Fender Mirrors or Door Mirrors?

[dalefox]

Hey all,

I'm in the middle of bringing a 65 Giulia back to life. She was a race car back in the 60's and has been modified here and there during her life. Needless to say, "originality" isn't a factor here.

The question of the day is regarding mirror placement. Some cars of the era had front fender mounted mirrors rather than door mounted as current cars have. Frankly, I like the look and think it would add a lot to the image of the car. Plus the cone shaped mirror that I have door mounted on my other car (a 61 Giulietta) has virtually no visibility from the driver seat. So there's a practical consideration as well.

What do you all think about fender mirrors? Any idea how frequently they were used on Giulias? And where exactly on the fender are they supposed to be mounted? I've included a photo I found of a Giulia with fender mirrors. I think these are mounted too far forward. Agree? And what type of mirror is best? There are these conical shaped bullet mirrors and also Lucas style.

Lots of questions, I know. Any and all input is welcome! Thanks!

Dale Fox

[30931]

My Giulietta had holes in the fenders for the mirrors. I think the placement is typical of other fender mounted mirrors I've seen. Personally I think mirrors on the fenders are a bit goofy looking. They clutter up the lines of the car. I only have my mirrors there because that's where the existing holes were. I don't think I use the mirrors much. Not having a top, I just look over my shoulder.
Note that there's a bit of an optical illusion to the picture. The mirrors are in the same position on the right and left fenders.
There was a recent thread on mirrors you might want to read through.

http://www.alfabb.com/bb/forums/giul...de-mirror.html

Doug
Long Beach CA

[101 Alfa Mike]

Welcome to the Board.

My '65 has fender-mounted mirrors just like in your pic. No doubt about them being original as installed by the dealer. Not very functional though. If/when I ever paint the car, I plan to fill the holes and convert to fender-mounted mirrors.

Btw, there was a mirror thread in this section not too long ago.

Mike R

[davisfamily]

My Giulietta Sprint from '58 has two holes on the driver's side fender for a mirror, none on the passenger side, though. What type of mirror would have been used at this point in producton?

[101 Alfa Mike]

Mirrors were dealer installed and anything that is period correct is argueably correct. Lucas and Talbot mirrors seem to be the most common.

My '59 Sprint came with a Lucas mirror on the driver's door. Not the one hole type you commonly see, but a 2 hole unit that I could not find new. Filled the original holes and mounted a largish Talbot that is functional and looks right.

Mike R

[ecdysiast]

Rezzaghi Motors in SFO installed two graphite black (!) torpedo mirrors just above the centers of the hubcaps on my new '64 Spider when I bought it. I had just ordered external rear view mirrors and hadn't thought to specify. Ithought they looked a little odd then, and even odder now when I look at the pictures.

I much prefer the round door-mounted ones on my current Spider. Although I hear round is for a later model and trapezoids are more correct (whatever that is) I think they look old fashioned. OK for a 750 Spider maybe, but not for a 101 with disc brakes.

Jeffrey

[Gordon Raymond]

Late '65 Giulia spiders imported into the U.S. had one door mounted mirror only from Alfa. Not dealer installed. My '60 Giulietta spider, a U.S. car with no little side mounted fender lights had NO exterior mirror's. No holes in doors or fenders.

[user459]

My first 1965 Alfa Romeo Giulia Spider Veloce had a fender mounted Talbot mirror. As I recall, it was pretty much useless. (See the picture below, taken in 1969)

I plan to install a door mounted mirror on my present restoration and will use the trapezoidal mirror. I have an original stamped "vif" and an excellent reproduction that is very close to the original, right down to the curvature of the base. I'm not sure which one I'll use yet.

The only reservation I have about the door mounted mirrors is that they go out of adjustment from constant closing of the door.

[Alfajay]

Quote:

Originally Posted by user459 The only reservation I have about the door mounted mirrors is that they go out of adjustment from constant closing of the door.

[Gordon Raymond]

Terry and Jay,
The mirror on my Ausca spider is identical to Terry's picture. It's been there 44 years. Works perfectly. Does NOT get out of adjustment from opening and closing the door unless I bump it. It holds adjustment well, does not jiggle. Mine, as original equipment, came with the convex mirror that lets you see all you need, (NO warning that "objects may be closer..."). A friend has a very few pieces of mirror glass for these of the same type I have. They were OEM on Mercedes 230/250/280 SL's, though later, with a different base. One question he and I had, was whether this was an Alfa door specific base?

[user459]

I don't think the curvature was Alfa specific, but rather generic to the curvature of fenders at the time. I say that because my vintage mirror had MG stamped inside the base!