Packard Forum Index » Post-War (1946-54)

Yes this is the mirror that was recently on ebay. As Brian said there is no Left or Right on these. Same mirror, you just rotate the head 180 degrees depending on which side it is on.


Brian, welding a washer to the head of an allen key stock is a perfect idea. As long as the "stand-off" sits level against the door skin, then I agree that nothing being the moulding would be needed.

Kev -

After second look at the pic (Mirror5) in your previous post, it seems that the cast boss for the fastener also extends below the bottom of the mirror's base for 51-54. (They must have machined that flush, as well, for the 55-56 version.)

That projection must be just under 15/32" I.D., to fit through the larger hole made in the molding, and apparently acts as a spacer to prevent collapsing the belt moulding. Perhaps the door panel gets cinched between the washer and the cast boss, as well.

I can't take credit for the idea of welding a washer to the end of an Allen set screw to replicate the original fastener. I'm just passing along the approach that American Arrow took. Since I never saw an NOS mirror, I can't say what Packard did.

Measure carefully for the length of the set screw. As the shop manual instructions note, you want the screw to engage the threads by a couple of turn, so that washer just reaches past the door panel, but not so long that the head of the screw projects above the surface of the mirror base.

Also, be patient with the intricate level of fixturing and welding needed to fabricate this little detail. IIRC, the washer from the American Arrow repro was only tacked on in one place; while a full weld is not needed (or practical), I'd wanna apply at least a second tack.

Though intended for the 51-54 car with the stem in a horizontal orientation, left or right mounting, this mirror looks equally at home on the 55-56 cars, in a more vertical plane. As I said before, it's an elegantly simple design.

Let us know how it works out for you.

Kev,

I bought a side view mirror for my '53 Caribbean from Bob's Packard Parts at Perrysburg/Fremont about 5 years ago. Reasonable price (~ $150 as I recall), decent quality (no pitting but a slight curve on the base). Here are his coordinates:

Robert Stoltzfus
122 Stackstown Rd
Marietta, PA 17547
(717)426-1446
bobspackard@aol.com

Don't know if he has any more or is still in the parts business. Worth a shot.

Thanks, I will give him a shout out.

Yes, Bob Stolzfus is still very much in the parts business and is a real gentleman, just great to do business with and usually has the best prices around. Not as broad an inventory of items as the major national vendors but always worth a call.

That's good to know that there isn't a left and right. I just knew that there was an off set on the mirror for each side and didn't try to spin mine around to see if it would be for both since I didn't want to break it. Learn new things all the time. Well hopefully there will be some others that come up.

I'll vouch for Bob Stoltzfus as well. Good fellow to do business with.

Bob is a great guy to deal with. I bought an intake manifold from him. I called him and he sent it to me even before I paid him.

I have an email and VM into him. Just waiting to hear back.

Meanwhile, a thumbnail that turned up in the Random Photos box this AM led me to an image of the correct, correctly mounted on the RH door - 1954 Panama Mirror.

A little curiosity led me to an alternate view on same car - 1954 Panama Mirror 2.