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

This is for my 1940 120 club Coupe. The previous owner bought some aftermarket side mirrors for this car that are not great. These are the type that clamp onto the door weldment flange. They are located just above to the upper hinge on the doors. The passenger door one actually interfered with the closing of the door. Lastly they are set so low that you can't see out of any of them for effective viewing. I would like recommendations from you on what kind to purchase as well as best location to mount for best viewing and looks to the car.
Thanks in advance!

Not a 40 guy here so no real help with your question but until someone else who does know 40s comes along, you might have a look thru the photo archive and see what others with various models used. The first 5 or 6 pages of the archive shows both the sidemount and some clamp on styles on several cars so perhaps the mirror you have has a different arm shape or a mounting location that is not optimal.

We don't have anything in factory literature showing the 40 mirror accessories but there is a 39 and a 41 accessory brochure in the literature archive. Both show factory mirrors and the locations Packard used. One of the factory types was also a clamp on but another style was screwed to the door edge. Perhaps a clamp on with a similar shaped base could be found and modified. Holes could possibly be drilled in the base so chromed screws could be used instead of the clamp.

The edge clip-on mirrors were what was typically used and yes, they do interfere with the door closing. On my everyday 1940 where I needed the mirror to comply with the law if nothing else, I just adjusted the door slightly to give a tiny bit more space for it. The mirror was put on in the '60s and when the same car showed up on Facebook Marketplace a year or so ago, it was still there.

Greetings from Idaho the land of not many Packards,
A 1940 110 coupe very similar to your 120 came to reside in my garage recently. I too am trying to fit it with exterior mirrors and have found the same problems that you're experiencing. If you look at your car downward (birds eye view) you'll see that it has the bottom half of an hour glass figure. Mine is (7) seven inches wider at the back fender than it is at the windshield, so when looking into a rear view mirror you'll see the bulge of the body, so the arm of the mirror has to be longer than those found on modern day vehicles. I found a two mirror package on e-bay that is advertised as straight arm 4 inch peep mirrors that'll fit Chevy, Ford and Packard. I also purchased two 3 3/4 inch blind spot (convex) mirrors from Hongshun Car Accessory and affixed them to the 4" mirrors. These mirrors have a slight bend in the arm and are adjustable. The driver's side mirror is adequate, but the passenger mirror is not - so I'm looking for a peep mirror with a longer straight arm. The clip on feature has a rubber protector pad (so you don't damage the exterior paint), but I purchased smaller set screws to alleviate the door closing problems. Hopes this helps you and if you come up with a better idea, please let me know.

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A 40 guy, but not a Packard, if that's any better
I use the older generic round clip-on mirrors similar to this:ebay.com/itm/335458000025 You need to confirm that the clip fits your car, it should not interfere with the door operation. I believe that simple round mirrors look best on most older cars:bringatrailer.com/listing/1940-packard-120-coupe/ There are two main ways to mount - the standard location at the bottom corner or the alternative location at the top one. I prefer the standard. These classic mirrors will barely give you enough overview to cover the blind spots, though. Especially the right one. I usually adjust it in such a way that I can see the curb from the second lane over. That way, when I make my right turn, I check the rear view mirror, then turn my head to the right, and also take a quick peak into the right mirror to confirm that there are no car fragments in the blind spot that I do not catch with my peripheral vision