Fender mounted mirrors

Does anybody have any recommendations for fender-mounted mirrors that don't look like ass and offer acceptable rear visibility?

So far the Vitaloni Sebring mirrors seems interesting - convex and look okay on a gt40 (no idea about a 917)
https://www.pegasusautoracing.com/productdetails.asp?RecID=1554

I don't get how people saw out of 917s when racing ... most of the pictures I see they don't have any mirrors on them.




 

Randy V

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I seem to remember some of those cars with periscope mirrors mounted on the roofs.
The Vitaloni or the GT mirrors like on this car would be good choices I think for the fenders. I would leave them black as they would just disappear from sight rather than take away from the lines of the car..
 

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Terry Oxandale

Skinny Man
I'm using the chrome bullet mirrors from Pegasus, which resemble the Talbot mirrors shown in Randy's post. In terms of visibility, I see well enough for lane changes. They show me a narrow range of rear fender clearance and traffic (you've got to get them dead on in terms of adjustment), but I still need to swivel the head to see what's on either side of the car, and maintain a constant awareness of who's around me. The "period" mirrors are not ideal, but they seem to work well enough.
 
I seem to remember some of those cars with periscope mirrors mounted on the roofs.
The Vitaloni or the GT mirrors like on this car would be good choices I think for the fenders. I would leave them black as they would just disappear from sight rather than take away from the lines of the car..

I've seen those roof mounted mirrors too ... seems ... weird. I wonder how they worked?
 
I'm using the chrome bullet mirrors from Pegasus, which resemble the Talbot mirrors shown in Randy's post. In terms of visibility, I see well enough for lane changes. They show me a narrow range of rear fender clearance and traffic (you've got to get them dead on in terms of adjustment), but I still need to swivel the head to see what's on either side of the car, and maintain a constant awareness of who's around me. The "period" mirrors are not ideal, but they seem to work well enough.

Another vote for the chrome bullets they have worked well for me and look correct for the vintage
IMG_1500.JPG
 

Tim Kay

Lifetime Supporter
What Mike D says may sound like he's joking but he's not. You'll find with any mirror you end up relying on them only to confirm you've timed your "pass" correctly. You're spacial awareness becomes uniquely intuitive and sensitive when driving a limited vision car such as these on public streets. It has to or you won't be driving it long. So pick the mirror you like the most cosmetically because one is not better than another when in comes to visibility.
 
Something that is being overlooked is the use of tiny cameras. I think the mirrors everyone has mentioned are great looking but marginal for functionality. I have been using small low grade cameras for several years now. I have recently upgraded to the small high quality cameras that are utilized in the RC industry(not those grainy little parking cameras). They have some really good quality cameras that are relatively cheap(under $60) and rival the quality of some of the bigger name cameras like the GoPro for instance(RunCam, Mobius, Sony and others). These cameras can be discretely mounted to give good viewing. You can easily access their settings and change any feature you want. They even have mirror functions that allow your camera to act like a true rear view mirror. Most run on batteries but can also be powered easily with some hardware that is very cheap($10-20). The monitors can be anything from the small(visor types) to Ipads(read expensive). You can get multiple cameras screens(4) that can also show one camera at a time, or 2 at a time, or all 4. Most are 7"screens(diagonal). Your only draw back to me is which optics you opt for. The ones with a smaller FOV(field of view) give a more realistic view of what is behind you. These tiny cameras(the size of a matchbox) can be mounted anywhere and can eliminate any and all blind spots. Some of these cameras can be mounted with Pan and Tilt mounts that you can manipulate to see in more than one direction by turning a small knob. they also can be used to record at the same time. The RC groups have done wonders with miniaturization and even have what they call board cameras with 1080P resolution( small computer chips(2"x2") with a lens mounted on it). Two of my older cameras(400 TVlines) are the size of a jawbreaker candy. Hid those in my side mirrors. If interested PM me and we can exchange phone #s and talk about it. Millions of Utube videos on the equipment, reviews, and how they work.

Bill
I even incorporated cameras mounted in the mirrors them selves
 

Michael Fling

Supporter
Something that is being overlooked is the use of tiny cameras. I think the mirrors everyone has mentioned are great looking but marginal for functionality. I have been using small low grade cameras for several years now. I have recently upgraded to the small high quality cameras that are utilized in the RC industry(not those grainy little parking cameras). They have some really good quality cameras that are relatively cheap(under $60) and rival the quality of some of the bigger name cameras like the GoPro for instance(RunCam, Mobius, Sony and others). These cameras can be discretely mounted to give good viewing. You can easily access their settings and change any feature you want. They even have mirror functions that allow your camera to act like a true rear view mirror. Most run on batteries but can also be powered easily with some hardware that is very cheap($10-20). The monitors can be anything from the small(visor types) to Ipads(read expensive). You can get multiple cameras screens(4) that can also show one camera at a time, or 2 at a time, or all 4. Most are 7"screens(diagonal). Your only draw back to me is which optics you opt for. The ones with a smaller FOV(field of view) give a more realistic view of what is behind you. These tiny cameras(the size of a matchbox) can be mounted anywhere and can eliminate any and all blind spots. Some of these cameras can be mounted with Pan and Tilt mounts that you can manipulate to see in more than one direction by turning a small knob. they also can be used to record at the same time. The RC groups have done wonders with miniaturization and even have what they call board cameras with 1080P resolution( small computer chips(2"x2") with a lens mounted on it). Two of my older cameras(400 TVlines) are the size of a jawbreaker candy. Hid those in my side mirrors. If interested PM me and we can exchange phone #s and talk about it. Millions of Utube videos on the equipment, reviews, and how they work.

