a kustom. but don't remember where i saw them but looked like a pretty kool idea.
Avanti as in Studebaker? if those are the ones you are speaking of they do have some nice mirror designs but to new for the era of build i am shooting for I do not want anything newer than 55 or maybe 56 on this car. Thanks for the suggestion tho Jim. Thanks Nick
I tried a set of those on my 51 Chevy and couldn't see out of the pass. side without tilting the base. Also they looked like a growth out of the door instead of looking like they belong. The angle on the doors below the belt line is severe on those cars and requires an angled base on the mirrors to work. Found a set of 65-66 Impala mirrors that work great. Being a truck driver, I live by my mirrors, so I don't really care if they "should be there or not". At least I can see behind me
I saw those ^^^ but dont think they will fit the era or the car itself. But they do have a great flow to them. I think they would look great on a vehicle from the 30's or 40's. the 50's cars just have so much mass to them that those will just not fit the car in my opinion.
my 64 belair came from the factory with no mirrors. ive got those little clamp on peep style ones on my doors, and they definitely suck as far as actually seeing out of them. the drivers one is okay, but the passenger side doesnt work at all really. my 50 ford has some terrible square ones from the prior owner. if i had the choice and there werent already holes drilled i would go with none at all, but since the holes are already drilled im just replacing the square ones with stock round ones. also moon has a few cool choices
I think you may be having the same trouble as I had, in that the mirrors look like they need to be mounted vertically on your door, rather than horizontally on the wing. I went through so many mirrors I could have opened a mirror shop after until I finally found these. They have been made by the same company and used on many European cars through the 50s and 60s. They have a slightly convex lens and visibility and build quality is second to none. I can send you a link if you are interested and they ship worldwide from the UK. Best of luck Paul