Packard Forum Index » Pre-War (1899-1942)

You're right of course, the distance between the viewer and the mirror is the main reason sidemount and fender mounted mirrors have limited utility. You perhaps know that the factory template for outside mirror installation on the V8 models gave two locations, on the door and forward on the fender; mine originally had the latter (fender) which I removed when it was painted and I moved the mirror to the door, huge improvement.

As to the hingepin mirror, I like it very much. I believe the the shaft is stainless steel and shell is chrome-plated. The hinge pin on these cars has the cap or head on the bottom with the threaded (and screw-slotted) retainer cap on top; reason was that the cap was to be removed occasionally to oil the pin and hinge bushings. The Fisher hingepin mirror came with a lousy piece of threaded redi-bolt for a hinge pin so I had a correct one machined and now use the original upper threaded decorative cap on the bottom. It differs a bit in the shape of the shaft from the original Packard item, lousy picture from the accessory catalog below.

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Correct! All the OEM Packard mirrors of that era that I've seen carry the "SEE-RITE" name which I believe was a trade name for the manufacturer. If memory serves, the manufacturer was in Brooklyn, New York though I could easily be wrong on that count.

Question about the cat whisker mirrors that mount to the headlites on the Bahre car:

Would it be possible to swap them from l;eft-to-rite????? I can't see the mounting brackets so i don't know. If they were swapped from side-to-side then that would place the mirror head more outboard over the centre of the top of the fender allowing more view angle. ALTHO there does appear to be a slight arch to the longest segment of the arm.

I have the mirrors mounted on the beltline just forward of the doors and rear of the cowl(see photo). You might try one of these for the left side. I can see behind me to the left fairly well for lane changes. However, I can't even see the mirror on the right, let alone a reflection in it. Where can I buy good quality or original sidemount mirrors?
Ed

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The question of sources for sidemount mirrors came up just a little while ago. Browse this site and perhaps you'll find it. While all the major Packard vendors have sold them, there are only a few actual manufacturers. As I recall from the prior post Kanter was out of stock; you also could try Max Merritt or Sandy Chirco. The only manufacturer that I can recall is Jay Fisher in New Jersey, though I know there are others.

From my own experience with 1941 cars with the beltline mirrors, the right side one is only useful if you have a copilot. And pulling the spare from the fenderwill with the beltline mirror is a close proposition. The sidemount mirror will be only slightly more useful.

Hi all,

I have mirrors mounted on my sidemounts, they are replica Packard ones sourced in the UK. The word I would use to describe them is not printable here so use your imagination, but what the heck, they look well!

As I am driving a left hand drive car on the left hand side of the road, rear vision, especially when pulling out from the kerb is very important. My right hand mirror gives me a fine view of the road, unfortunately it is the bit in front of the rear wheel!

My left hand mirror is carefully placed to be obscured by the driving lamp, its very useful if you want to light up your face to scare small children and people of a nervous disposition!

My Packard has 2 flag staffs attached to the horn mountings, (for Royal weddings, or people with loads of money, I'm not too particular!) they could be used to mount mirrors with very little modification.


Pat.

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You might want to check with Don Sommer and American Arrow. They list 1941 Packard mirrors reproduced in stainless steel, but I don't know if they are the sidemount or non-sidemount variety.

Don Sommer's American-Arrow Corp.

Thanks for that info, I will look into it, no pun intended!

The correct sidemount mirror for your 1934, as shown in the accessory catalog, is the clamp-on type that clamped to the edges of the metal tread cover with a cute little padlock to secure it (rare item). The type that straps around the tire and thru the wheel was intended for use with canvas tire covers which were pretty much out of style by 1934. As pointed out before, changing lanes on crowded highways can be one of the more exciting moments in a day.

There were also sidemount mirrors that were integral with the sidemount covers. They screw into the top of the cover, over the chrome trim ring. Not sure how common this type was, but I have this set up on my car, and I have seen it on a few others.

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