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Can anyone suggest side mirrors for my '37 120 sedan convertible? I really do not want to drill holes in my windshield frame - are there such a thing as magnetic, or clip-ons?

There are clip-on mirrors. I think some of the vendors offer them. My car has one on the driver's door. I don't know of any other solution that would not involve drilling.

Thanks for the response - when you say door do you mean the door or attached to the SS 1/4 window frame?

You should probably put a link to your project blog photo of the side view of your machine for context here.

Does your convertible sedan have sidemounts with pedestal mirrors?.

Your convertible has the SS trim (as you mention) and SS windshield. The replies to your question are for the mirror for mounting to the edge of the painted section of the door...there is a rolled steel (painted) lip all the way around the periphery of the front/bottom/rear edges of the door...this provides about a 0.1" thick "lip" for the mirror brackets (which have a U-shaped flange and 2 set screws) to attach to...

You dont want to penetrate that SS trim.

I hope this helps a bit.

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The Packard "official" accessory mirrors attached to windshield frame via two screws into the chrome.

From the 1937 120/115 Accessory Brochure:

No argument about the POSSIBLE accessory, but YIKES!...would you want to drill irreversible holes in that pristine SS windshield molding vs. clipping a different POSSIBLE aftermarket assy. on the edge of the door (for removability?

Owner has a decision to make on mirror styles, leaks into the windshield frame, irreversibility and reparability.

One thing that is often overlooked on these accessories, even if they were Packard approved at the time (I was reminded of this 50 years ago in conversations with my father, Homer Fitterling, Don/Dale Lyons and Bob Turnquist)...Remember the Context of the Era (this coming from guys who actually lived it in the 30s/40s):

The buyers were just coming out of the depression and their precious funds were spent on a core machine with minimal accessories (even for the wealthy on senior packards the outlay was significant; there were a lot of people who bought Sr Packards that werent dripping in Rockefeller/Vanderbilt cash). As their cash flow improved, say by 1939, they often put the THEN-current Packard trunk (for example) on their 35-37...years after the original car purchase, so they werent always able to source 2-4 years ago "perfect period" accessories when they actually could afford them and, frankly, didnt care if their Packard accessory was from the model year if it fit properly.

As long as it was a Packard option within the basic era, many accessorized hybrids evolved, so its hard to say the original owner (who was actually there making the history and we weren't, trying to recreate it after the fact) was "less accurate" than we are 80-90 yrs later trying to accessorize within the model year as historically obsessive as many modern restorers try to be. I understand this is how Pebble Beach grades cars and that the model year Factory specs are the only easy thing to reference, but it does show a touch of naivete on the judges part about how a real car was actually configured in its day.

How would one of these hybrids I mention fare at Pebble Beach, if found in absolutely original mint condition with 0% touched over the years...yet it had proper Packard accessories spanning 5 years?

It's apparent that, even among Packards, "accessories" were not "standard", and would be included only at the customer's option. Even as late as 1972, many "standard" cars were offered without air conditioning, radios, 8 cylinder engines, automatic transmissions, "deluxe" mirrors, etc. After about 1960, most dealers ordered cars with at least some options, since "strippers" did not sell well, outside of some fleet orders.

That windshield frame is not stainless. It's a chrome plated casting comprised of a couple of pieces.

Even Carribbeans left the factory without mirrors. They were always a dealer installed option, and many dealers used cheaper aftermarket mirrors that gave then better margins.

Thanks DM37. I thought that would be the best location for a clip on side mirror. I do not have side mounts. Do you have the brand name of the side mirror?

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