Topic: Bonehead Side Mirror Issue/Question....

[meltdown]

Hi Guys,

I need someone to tell me what the hell I am doing wrong with mounting the side mirrors on my 80 Firebird.
I watched the video from Fbody & it seemed pretty straight forward.

Fat part of the gasket goes up & the thin part goes down....again, pretty straight forward......except.....it aint workin' for me...

If you see the pic I uploaded, you will see the mirror is tilted/angled incorrectly.

Happens on the passenger side as well.

I AM using the 2 different gasket/bezel models (one for the passenger side  one for the drivers side).

I've flipped these things around from side to side & every which way but cannot get the mirrors on right ESPECIALLY on the passenger side.
The damn mirror refuses to stay put in the gasket. It hangs out of the bottom after I tighten the center screw.

Could it be that the video is wrong & the gaskets need to have the fat side DOWN instead of up top??

Any advice out there would be appreciated.

[Wallington]

Are you using the new gaskets where they have one part number for both, or used with separate sides?

[meltdown]

They are new & each have their own number.
I dont have them in front of me, but one ends in 26 & the other ends in 27

Thanks for any help!

[Wallington]

That's right. #9832126 is for LH side and #9832127 is for the RH side.

OER has them both as the same part and have used the xx 126 LH side, slightly modified it and trimmed off the locating pin so it fits but not like it should.

With the originals you can't get them confused as the locating pins are in different locations so can't swap sides.

[Wallington]

Actually, if you look at your mirror as it sits, it will likely be clamped onto one of the raised borders so likely at the top, and it should sit inside this. Loosen the screw on the mirror, wiggle it down until it sits flush inside the gasket, then tighten. If it doesn't you may have to move the mounting plate slightly further down on the gasket then tighten again.

From memory they don't fit entirely inside, so get the top inside so you have a border and not a rough cast mirror edge and have the base of the mount clamping on the lower gasket raised border. That will in effect tilt the mirror by 2x border heights.

[meltdown]

Yup...I had the 9832127 one on the passenger side...BUT, the bottom of the mirror base extends past the plastic. No mater what I try, the passenger mirror looks like hell. It just hangs off the plastic as soon as I tighten the center screw.

Also, it seems that on the drivers side, if I put the fat side of the gasket on top, the mirror is cock-eyed on the door.

Should I shave off the positioning pin & just rotate it 180 degrees? I havent done that yet, but by eyeballing it, i looks like it would be correct.

When I got the car, there were NO gaskets installed to compare with the new ones, so I a flying blind here!

Thanks

[meltdown]

GOTCHA!

When you said "From memory they don't fit entirely inside, so get the top inside so you have a border and not a rough cast mirror edge and have the base of the mount clamping on the lower gasket raised border." You are correct!

So I guess I am not losing my mind!

I have been sitting in the garage rotating these things all over the mirror bases like a kid with legos that dont snap together! I've been going crazy!

I will try what you suggested!

Thanks again

[Wallington]

I'm pretty much out of ideas. That's how it 'should' go on. And if that still creates problems then you have to make things work some other way. Yes, trimming the pin and swapping them around may improve it, or make one side good and then other worse. Maybe look at the door skin itself and see if the same each side since the mirrors and gaskets should be. You could trim a gasket border too but you can't put it back either.

If the mirror pulls off the plastic as it tightens up then the inner mounting bracket is in the wrong location and out of adjustment. You may have to drill larger clearance holes in the plastic gasket to move it up and down under the mounting plate.

[Wallington]

Haha yes, I believe that's right, so a few extra fine-tuning options which may improve them a little, but beyond that I can't think of much.

[meltdown]

I am now off the the garage to try some things out!

At least now I know there is no "magic fit" position that I am missing!

Thanks for all your help!