mirror opinions wanted

[old Rusty C10]

I am building a "shop truck" 74 stepside. Truck will be hot rod black and have door logos on it. The doors I put on there had dumbo mirrors that looked too big and clunky for what I was looking to do. My question is what should I do for door mirrors.. First I was thinking that id go with original mirrors like my plow truck but those may be too big so I was thinking peep mirrors
what do you all think?

[rich weyand]

I like the ones on the top of this page. Big enough that I can see the whole lane to my left and the blind spot to my right. Basically I can drive on the mirrors alone, without turning to look behind or to the side. At the same time, they aren't real obtrusive, and don't have those body-mounted struts that always cause body rust at the attachment points.

http://www.lmctruck.com/icatalog/cc/full.aspx?Page=125

[Malo83]

I like the sport mirrors on the bottom RH side, heard the peep mirrors aren;t very sturdy

[dieseldawg142]

yrs ago i put bigger mirrors on my '68 gmc for towing the boat & took the stock '68 ones & put them on my '77. dont have a pic of the '77 with them, but they looked like these-

[Gregski]

square mirrors on a square body make sense to me

[N2TRUX]

Peep mirrors are useless. They look cool, but totally useless. If you want a good looking GM style mirror look at the 60s Chevelle, Nova mirror.

[kingstrider]

^ agreed, the smaller the mirror the more useless they are. Even the factory sport mirrors are quite useless IMO. I can't wait to find a decent set of DG4 mirrors to restore my truck.

[blazer2007]

I always wanted to try the chrome 75 corvette ones,I thought they would look good on a square

[andrewmp6]

Have you looked at the 91 suburban mirrors?They are kinda a cross of a small dumbo/ sport mirror mix.

[gmachinz]

I like using the 88-91 Gladiator van style mirrors because they have the same look as a standard dumbo but are power! Plus, they do "tuck" to the truck a little more.

[KQQL IT]

1969 camaro mirror.
http://m.ebay.com/itm/Chevy-Chrome-R...842?nav=SEARCH

[Keith Seymore]

What's wrong with the standard D49 mirror?

These are the ones that were designed (meaning "styled") for it.

K

[dieseldawg142]

Originally Posted by Keith Seymore

What's wrong with the standard D49 mirror?

These are the ones that were designed (meaning "styled") for it.

K

were the D49's used on the 67-72? cause those look exactly like the stock mirrors that were on my '68 910 custom cab

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by dieseldawg142

were the D49's used on the 67-72? cause those look exactly like the stock mirrors that were on my '68 910 custom cab

They had a base mirror, too, but probably not the same by part number.

Usually the mirrors are modified to fit the various platforms by increasing/decreasing the stalk length (compare to the Corvette picture above).

K

[mcmlxix]

I have one question and one (maybe) new idea...
Has anyone successfully install 1970 - 1972 Sport mirrors on a 73-79 square?
If so, United Pacific has a square sport mirror with LED turn indicators built in.
PN: C707201-LED and PN: C707202-LED

http://www.uapac.com/antique/1970-72...nal-arrow.html

[Desert1957]

If you think you will ever tow anything I would leave the Dumbo mirrors on.

Desert

[hatzie]

The mirrors on your rig are Tripod mirrors. They typically cause all kinds of problems with the door skin.

These are Dumbo Mirrors on Project Evil Tow Rig. They are big enough to see out of without the big obnoxious tripod to mount em.


More Dumbo Mirrors...

You can get power Dumbo Mirror heads from 1980's & 90's G series conversion Vans and 1994-2001 Dodge Ram trucks. It's a little work to mate them with the 80's squarebody door base but it can be done.

[mcmlxix]

Any other sporty mirror options? Custom? Something from another car/truck?

[74CustomK20]

I always liked the big west coast mirrors

[Firebirdjones]

Originally Posted by hatzie

The mirrors on your rig are Tripod mirrors. They typically cause all kinds of problems with the door skin.

