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loose mirror

7

78SilvAnniv

Guest
How can I tighten the driver side mirror? Traffic looks like double vision due to the mirror vibrating.

I also need pictures of correctly mounted side mirrors. (side-on view and along the body from the rear view) I do not think mine were re-installed correctly after the paint job. I tend to see much more pillar than road behind me. They also lean so far towards the window, I cannot get my hand between the housing and glass when washing.

Thanks for any help.

Silver
 
There are 2 places for the mirror to be loose. The head or the stem can be your problem. To remove the mirror to tighten the head you need to remove the inner door panel, remove the 2 small anti rattle pads at the top inside of the door that keep the windows from rattling. After these are done pull the lowered window as far inward as you can. You can get access to the nuts for the mirror using a swival socket. Assemble in the reverse order.
Good luck with it.
 
shaky mirror

I don't think it is the mirror head or stem, it appears to be the mirror INSIDE the housing. Everything else feels firm.

Is there only one way to attatch the mirror to the door? I can SWEAR my mirror was not attatched this way before it was painted. Right now, the mirrors seem to be tilted INTO the car in an exagerated pose. I cannot see traffic properly the way they are now. Surely this is not correct?

Silver
 
Corvette: Happiness is never having to look behind you. Hammer down Folks:eek :L
 
I wish I could!

...but the traffic here is very different from what I'm used to.

There are many driveways and roads crossing the hwys...and no turn or merge lanes! I usually go out of my way about 2mi. to a proper turn/exit lane. The drivers here climb right up your tailpipe before changing lanes if you are trying to exit, and it is nervewracking to say the least!

Silver
 
mirrors

Silver,

The painted sport mirrors have 2 studs protruding out from the bottom of them. They go through the door and are secured by nuts on the inside. There is a reinforcement plate on the inside of the door skin. In other words there is only one way to put them on. Since the left mirror has a remote cable it has an extra hole in the door. This and the angle of the base make them impossible to switch side to side.

One of my main complaints with our '81 has been that the mirrors are great if you like to look at your rear quarter panels. They are also so close to the door glass that you need to roll down the window to wax the side of the mirror housing.


I feel your pain.
Tom
 
I was just making a weak attempt at humor. My Vette has the same mirors and yes the aren't very good. They were an option on my car the standard mirrors were chrome with no remote adjust. they look like they stick out further and thus would give a better view. I saw them in the Mid-America Wish Book. When I was Younger I drove Big Rigs with 53' trailers through 50 states I under stand the value of good Mirrors:W:
 
Sounds like I'm just crazy...

But I was so certain they did not sit on the doors this way before it was painted!

However, if there are only two holes for the mirrors to attatch to...I MUST be crazy!

Silver
 
mirrors

Silver,

You're not crazy. 1966 was a good model year for humans. I Graduated high school that year and I know how special we all were. :D Sometimes it takes a while to see the very minor flaws in something as special as a Corvette. Especially if you have been out of the seat for awhile you seem to notice things that you didn't before.

Billagroom is right about the chrome mirrors. They were taller and offered a better view. I was still in GM parts when the sport mirrors came out and I remember thinking that they were just like every other GM car and no longer unique. I suppose they thought they had to match the painted bumpers. They should have mounted them up on the windshield pillar ala Testa Rossa. That would have curred the visibilty problem.

Billagroom,
I can't imagine why you got out of trucking. We have sooooo much fun everyday that it's hard to go to sleep at night with the anticipation of the fun we'll have the next day. :crazy :cry :bash :argue :eyerole

Tom
 
I've heard this comment before Silver

Silver,

I've heard this before from other Corvette owners after they had their cars painted..

I think (now we're in trouble, I'm thinking) the mirrors can be installed wrong. By this I think the mirrors a specific to each side, so they may have installed the Left mirror on the Right side and visa versa. I also think that there is a spacer under the mirror between the mirror and the body, these can be installed incorrectly too.

It may be worth a shot to try to change them around or at least have Ken (hubby) take a close look at them to see if this would make sense to him. He seems pretty mechanically inclined and can figure out what I'm trying to say here. :confused

BudD
:w
 
Mirrors

Bud, Silver,

There is a vinyl gasket under the base that may be side specific with a slight wedge to it. My left side looks like it but the right side doesn't. I would have to go to the archives (basement) to find a parts book and check numbers. If the gasket has a wedge to it, that could throw it off enough to cause the problem you are experiencing. The thicker side would have to be at the top close to the window. Keep in mind that the gasket has a lip on the edge that the mirror base sits down in. My rt side looks like it may have shrunk. Aftermarket catalogs call for the same gasket for both sides.

Due to the angle on the bottom of the base, even if the doors had all of the required holes('78 didn't have a remote rt side option), if you put the left mirror on the right side the studs would go in at the wrong angle, the base would stick out horizonally and the mirror head would end up near verticle.

Tom
 
You may be on to something here...

I think there is a good possibility the gaskets between the door and mirror may have been switched or installed backwards.

Before it was painted...I could just get my hand between the mirror and window to wash, now I can barely sqeeze a papertowel between the two! While we are working on the 78 this weekend, I'll tackle the mirrors and see if I can pull a switcheroo!

Silver
 
I am sure these mirrors are exactly the same as the ones on the old Trans AMs and Camaros. I would bet they were designed for these cars and they just stuck them on the Vetts. They could have fixed it by wedging the plastic spacer.

Tom after 1,000,000 miles on the road I still love driving. But next time I go through L.A.,Chicago, New York or any of those Little cities I'll be driving my Vette or my Silverado.:Roll
 
If i remember right those gaskets can be installed wrong. Check the gaskets. Chuck
 
what was your fix for the loose mirror? i have a 1980 corvette and the drivers mirror moves(the actual glass mirror) when i reach about 40mph...
 
Double Vision

Hi Carlson,
My driver-side mirror vibrates, too. We haven't tore into the doors to get to the mirrors yet. Hubby is working this weekend, and he has Mon and Tues off, so we'll tackle it together then.

I do think the little gaskets were mis-installed, and I think I will poke around in there when we get them off and see if there is a way to tighten the mirror into the head to stop it from jiggling all over when I drive. I will certainly post here to let you know how I made out.

BTW, thanks everyone for the ideas of what to look for!

Silver
 
thanks for any help you can provide.....had any other problems?
 
loose glass in mirror

Well, now you have hit another of the corvette problems.................loose mirror glass.:eyerole

We have had ours tightened several times on the drivers side, but it never does stay right wherer I need it.:confused So i just keep putting it where it belongs every time I get in and shut the door.:crazy

As for what it shows..............well..............I sure do like the looks of the fenders:upthumbs So now I wonder why I even bother to adjust it.:confused But this just part of owning a corvette.:cool

Beverly
yellow 81
copr/princess
 
wedged gaskets

Earlier this evening I looked at the mirrors and their gaskets....they ARE wedged, and the paint shop installed them with the thicker wedge side at the bottom, which tilts them into the window!
Monday we will fix this. I am sad to hear Princess has had her mirrors tightened and they keep loosening...I'm afraid mine will do the same, now. I also have to readjust the driver side every time I shut the door.
I'll let you know how I tightened the mirror in its housing early next week.

Silver
 

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