Mirror Conversion

I decided I didn't want my cheesy looking swing away mirrors anymore! So I picked up a pair of late model mirrors.

Final look on my truck was a huge improvement

 

 The pictures below are from a Friend of mine, Steve Byars

Click on the picture to see it larger.

 

You have to drill out the spot welds to remove the nut plate, you can reuse it, but I got stainless hardware for my mirrors.

This is where you have to do custom work, this isn't a bolt on project. Steve measured exactly 18-3/4" from the front edge of the door to the rear screw hole. But mine didn't seem to look correct there, so I did some testing with the plastic spacer on the door. When it looked correct I cut the holes.

Move it around until you have it where you want it. Remember you want the quarter vent window to open without hitting the mirror. You also want the support arm to go into the door on the correct side of the window track. Incorrect placement could make the windows un-usable. Lastly, the speaker is in there too, so don't move the support arm to far forward. This isn't as hard as it sounds.

As you can see Steve drilled a round hole approximately 1-5/8" for the support arm. I used my cut off wheel and made a square hole that matched the plastic gasket.

Again Steve took measurements, he's a great guy. However they only help if you actually cut the outside door in the exact same spot he did. I installed the mirror and felt around inside the door to mark where to drill. Then I drilled a rather large 3/8" hole, and used a large fender washer, which also gives it added strength.

More measurements from Steve! His inside bolt fell exactly 2-1/2" above the power window switch hole. Now he had 1994 doors, I still had my 86, so the inner skin wasn't the same. Measurements still helped, but it's OK to drill a slightly oversized hole. The fender washer will still catch and it allows you to adjust.

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