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I have put new mirrors of the era on my 23rd Series Deluxe Eight and have seen many places of where to put them. I hae seen them on the tops of doors near the water rail, and right next to the vent windows. I am not sure which is right. If any of you 23rd Series fellows know, please tell me.

I know the guy who in the past owned my 22nd series decided to install the driver's mirror right on top of the chrome beltline moulding. I'd like the meet him one day and "thank" him.

I removed it and somewhere I have an un-molested piece to replace it. What I did to replace it was use one of the "clip on" mirrors that have two set screws and put that on the upper door "A" pillar area, by the vent window. Solved the problem and I didn't have to drill any new holes. I hate having to drill holes in a car body for any reason. I always end up needing to fill them later.

The 22nd and 23rd series cars had the mirrors attached to the upper chrome molding. The base of the 22nd series mirrors was flat and mounted with two screws through the chrome into the door. The base of 23rd series mirrors was shaped to fit over the chrome trim attached by two screws through the trim into the body. I do agree with Eric that it ruins both the chrome trim and the door. I have seen the clamp on mirrors mounted in different places. I think that it is up to the owner where to mount the mirrors so their visibility is unobstructed.

I tried the clip-on mirror both high and low on the door frame. Since every car I have ever driven since I was 15 had the side-view mirror mounted somewhere near the base of the drivers side window I found it more natural to mount the mirror as low on the frame as possible. I personally think it looks better there too. I tried driving the car without a side-view mirror as it came from the factory... there was absolutely no way that was ever going to work.

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JD, I agree. I put mine low just like yours.

I have a 23rd series and want to go original. The car came to me with no mirror on the right hand side. It is death to drive that way so I got a set of new clip-on mirrors and put them on the doors. I will repaint the car so I ignored the damage to the paint. The clip on mirrors are marginal for the right side blind spot. I do not recommend them.

After some research I found out the original 23rd series mirrors mounted on the polished trim strip under the windows. I got an original trim strip and it has a hole in the trim for a mirror. I also got a couple old beat-up original left side mirrors just to check the design. The base is notched to fit over the trim strip shape. I then bought two original reproduction mirrors for $500! Nothing but the finest for a Packard.

However there remains debate as to how the mirrors attach to the car. Some people say they have screws that go into the door and some say the mirror is held only by a plate inside the trim strip. There are no screw holes in the base of the mirror so I cannot see how screws can go into the door. I am trying to find out the true story before I do the work.

Does anyone know for sure? I would like to see some photos of the mounting hardware.

I gotta say JD, you have one fine Packard, there!

The 23rd series has a reverse set screw in the single hole in the base. They mount just like the 1951-54 mirrors and the 1955-56 mirrors. I know American Arrow Corp. (Don Sommer) makes the 1951-56 types. I don't know if he makes the 23rd series type. If your repro mirrors don't have one hole near the center, they are incorrect.

Now, thanks everybody, but when I went to go put the mirrors where they are supposed to be, I ran into a problem. If you look on JD's second picture, the mirrors are above that strip of chrome on the door. Problem for me to put them there is that there is a big, thick piece of weatherstrip rubber there, and the mirrors don't fit on. Now what?

I created a small slot by separating the rubber from the door. I think I used a single edge razor blade. Just a small slot, just big enough to accommodate the mirror base. When the door closes the rubber compresses against the mirror base and seals. If you remove the mirror later (like maybe you decide to buy the reproduction mirrors) the short section of rubber can be re-glued to the door easily. My mirrors came with some rubber inserts to protect the outer paint.

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Thanks for the comment. She does turn heads.

Edit: A picture is worth...

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