These are Dumbo Mirrors on Project Evil Tow Rig. [B]They are big enough to see out of without the big obnoxious tripod to mount em.[/BMore Dumbo Mirrors...
[

Until you put an 8 1/2 foot wide 28 foot long enclosed trailer behind you, then you wish you had the tripod mirrors that flip out. I had both versions of mirrors on 2 different trucks, when it comes to serious towing, flip out mirrors are the way to go, the others pictured above don't provide enough visibility to safely change lanes, back up, or turn.
I've never had the door skin issues you commented on, first I've ever heard of that. My 79 with original paint and the optional large tripod towing mirrors still works fantastic, no door skin issues.

[Firebirdjones]

Originally Posted by mcmlxix

Any other sporty mirror options? Custom? Something from another car/truck?

I prefer to use the stock mirrors intended for the vehicle. For a sporty look, I see nothing wrong with the mirrors that Keith pictured above. I've run that style that were correct for my 72 blazer, work fine as long as you don't care to tow anything. That style mirror was optional throughout the model years with very minor changes, they always look good.

Corvette mirrors were designed to look over the large quarter panel bulge at the rear, they would look corny on anything else. Stick with the application intended and roll with it.

[hatzie]

Originally Posted by Firebirdjones

Until you put an 8 1/2 foot wide 28 foot long enclosed trailer behind you, then you wish you had the tripod mirrors that flip out. I had both versions of mirrors on 2 different trucks, when it comes to serious towing, flip out mirrors are the way to go, the others pictured above don't provide enough visibility to safely change lanes, back up, or turn.
I've never had the door skin issues you commented on, first I've ever heard of that. My 79 with original paint and the optional large tripod towing mirrors still works fantastic, no door skin issues.

102" (8' 6") is illegal for extended travel off the interstate highways a large number of the lower 48 states. This includes the mirrors on the tow vehicle too. They will hand out a citation if they notice and defining extended travel is usually up to the occifers' discretion.

The factory riv-nuts in my original 1976 doors had 1"-2" long cracks radiating from the mounting holes. If there were a 1.5" dia sheet metal reinforcing plate welded to the inside of the door skin I doubt this would've been the case.

[allengator]

Originally Posted by hatzie

The mirrors on your rig are Tripod mirrors. They typically cause all kinds of problems with the door skin.

These are Dumbo Mirrors on Project Evil Tow Rig. They are big enough to see out of without the big obnoxious tripod to mount em.


More Dumbo Mirrors...

You can get power Dumbo Mirror heads from 1980's & 90's G series conversion Vans and 1994-2001 Dodge Ram trucks. It's a little work to mate them with the 80's squarebody door base but it can be done.

this style looks good on a long bed...
for a short bed I prefer the "sport" mirrors

[Firebirdjones]

Originally Posted by hatzie

102" (8' 6") is illegal for extended travel off the interstate highways a large number of the lower 48 states. This includes the mirrors on the tow vehicle too. They will hand out a citation if they notice and defining extended travel is usually up to the occifers' discretion.

The factory riv-nuts in my original 1976 doors had 1"-2" long cracks radiating from the mounting holes. If there were a 1.5" dia sheet metal reinforcing plate welded to the inside of the door skin I doubt this would've been the case.

Ooo, first I've heard of that. I wonder if it was a victim of someone using the mirror to pull the door open or closed. It's tempting with those big bars but bad idea. No cracking on my doors, 37 years now.

Are you the trailer police? For the record 8'6" is the maximum allowed, which is why you see 99% of your car hauling enclosed trailers forsale at dealers at that dimension. Been through that with the DMV and the insurance company. I've criss crossed the country with it several times on 4,000 mile road trips from Ohio to the West coast and most all states inbetween. Been towing with it 12 years, no problem.

Hell just about everyone around here has giant RV campers they tow that make my trailer look small, I seriously doubt the citation issue or I'd see them pulled over all over the place.

[nvrenuf]

90-91 power mirrors.