Old Stem Mirror Suggestions

[mnwebb]

Hey all -

As you can see from the pics below, someone put larger mirrors on my 66' before I owned it. I have the old stock set and need your thoughts on how to attach them and what to do with the newer mirror holes.

As the 2nd and 3rd photos show, when the West Coast mirrors were put on the old mirror holes were poorly filled, then the truck painted. The inside nuts remain but are totally filled in. You can faintly see where the stock mirror holes were on the outside and I highlighted it with a china marker.

1. What do you all think is the best way to drill out the old holes, drill and tap? Would it be better to grind off the old nuts and start over?
2. Was there a gasket between the mirror and body?
3. How would you fill in WC Mirror holes, back it with something (metal, fiberglass?) and use bondo? I'm not repainting the truck anytime soon so filling the holes with the smallest noticeable marks would be best.

Thanks!
-W

[Jims68]

Hey all -

As you can see from the pics below, someone put larger mirrors on my 66' before I owned it. I have the old stock set and need your thoughts on how to attach them and what to do with the newer mirror holes.

As the 2nd and 3rd photos show, when the West Coast mirrors were put on the old mirror holes were poorly filled, then the truck painted. The inside nuts remain but are totally filled in. You can faintly see where the stock mirror holes were on the outside and I highlighted it with a china marker.

1. What do you all think is the best way to drill out the old holes, drill and tap? Would it be better to grind off the old nuts and start over?
2. Was there a gasket between the mirror and body?
3. How would you fill in WC Mirror holes, back it with something (metal, fiberglass?) and use bondo? I'm not repainting the truck anytime soon so filling the holes with the smallest noticeable marks would be best.

Thanks!
-W

1. - IF you grind the nuts off, that could create a lot of heat which would melt the paint on the door. Try to drill them out first with a tiny bit, and work larger. I "think" those screws were 5/16 thread. IF you run into trouble, you could then grind off the nuts but not too hot too fast.

2. - There is no gasket between the mirror base and the door.

3. - "IF" It were mine and I wasn't going to paint the door for a long while, I would put nice round headed screws with NUTS and just leave the screws there "for now". You can paint the screws green, OR get some nice stainless ones and just "leave it be" for now. Weld and Bondo when you're ready to paint, otherwise, it could look "nasty" if you just leave Bondo on it now.

Just my thoughts.

[mnwebb]

Thanks Jim!

[PwrWgnDrvr]

Bondo is a soft "plastic" material and will drill easily. Then simply clean the nut threads with a tap.

[Jims68]

Bondo is a soft "plastic" material and will drill easily. Then simply clean the nut threads with a tap.

I looked at the photos, but that looks like weld. Although, it IS possible that it's just Bondo too. In fact, it would be BETTER if it were just Bondo and like you said, that can be drilled out very easily.

[mnwebb]

thanks guys...finding out shortly!

[BigBlockTrucks]

Looks like a rusty weld to me. Even if it is you could still drill and retap the holes. Using the stem as template center punch each one and go slow with a quality drill bit and cutting fluid.

[mnwebb]

OK - So it was bondo and was very easy to drill thru and retap. Thanks for the suggestions and here are the results...



Cheers - W

[PwrWgnDrvr]

Very nice

[Jims68]

Glad to know that sometimes "things go easy"! Have FUN!

[67step100]

W, great looking truck. I used the same mirror stalk but swapped out the mirror itself for a larger early Chevy mirror. Was only $20 and provides better visibility.

[martincom]

W, great looking truck. I used the same mirror stalk but swapped out the mirror itself for a larger early Chevy mirror. Was only $20 and provides better visibility.

DSCN8094a.JPG

I did the same, with a somewhat different mirror. My only complaint is the front glass channel, on the passenger's side, obstructs the mirror view. I don't know if that is the nature of the beast or the fact my mirror was mounted 3/4 - 1" rearward than it should have been. I didn't realize this until I was re-assembling the truck, after the re-paint. The passenger's door has a mirror mount re-enforcement, behind the door skin. It is pre-drilled for the bolt pattern of the mirror mount. I'm going to speculate that my passenger's side mirror was a dealer installed/customer installed unit and they didn't realize this. I wish I would have caught this before I painted the truck. I would welded the holes closed and drilled out those in the re-enforcement.

[67step100]

W, great looking truck. I used the same mirror stalk but swapped out the mirror itself for a larger early Chevy mirror. Was only $20 and provides better visibility.

DSCN8094a.JPG

I did the same, with a somewhat different mirror. My only complaint is the front glass channel, on the passenger's side, obstructs the mirror view. I don't know if that is the nature of the beast or the fact my mirror was mounted 3/4 - 1" rearward than it should have been. I didn't realize this until I was re-assembling the truck after the re-paint. The passenger's door has a mirror mount re-enforcement, behind the door skin. It is pre-drilled for the bolt pattern of the mirror mount. I'm going to speculate that my passenger's side mirror was a dealer installed/customer installed unit and they didn't realize this. I wish I would caught this before I painted the truck. I would welded the holes closed and drilled out those in the re-enforcement.

Which mirror did you use? I'm always looking for alternatives. I just wish we could post better pictures as the site seems set up for only pics less than 200kb.

[martincom]

I utilized the Sure Plus 310: http://www.sureplus.com/products/other.htm

The pair on my truck I sourced from McMaster-Carr, but they have discontinued offering them. I found another pair, NIB, on Ebay for $20.00, $37.83 shipped. I did a quick search and I didn't locate any offerings at this time. If someone is seeking them, you may have to reach out to Sure Plus directly.

Yes, I'll agree. Posting photos on the forum is anything but convenient. It is pretty old software, but beggars can't be choosy.

Pardon the dead bugs on the mirror photo.

[mnwebb]

FYI -

The exile custom auto mirror backing plate didn't quite fit (crooked nuts-ouch) their carpet trim part did fit well and Kenny did offer to make a new backing plate using my mirror stem! I would say that's much more than most vendors would do!

[martincom]

I purchased a pair from Van's. I'm sure they're China repops, but the fit was good and so was the price. I've seen a number of vendors carrying them. I had just assumed they all came from the same place. Maybe not.