Side Mirrors Again

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davery
Posts: 806
Joined: Sun Apr 15, 2012 8:51 pm
Your car is a: 1985 Spider
Location: Ohio

Side Mirrors Again

Post by davery »

I am still on this quest to replace my side mirrors on my 85. Has anyone on here replaced their mirrors with the Abarth/Sebring mirrors? On the pictures I have seen the mirros are mounted on the fender, rather than the door. I am little concerned about the usability that far forward. Has anyone mounted these on the doors? I was looking today and it seemed if I mounted them on the door a little forward of where the current mirros are, my arm seems to hide the mirror. Any suggestions?
Don Avery
Dayton, OH/Sarasota,FL
1985 Pininfarina
2011 Eos
2012 Mercedes E550 Cabriolet
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divace73
Posts: 1380
Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2010 5:59 am
Your car is a: 1980 Fiat 124 Spider Silver
Location: Sydney, Australia

Re: Side Mirrors Again

Post by divace73 »

if I had to do my mirros again, I would mount them on the fender, you get a much better view, I just replaced mine with Tex brand (similar to what you see on the MGB's), they are plished stainless steel housing with a chrome base, prior to that I had in some small mirrors I picked up while in italy that look the part, but simply couldn't see out of them.

My old mirrors
Image

My new mirrors, note I had to make a base as previously I had the holes (with nuts welded inside) to suit the previous mirrors, am not a big fan of drilling new holes...
Image
Image
Cheers David
-=1980 silver Fiat 124 Spider=-
If you want to see pics of my car (and other random stuff) >>click here<< OR
see my >>You tube channel<<
davery
Posts: 806
Joined: Sun Apr 15, 2012 8:51 pm
Your car is a: 1985 Spider
Location: Ohio

Re: Side Mirrors Again

Post by davery »

divace73 wrote:if I had to do my mirros again, I would mount them on the fender, you get a much better view, I just replaced mine with Tex brand (similar to what you see on the MGB's), they are plished stainless steel housing with a chrome base, prior to that I had in some small mirrors I picked up while in italy that look the part, but simply couldn't see out of them.
See and I'm thinking that if I mounted them on the fender it would be harder to see out of. Maybe I just need to take off my mirrors and have my wife hold them in different spots. She already thinks I am an idiot. Originally, I was looking at Miata mirrors, but they seemed to need alot of modifications. I am looking at an updated look, rather than a retro look. The California mirrors look nice, but they look a little cheap.
Don Avery
Dayton, OH/Sarasota,FL
1985 Pininfarina
2011 Eos
2012 Mercedes E550 Cabriolet
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divace73
Posts: 1380
Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2010 5:59 am
Your car is a: 1980 Fiat 124 Spider Silver
Location: Sydney, Australia

Re: Side Mirrors Again

Post by divace73 »

making a 2 person job is a must and try an place the mirrors when on the road so you can get a real perspective(in a quiet street) do the usual movements with your head to simulate 'normal' driving, another thing to ponder is if you ever change your seat, I have put after market seats in my car and they sit a lot higher than the factory one making it even more difficult to see out of my original setup....I learnt the hard way..

Oh I forgot to mention with the Tex mirrors, you can get the straight flat mirror or the convex unit for more viewing
Cheers David
-=1980 silver Fiat 124 Spider=-
If you want to see pics of my car (and other random stuff) >>click here<< OR
see my >>You tube channel<<
vandor
Posts: 3996
Joined: Sat May 23, 2009 1:23 pm
Your car is a: 1971 124 Spider
Location: Texas, USA

Re: Side Mirrors Again

Post by vandor »

>I have seen the mirros are mounted on the fender,

The farther the mirror is from you, the less you see in it. If it is mounted on the fender and had a flat glass, I would think it would be totally useless. The Euro Spiders mounted the mirrors on the fenders because the Italians never used them anyways :-)
Csaba
'71 124 Spider, much modified
'17 124 Abarth, silver
http://italiancarclub.com/csaba/
Co-owner of the best dang Fiat parts place in town
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Redline
Posts: 631
Joined: Sat Aug 29, 2009 4:34 pm
Your car is a: formerly a 1971 Fiat 124 BC Coupe
Location: Switzerland

Re: Side Mirrors Again

Post by Redline »

I have the typical 70s-cool Sebring bullet mirror mounted on the fender of my Coupe. It is not completely useless, but would be far from my first choice of location. With a lot of tedious adjustment for one particular driver, you can get it to the point that it will tell you if someone is exactly in your blind spot, but otherwise you have to rely on a general situational awareness. When it is that far forward, it does not give you an overview.

What it is very good for is to give you the kind of cool view that is so reminiscent of 1960s films, with the black Alfa Giulia sedan, full of bad guys, drifting in and out of the limited glass area. :D
http://www.124bc.com
La Dolce Vita: Joy and frustration at the speed of smoke
davery
Posts: 806
Joined: Sun Apr 15, 2012 8:51 pm
Your car is a: 1985 Spider
Location: Ohio

Re: Side Mirrors Again

Post by davery »

Does anyone know if the Vitaloni Sebring mirror in black is paintable?
Don Avery
Dayton, OH/Sarasota,FL
1985 Pininfarina
2011 Eos
2012 Mercedes E550 Cabriolet
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