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Per mirror.

When I bought the Caribbean it had 2 forward front fender-mount Yankee mirrors but at repaint I had the holes welded up and installed a single Jay Fisher mirror on the driver's side. One on the passenger side would have permitted little if any rear vison from the driver's seat. Entirely satisfied with the Fisher mirror. The mounting hardware (hidden from view) is a bit different that the factory unit, though a lot easier to install (no need to remove the door panel).

Kev -

After further thought, I'm wondering if the shell could be heated - minimally and without flame - so that the metal expands just enough to work the glass out (and, later, back in). My gut feeling is that the metal would have a higher coefficient of thermal expansion than the glass.

This might be a bit dangerous to attempt with your mirror - even if you apply duct tape over the broken glass.

If we could get a known good mirror apart without breaking the glass, we could obtain measurements to have new made at a glass shop. However, I won't be able to get out to offsite storage to remove the ill-fitting repro and try it myself until later this spring.

Carefully inspecting this mirror, you can see where it was actually uncrimped and recrimped at some point in it's past already. So I will probably just redo it again. Should not be that hard.

One thing I've wondered about is the type glass in car mirrors. Is there anything special in the optical properties--or are there different auto or house grades. I believe there might be and ask because I had a round mirror cut at a shop. They used ordinary household mirror material which I installed as a replacement on one side of a car. The image was small compared to the original mirror on the other side and was not nearly as good at coverage.

One thing I've wondered about is the type glass in car mirrors. Is there anything special in the optical properties--or are there different auto or house grades. I believe there might be and ask because I had a round mirror cut at a shop. They used ordinary household mirror material which I installed as a replacement on one side of a car. The image was small compared to the original mirror on the other side and was not nearly as good at coverage.

When the image appears smaller, the mirror is slightly curved, like a lens. Or your car is going way faster than you thought.....

When I re-mirrored the sidemount mirrors on my 34, I just had a mirror shop cut the two circles and glued them in. Don't remember what kind of glue I used but they've been in there 45 years or so with no problems.

The new glass was cut very precisely and just fit inside the crimp, you'd never know by looking that the crimp didn't go around the glass.

I know that the base and the mirror shell unscrew from one another from playing around with a couple I have. At least the base can be rechromed no problem. Perhaps a mirror shop could make a close fit mirror and then using a rubber seal, caulk, etc. you can fit or pop the mirror into the stainless shell and affix it. (After its screwed back together, of course).

I had new mirrors installed in my 1948 mirrors at a local auto glass shop. It took about 1 week as they were out of the thinner type of mirror glass needed. They glued the glass back in and the mirrors have been trouble free for the last 12 years.

Kev, maybe you answered your own question... If you break the existing mirror/glass and remove it. You could take the unit to to glass shop to get the new one cut. You could have them cut it to the correct size, with a slight back bevel and see if you can press it in, using a piece of wood the same size. That might spread the outer edges of the metal apart to allow it to "snap in". Throw the unit in the oven perhaps to help it expand a bit. Throw the glass in the freezer.

Otherwise if you get the new piece cut a little smaller, you could probaby "weasel" it in there and center it. I'm assuming that there is glue on the back of these.

Or do a combination of all of the above. Just throwing some idea-ers out there.

Good luck,

Mark

Yup. No matter what the old glass needs to be remove so I can fix the dings on the opposite side of the head. Otherwise gluing a new mirror over the old one would have been the easiest way.

I'll post some pics as I actually get to work on it. Does anyone have pics of the piece that goes under the stainless trim, and/or the mounting template?