Morris Minor Owners Club

Racing down the home stretch on my 1968 Traveller restoration, and now considering what wing mirrors to add. Decided I need them in Texas as drivers in 3/4 ton dually pickups overtake you on either side, even on the shoulder if needed. If you don't have eyes in the back of your head, you need more than just the rear view mirror to stay alive....

When I got the car here, it had crappy quality round convex ones. The other 1968 Traveller I had in England years ago had the rectangular Desmo type.

First question is, what was originally fitted, and what shape?

ESM has four basic options, see screen shot. I have a pending order ready for ESM, and can get mirrors added for marginal extra freight cost. Alternatively, is there a better quality / more period-correct option available elsewhere?

Next question: Is there a correct mounting point measured back from the headlight trim? Or just see what looks right...?

Thanks for any advice!

Ignore the question about mounting point - just found the answer in an old post, 7" back from the chrome trim.
Sorry!

I don't think any mirrors were standard originally other than the interior mirror, but dealers would have fit them to cars as a standard practice or at customer's request.

For visibility door mirrors will be best (often drilled into the door corner capping in front of the quarterlight rather than wrecking the door skin), but look less 'period'. For wing mirrors the largest surface area (not the round ones, pick the eliptical or the more rectangular shape) and the longest arms you can find with convex glass.

They are fairly standard and universal parts, surely you could save yourself some cash and source them in Texas or elsewhere in the US?

Thanks Monty, good advice. If the elliptical ones offer better visibility that's good. I'm not a fan of the round ones, I always think they make the car look like a bespectacled old maid...(maybe close to the bone though).

Strange as it may seem, prices in the US are generally much higher than sourcing from the UK. With the USD/Pound exchange rate hammered by Brexit, UK is hard to beat, unless quality is better here, which I seriously doubt. Plus - a shout-out for ESM - their freight rates are very good, and I often receive my order by air freight in 3 days from the UK. In comparison, ground freight from say California to Texas takes 5-7 days.

Wing mirrors were factory fitted to all Travellers. At least one exterior mirror being a legal requirement on a duel purpose vehicle in the UK. They had a round mirror glass and were manufactured by Raydyot I think. These had a straight stem which was fixed to the wing and had no "spring back" provision so every time they got knocked, they went out of position and were next to useless. The supplying dealers offered spring back mirrors made by Desmo among others, as accessories and these are still available (just google) although a little more expensive than the Tex alternatives offered by ESM etc and showed in your photo. Tex mirrors were also available in period but Desmo mirrors were of better quality. The choice is yours!

Classic vw beetle doors mirrors fit well, yes really....

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Classic-VW-B ... 3137494291

(this was just the first one I found) but they are available from lots of suppliers new around the world,

They will easily bolt through the small triangle section at the front of the quarterlight, I have fitted them to lots of minors over the years and will have some pictures somewhere if it helps.
Steve

I have round wing mirrors on both Minors,which IMO match the round headlamps along with a peep mirror fitted to the drivers door frame.
I find these all very adequate for my driving and I tend to use them all.

Thanks for all the feedback - much appreciated!

I use quarterlight mirrors on my own car which use grub screws (and the quarterlight being closed) to keep them in place, so they can be removed if needed and no additional holes drilled in the car though I will say the grub screws have caused circular scratch marks. You can get the mirrors in both rectangular and circular form and also in a choice of flat and convex glass.

Over the years what I've ended up with is the round mirrors which I bought cheaper from eBay (and whose brackets in no way could fit the Minor inspite of the items' description) coupled with the ESM purchased rectangular mirrors' brackets.

My 1000 saloon was bought new by my Uncle . In the original documents is a catalogue of ‘ approved ‘ accessories . The approved mirror is Desmo .

Like 'cococola' I prefer the round ones, especially on earlier cars. The only problem I have found with the ones I have used is that the chrome-plated arms do not seem to last very long and go pitted quite quickly.

The arms on my Desmo mirrors are slightly pitted - but they are fifty years old