Power Side Mirrors

dforster · Dec 11, 2015

Has anyone considered powered side mirrors?

I know for most people this is not an issue, but part of getting the boss to buy in to an SLC project was the requirement that she be able to drive it as well - even though that's not likely to happen very often. She has already asked about the mirror adjustments and indicated that she would be happier if they were electric . . . and as you know, it's important to keep the boss happy, especially when she supports a project like the SLC! :happy:

P-nut · Dec 11, 2015

There isn't a lot of room in the stock mirror housings for a motor.

But I like the idea of electric mirrors, and if I were going to add them, would start with a housing from a junkyard car and experiment with it. Peter V. modified a set of mirrors to fit where they weren't originally designed, and it turned out nicely. I'm sure a similar approach with an OEM electric housing could look good, whether in the hippo ear style, or a more traditional one on the door frame.

Electric mirrors mean switchgear in the car, so think about how to integrate that if you are planning a fancy interior.

Scott R. · Dec 11, 2015

Not electric, but if you used something in the 70's-80's era that has the little toggle type adjuster by cable might be a simpler option. Maybe, Lol

rnixon · Dec 11, 2015

One of my cars (my avatar) has electric seats and mirrors, with a memory. You just have to push the memory button for your positions and it all adjusts. It's particularly useful when someone small has been driving and it's difficult to get in before adjusting the seat. If you could make the steering column, seat and / or pedals adjust electrically, it's be quite an impressive set-up.

The wife still isn't driving my car though. To be fair, she doesn't want to either, so we're both happy

EFNFAST · Dec 11, 2015

power seats ... power windows .... power mirrors ........... for shame, for shame.

dforster · Dec 11, 2015

P-nut said:
There isn't a lot of room in the stock mirror housings for a motor.

But I like the idea of electric mirrors, and if I were going to add them, would start with a housing from a junkyard car and experiment with it. Peter V. modified a set of mirrors to fit where they weren't originally designed, and it turned out nicely. I'm sure a similar approach with an OEM electric housing could look good, whether in the hippo ear style, or a more traditional one on the door frame.

Electric mirrors mean switchgear in the car, so think about how to integrate that if you are planning a fancy interior.

That sounds like a good idea. Do you know what kind of mirrors Peter V. started with and/or are there any pictures anywhere?

Scott R. · Dec 11, 2015

Look at the C5 corvette ones. They look very similar to the ones I have, and would be power. Looks like and easy install, minus the wiring.

P-nut · Dec 11, 2015

dforster said:
That sounds like a good idea. Do you know what kind of mirrors Peter V. started with and/or are there any pictures anywhere?

Here are some pics of what he did. First, the result:

You can see that he cut the mount off the standard mirror and with a little shaping, put it up high in the style of the hippo ears.

The mounting shows how the base was shaped to fit the curve of the door. Many OEM mirrors could be modified in the same manner.

You probably need to be sensitive to the shape of the mirror to be sure it fits with how you mount it. This example shows that a more round shape (compared to the original hippo ears) can be made to look good. A boxy shape probably wouldn't look as good.

Peter's car is full of cool mods like this.

TXDave26 · Dec 11, 2015

Does Peter have a build thread here or anywhere on the web?

Dan carter · Dec 12, 2015

Door mounted with the old manual interior adjustment joy handle seems like a reasonably simple alternative to all up electric (electrical mods not my cup of tea).

So the hunt begins to find candidate mirrors with old school manual cable set capability that compliment body contour.

Any body experiment with this possibility?

Don Quixote here. :inquisitive:

Pow3r · Dec 12, 2015

I considered the same thing, adjustable mirrors via a cable. Where I abandoned the idea was getting that cable into the door from the body. I bought a rubber tube with grommets on both ends for the wires for the blinkers on the mirrors. And possibly for door locks. The rubber tube didn't come close to being long enough when the door was open. And if it was long enough, I didn't see where it was going to be able to coil out of the way properly as the door was closed. I see where others have tie wrapped wires to the hinge. Not sure that would work with a cable. I decided to spend my time elsewhere and dropped the idea for the mirrors. For the wiring, I bought some minivan sliding door electrical contacts to pass the signals into the door. They're sitting on the shelf with all the other parts I've been hoarding.

Electric adjustment is out for me because I'm unwilling to use different mirrors, and am not interested in the hippo look. I plan to have my mirrors come up from the horizontal door surface on stalks made from pvc...which should make cable adjustment relatively straight forward as long as I could get the cables into the door.

If someone figures out a good way to do the mirror adjustment, I may jump back in.

