Factory fit original wing mirrors

PaulColeman · Post by **PaulColeman** » Fri May 31, 2013 12:05 pm

Would my 1965 FHC have had wing mirrors when it left the factory? If so, what would they have looked like and where on the car would they have been fitted?

Thanks, Paul.

Post by **Heuer** » Fri May 31, 2013 1:09 pm

They were a dealer fit option until the S2 cars I believe. There is a thread on them here: http://etypeuk.com/forum/viewtopic.php? ... ng+mirrors

PaulColeman · Post by **PaulColeman** » Fri May 31, 2013 9:04 pm

Thanks. I like the idea of not having any mirrors at all but I don't know how practical that is!

Paul.

vee12eman · Post by **vee12eman** » Sat Jun 01, 2013 8:02 am

Hi,

In the post which David pointed you toward, I was the guy that started it all and it seems a good place to report my findings and the practicality of the mirrors.

Firstly, in the important area of efficiency and visibility I am very impressed with the style I chose (shown in that origianl thread), visibility is good and I drive a variety of modern and classic cars - these are just about as good as any of them, except for a tendency to drift if the screw tightening the ball joint (ony visible with the mirror removed) is not super tight. Pleasingly, they overhang the car very little and don't get knocked off line as often as I expected.

Looks are always subjective, but they are pleasingly unobtrusive, almost graceful with the slim arms and head, definitely in keeping with the car in my opinion. The head I chose is in fact the same head as would have been fitted to the original swan neck style for late SII and early SIII cars, so also fairly in keeping. I also get a lot of questions as to where I got them from.

They have made no marks on the chrome window channels and in fact are so easy to affix and remove that you could easily remove them whenever you reach a show if you so chose.

The only problem (apart from the slight tendency to drift until I tightened them) was that the original mounting plate (the part which actually goes into the window channel) had to be cut down - you'll see exactly what I mean if you buy some and I guess this leaves a small amount of unprotected bare steel in the channel - either paint this or send the brackets to be plated if it bothers you.

In summary, they work well, are not ridiculously expensive, easily removed, have no interference with the window and after literally months of searching, I found the solution which I originally thought was temporary but is now permanent on my car at least. There are two other heads available, have a look at the tex website for details and phone them for info - they were very helpful to me.

Regards,

Simon.

PeterCrespin · Post by **PeterCrespin** » Sat Jun 01, 2013 3:37 pm

So do you have link or part number for the exact items you selected left and right, for anyone who wants to do the same?

Pete

Post by **Heuer** » Sat Jun 01, 2013 5:19 pm

Pete

They are available here: http://www.completeautomobilist.com/cat ... c-exterior

The picture shows the U shaped bracket which needs to be trimmed back so it fits completely into the E-Type door frame channel.

I like the term 'automobilist' given the usage of the word 'motorist' has been corrupted by our political masters to mean 'twat with bottomless pockets'.

"Ich bin ein Automobilist."

mystery type · Post by **mystery type** » Sat Jun 01, 2013 9:25 pm

Thanks. I like the idea of not having any mirrors at all but I don't know how practical that is!

remember also, in the UK it is a legal requirement for an MOT.

Simon P · Post by **Simon P** » Sat Jun 01, 2013 9:42 pm

AFAIK, the MOT requirement is for a mirror - but that can be interior or exterior (either side).

vee12eman · Post by **vee12eman** » Sat Jun 01, 2013 10:28 pm

Hi again,

Pete, I do have the number of the ones I fitted: MQO4 and these mirrors are not handed. They can be found here:

http://www.texautomotive.com/classic_ex ... rrors.html

The site has a phone number, you can call and order from them, at least you could when I bought my own set. When you look at the site, there are two other styles, with a round and (more or less) rectangular style. The head of the rectangular style is the same as that fitted to XJ6/12, but as far as I can tell you can actually get the original type complete from them too - MBF321 is an example of this. It is that style with a different head which is sold for the E-type but doesn't fit, go back to the other thread about mirrors for a discussion/debate!

Sorry I didn't post the site and details before but as I was typing SWMBO came in and told me to come eat my tea, so I just hit the send button. :D .

Regards,

Simon

vee12eman · Post by **vee12eman** » Sat Jun 01, 2013 10:43 pm

Hi again,

I had a look at the site David posted, the mirrors I bought weren`t on there. If Tex no longer sell direct,they will at least tell you who stocks them.

Regards,

Simon

mystery type · Post by **mystery type** » Sun Jun 02, 2013 1:01 am

AFAIK, the MOT requirement is for a mirror - but that can be interior or exterior (either side).

You need 2 mirrors, one of which has got to be the drivers wing mirror.

PeterCrespin · Post by **PeterCrespin** » Sun Jun 02, 2013 1:48 am

Even for cars that didn't have external mirrors when new? Isn't there a cut-off date when it starts to be compulsory like there is with seatbelts, speedo, indicators etc?

Pete

Post by **Heuer** » Sun Jun 02, 2013 9:00 am

Try here: http://tinyurl.com/mcvu8vq

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Factory fit original wing mirrors

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