Raydot style window mounted side mirrors

[Glenn Peterson]

I'm at that point where I'm trying to decide on side mirrors and I'm waffling. I don't dislike the look of the radots mounted on the front corner of the side windows, but I had thought that they could be mounted perhaps using a plate and the original screw holes (altering nothing) but it looks like the tensioner nut on the back will prohibit mounting without drilling some hole in the lexan for the tension nut.

Understanding that side mirrors are small and not fantastic on these cars, is there anyone who has this sort of setup and finds that they never use them? I sat in a SPF yesterday with this sort of arrangement and the passenger side was partially obsured by the A pillar but was a bit more visible moving my head. Still not great though.

Front fender mounts seemed a bit better, but I prefer the aesthetics of the corner mount or no mirrors at all. I've never had one of these cars so I'm hoping to draw on the experience of others.


Thanks in advance.

 

[Bart Perlman]

I have the set up you describe, with the mirrors mounted in the corners of the windows. And I too like the aesthetics of that location. They were able to install them, without drilling the Lexan. I found that the passenger side mirror is totally useless, the driver side mirror is better, but not much. I recently had a rear view camera installed to help with the situation. I think I am going to move the mirrors to a location farther out on the door. I will also probably change the mirrors to the same style but with convex lenses, this will improve the field of view.

 

[Neil]

I have the set up you describe, with the mirrors mounted in the corners of the windows. And I too like the aesthetics of that location. They were able to install them, without drilling the Lexan. I found that the passenger side mirror is totally useless, the driver side mirror is better, but not much. I recently had a rear view camera installed to help with the situation. I think I am going to move the mirrors to a location farther out on the door. I will also probably change the mirrors to the same style but with convex lenses, this will improve the field of view.

My car originally had a Raydot mirror mounted on the top of each front fender. The view to the rear was totally worthless so I replaced them with two curved convex metal mirrors that I removed from the cockpit of an F-86 jet fighter here in a Tucson aircraft salvage yard. The curvature is close to the windshield hoop and, being much closer to my eye, it gives a very good view to the rear, both left and right. These days a camera might be better but I prefer to keep things as simple as possible. "More complexity, less reliability!"

 

[Glenn Peterson]

Neil,

Any chance you can scare up another set?

 

[Neil]

Neil,

Any chance you can scare up another set?

I sold my last one just two days ago. Unfortunately, most of the big aircraft salvage yards here in Tucson are gone now, Those were the days! You might try asking airplane parts distributors or someone in the Experimental Aircraft Association.

 

[Glenn Peterson]

“I sold my last one just two days ago.“

:FacePalm: of course you did!

Did you mount one on either corner or just that one on the drivers side?

Might be easier finding MiG 15/17 parts I suppose, I’m on the hunt!

 

[Neil]

“I sold my last one just two days ago.“

:FacePalm: of course you did!

Did you mount one on either corner or just that one on the drivers side?

Might be easier finding MiG 15/17 parts I suppose, I’m on the hunt!

I mounted a mirror on the left and right side. The black Mirage race car has no mirrors at all. You are out there on the course all by yourself at Bonneville. Many fighter aircraft use similar mirrors; a fighter pilot who isn't "checking his Six" all the time is a dead man.

 

[Ian Anderson]

On my car I fitted blind spot mirrors to both side mirrors…. Something like

X2 Car Blind Spot Mirrors Adjustable Round HD Glass Convex Side Rear View Mirror | eBay

Don't let a blind spot kill your family. HD Glass Convex Spot Blind Spot Rear-view Mirror can provide you with a wider field of view to eliminate blind spots on both sides of your vehicle, making it easier to see things that are more difficult to see using just your vehicle's side mirrors.

www.ebay.co.uk

certainly saved me a few times when drivers were lurking in the blind spot slightly rear and in another motorway lane..

Ian

 

[Bart Perlman]

I did try fitting blind spot mirrors, in several sizes and shapes, to my existing side mirrors, but I personally found that it didn’t offer me the safety I was hoping for. I have also tried a little larger blind spot mirror, approximately 2” X 3.5” rectangular, adhered to the inside door sill at the furthest point forward. This had been mentioned in a previous post and was the best solution for me. Still far from perfect though.

 

[Ian Anderson]

See discussion here

Overtaking Mirrors

Anyone know where to get some internal overtaking mirrors? Regards, J.P

www.gt40s.com

I never did find the ones Brian Magee pictured but they are unobtrusive from outside!

Ian

 

[Ady]

I recently moved from electric side mirrors (SVA) to fixed ‘bullet’ mirrors mounted on the front wheel arches. Pro’s are a period look and better rearward vision around Mk2 rear air scoops. Con’s are a nasty blind spot over both shoulders. Addition of cheap convex mirror mounted on a discreet aluminium bracket stuck with a 3M adhesive pad half way up the A pillar shut of each door skin has plugged the gap and some. Now have 360 visibility of traffic which feels a lot safer if I have ‘clingons’ lurking either side taking videos on their i-phones. The mirror is on a gimbal and so can be tweaked for parking too.

 

[Ady]

Blind Spot Mirrors For Cars - BeskooHome Waterproof 360°Rotatable Convex Rear View Mirror For Universal Cars -2 Pack
https://amzn.eu/d/77h2u6N

 

[Rod Dittmar]

These are the O/S mirrors I have on my RCR40 Mk1. They are solidly attached with a 1/8" thick tapped piece of aluminum i/s the door skin. I like the look of them, but they are small and need to be adjusted perfectly to remain only minimally useful. I considered semi-truck mirrors, but...(just kidding). So I decided on a rear view camera. Trial of several different camera locations determined that the roof top almost totally eliminated both blind spots. I'm not completely sold on the look of it up there, but it works great and, this being a street car, I want to know if there are vehicles nearby. Mirror/Camera pkg. is from Vantop and the camera mount is Nissan 350Z.