A.J.

dforster · Dec 12, 2015

Thanks for the post, Will.

I also prefer the lower door-mounted mirror to the hippo ears.

The wires for the door speaker run along the bottom of the hinge, with a service loop inside the body end (not the door end) to allow for hinge movement. This seems to work pretty well and I think there is sufficient room to mount wires for an electric mirror as well.

The Corvette side mirrors might be a good place to start, with the addition of a custom base to mount them at the right angle and height.

drdrdrt · Dec 14, 2015

Wiring for Electric Side Mirrors:

I built and Ultima GTR. The factory supplied some great electric door-mounted side mirrors. To eliminate the bundle of wires from the body to the door, I borrowed a method from the Hot Rod industry that consists of spring-loaded contacts between the body and the door. Obviously the photo only shows the body side. The photo also shows the eight-way switch....four directions for left and right, also supplied. There are only four active brass connections per door. The photo may be confusing, as the switch is secured with brass screws,.... for fun. The other button in the photo is for the dome light, which can be set to turn on when the door is opened.....or not. The double dome light can also be activated from inside the car, driver and/or passenger, and used a a "map light,"......or wife checking her make-up and hair,

Just and idea......
David

StuM5 · Dec 14, 2015

My SLC has electrically adjustable driver and passenger side mirrors. They are off a series 6 or 7 Mazda RX7. USA ebay link JDM Mazda RX7 FD3S Power Doors Side Mirrors LHS RHS E1302 4746 E13011480 | eBay)
They are mounted in the same position as the factory mirrors, the most difficult part was getting a shop to build up a mounting base, this base had to be right size and shape in order to locate it in the same position as the RCR mirrors would mount (my mirrors were purchased exactly as per the above ebay link). I didn't do the install of these myself, as they were required to meet registration here in Sydney I had a specialist do it.
The vision out of them is 100% better than the factory mirrors and of course they are fully adjustable from within the car. I'm pretty sure the adjuster is also from the RX7 (JDM Mazda RX7 FC3S Door Side Mirror Switch RARE Item Factory | eBay)
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Scott R. · Dec 14, 2015

Pow3r said:
I considered the same thing, adjustable mirrors via a cable. Where I abandoned the idea was getting that cable into the door from the body. I bought a rubber tube with grommets on both ends for the wires for the blinkers on the mirrors. And possibly for door locks. The rubber tube didn't come close to being long enough when the door was open. And if it was long enough, I didn't see where it was going to be able to coil out of the way properly as the door was closed. I see where others have tie wrapped wires to the hinge. Not sure that would work with a cable. I decided to spend my time elsewhere and dropped the idea for the mirrors. For the wiring, I bought some minivan sliding door electrical contacts to pass the signals into the door. They're sitting on the shelf with all the other parts I've been hoarding.

Electric adjustment is out for me because I'm unwilling to use different mirrors, and am not interested in the hippo look. I plan to have my mirrors come up from the horizontal door surface on stalks made from pvc...which should make cable adjustment relatively straight forward as long as I could get the cables into the door.

If someone figures out a good way to do the mirror adjustment, I may jump back in.

A.J.

For retraction of a long wiring channel, you would put a light spring on it hidden within the door or body. When you open it, the spring extends and allows the tubing (or whatever) to get longer, then will help it retract back with no visible coiling. If that makes sense.

Pow3r · Dec 15, 2015

Scott R. said:
For retraction of a long wiring channel, you would put a light spring on it hidden within the door or body. When you open it, the spring extends and allows the tubing (or whatever) to get longer, then will help it retract back with no visible coiling. If that makes sense.

It makes sense, but would it be waterproof? Seems the hole would need to be oversize to allow it to travel smoothly.

A.J.

Scott R. · Dec 15, 2015

Pow3r said:
It makes sense, but would it be waterproof? Seems the hole would need to be oversize to allow it to travel smoothly.

A.J.

Seal it to your door side, and oversized on the body side where it isn't sealed anyway.
Or, get some alum tubing and add it to the side of the hinge. You would have to clearance for it through the body, but very clean and could be made to look like part of the hinge itself.

drdrdrt · Dec 15, 2015

Painless Wiring 40024 Jamb Tac Door Jamb Connector, 4 Wire

Power Side Mirrors

Dave Forster

Will Campbell

Scott Rowland

Roger

Alex

Dave Forster

Scott Rowland

Will Campbell

Dave Nugent

Dan Carter

A.J. Schreder

Dave Forster

Dr. David

Attachments

Stu Coleman

Attachments

Scott Rowland

A.J. Schreder

Scott Rowland

Dr. David

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