Bill
I even incorporated cameras mounted in the mirrors them selves

Bill,

Side mounted cameras are commonly used in motor coaches. They are small and side mounted. There come on when the blinker is used. That is what I am going to do...
 

Terry Oxandale

Skinny Man
I utilize a back-up camera for the McLaren project, but keeping the surrounding light off the screen (hidden under the door, but still visible in a normal seated position) to where I can actually see who is on either corner is another challenge (for you open cockpit guys). I played around with these super small cameras on the sides of the roll hoop for quarter-view awareness, but in the end, didn't feel I needed anything more than the fender mirrors and the back-up camera.
 

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Something that is being overlooked is the use of tiny cameras. I think the mirrors everyone has mentioned are great looking but marginal for functionality. I have been using small low grade cameras for several years now. I have recently upgraded to the small high quality cameras that are utilized in the RC industry(not those grainy little parking cameras). They have some really good quality cameras that are relatively cheap(under $60) and rival the quality of some of the bigger name cameras like the GoPro for instance(RunCam, Mobius, Sony and others). These cameras can be discretely mounted to give good viewing. You can easily access their settings and change any feature you want. They even have mirror functions that allow your camera to act like a true rear view mirror. Most run on batteries but can also be powered easily with some hardware that is very cheap($10-20). The monitors can be anything from the small(visor types) to Ipads(read expensive). You can get multiple cameras screens(4) that can also show one camera at a time, or 2 at a time, or all 4. Most are 7"screens(diagonal). Your only draw back to me is which optics you opt for. The ones with a smaller FOV(field of view) give a more realistic view of what is behind you. These tiny cameras(the size of a matchbox) can be mounted anywhere and can eliminate any and all blind spots. Some of these cameras can be mounted with Pan and Tilt mounts that you can manipulate to see in more than one direction by turning a small knob. they also can be used to record at the same time. The RC groups have done wonders with miniaturization and even have what they call board cameras with 1080P resolution( small computer chips(2"x2") with a lens mounted on it). Two of my older cameras(400 TVlines) are the size of a jawbreaker candy. Hid those in my side mirrors. If interested PM me and we can exchange phone #s and talk about it. Millions of Utube videos on the equipment, reviews, and how they work.

Bill
I even incorporated cameras mounted in the mirrors them selves

I use a high quality ccd camera in my sl-c and i'm not that impressed by it. Better than nothing and gives you a general idea what's behind you, but in no way-shape-or-form begins to replicate a mirror. Oh, and it's also super fun when you loose electrical power and have to pull over on the highway with 0 visibility all of a sudden
 
I put a couple of slight convex mirrors inside on the forward door window sill and with the rear camera they work fine. A quick blip on the throttle puts anyone in front quickly ...behind.
 
I realy like the look of the Vitaloni Sebring.
The originals were metal instead of plastic, but these are rare and hard to find and very expensive.
I have been looking for a set for a while and finally found some. Initially I found just single ones (1 chrome in perfect condition, 1 chrome with bad chrome and one very nice white one). Then I found a couple, but was a copy (British make, not China), same shape and dimensions in bad condition chrome. Eventually I found an original couple in good condition.

If interested, let me know (but the originals are not going to be cheap)
 
Alex,
I have found that the real shortcoming of most any camera(ccd, 1080P), is the monitor. A nice tablet gives a great view. A 7" monitor or a rear view mirror with monitor, not so good. The electrical problems is the reason why I hid the cameras in the side mirrors.

P1010151-1-1.jpg


The side mirrors would not allow "good" visibility over the Gulf Flares of my 40(don't know the short comings of the S-L-Cs). The 120 lens gives only a very slight fish eye. So, no power, just look in the mirror. Not the best way to coast to the curb, but I can at least see what is beside/behind me. I do have a dedicated rear view camera mounted in the middle of the body just at the opening of the rear clip. This is a Sony 1080P board camera(about 2" square) that is programable(can select mirror function) and is a lead in to the side mirror/camera.

Bill
 
After playing around with them I just didn't like the look of the fender mounted options so I hung some convex CIS GT Racing mirrors from Pegasus off the door. On the plus-side the housing is quite large so it provides excellent visibility (I can see 2 lanes of traffic on each side plus right behind the car). Downside is the housing is on the larger side (at least compared to the APR mirrors most of us used on the SLC).

I think the mirrors look okay on the car and don't break any body lines - i.e., not too large. What does the internet think?

917_m1_zps3hr4xp81.jpg


917_m2_zpssnzlmom2.jpg
 

Terry Oxandale

Skinny Man
Color contrast may be the key. As it sits now, they are almost invisible, and look fine. I'm not totally "into" the fender mirror look either, but after a year with them on the car, I am much more comfortable with that era's look for mirrors than I think I would have been with the more modern mirrors.
 
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Alex,
I ordered a few different styles and sizes from Pegasus before settling on the same convex GT "Racing" mirrors as yours. They work well visibility-wise, however, you may have to modify the stems as mine blow back and down past 125 or so. I have the ball and socket pretty tight but there is a lot of stress placed on that joint so heads up.
 

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