Can anyone give me a part # and/or a picture of a day-night mirror that would fit a '57 bracket? Is B5A-18400-A a good number?
Thanks from a new member.
I used one that I believe to be a 1964ish Comet/Fairlane/Falcon it fits and works perfectly. sorry no parts #.
welcome to the forum ! it would be great if you could post some pics of your 57/project !
(https://up.picr.de/37695621iu.jpg)
(https://up.picr.de/37695627wl.jpg)
(https://up.picr.de/37695628ki.jpg)
That B5A-A number sounds right. It's not in the parts book revised editions. I bought a NOS one about 20 years ago and it looks like the posted pictures. Ford may have used the same mirror head for many years with different mountings for the different model cars.
Ron.
Edsels had a Day / Night Mirror Option. I found one on E-bay a few years ago. Had a bad glass and a low price. The Mounting stem is slightly different, and I can go into details about how I worked that out if you wish to go this route. I should add that the Edsel mirror is Stainless.
Now about the bad mirror glass. I went to the local Pull A Part and yanked a couple of Day / Night mirror heads off and them took them apart where all I had was the unique Day / Night Mirror Glass. As I recall, the Pull A Part price was around $6.00 per unit. I then took the Stainless Head and the glass to a glass shop and they cut and ground it to fit. Cost was around $10.00 as I recall.
John
58 Bird looks the same, shorter stem. Any of the aftermarket suppliers have it/them.
Welcome to the board! We all live and die on pictures........:<)
I looked at a few of the online suppliers, and none listed a day-night for '57's except for the retracs and convertibles, and they had a different mounting bracket. I suspect that's what SkylinerRon was refering to about the NOS one he found.
I sure like the looks of the mirror Gunter has, not sure if I'd like the extra few inches drop you'd get with the longer arm.
Rich, it's not an actual issue with visibility or front view. actually I feel the rearview is better than with a stock unit, maybe this is because of the wraparound tailgate glass in a wagon. the D/N is much wider and now you can benifit of all of the wide tailgate glass without having to move your head to the left and right. To the front it's not very obstrusive, because we have a very low seating position in our 57s. some of these years cars ( Mopar) even had the mirrors fastened to the dash, FWIW.
The old mirror head is still nice and stored away safely. I mostly did this because I really need the effect in nighttime driving on longer trips, because modern cars have incredibly bright headlights. In addition to that my wgn has non tinted glass.
Quote from: RICH MUISE on 2020-01-19 07:43
...I sure like the looks of the mirror Gunter has, not sure if I'd like the extra few inches drop you'd get with the longer arm.
You can just rotate the mirror 180 degrees from the way Gunter has it & lose at least a couple inches of drop.
https://up.picr.de/37695628ki.jpg
I think the way he has it now with the wide end down looks like it's upside down anyway. ;)
Ah! Now I see why it's mounted that way, so the lever thing is at the bottom. :-[
None of the photos above are for the correct day/night mirror or Glare Proof Rear View Mirror, as Ford called it. The part number is B5A-18400-A, I searched for a year and finally found one on Ebay. I had to have a new mirror cut to install in the frame as the glass portion was damaged. I found a day/night mirror with a larger glass section and had a glass shop cut it to fit. To get the old glass loose, I put the mirror assembly in boiling water for about 3-4 minutes and then it came off easy. I use and adhesive to reglue the new glass to the existing retaining pads. I will post a photo of the mirror next time I go to the storage where the car is located.
will be interesting to see the oem mirrorhead !
that's a '55 part number..........of course may be the same as '57, but do we know for sure that Ford even offered one for other than retracs and convertibles? Didn't we have a conversation not too long ago about Ford changing the pn's from year to year even if the part didn't change? I guess I am wondering if the B5A-18400-A is in fact the "correct" mirror for '57, it should have a B7A prefix.
That '55 PN didn't seem right to me either unless the '55's had the same stem.
I've searched many reproduction parts suppliers catalogs and come up empty. djfordmanjack your solution is functional and great but I would rather have a mirror that looks more 50's than 60's.
I think cokefirst's photos of his mirror will be very interesting.
Here's my car.
1957 66B. Was a 292 O.D. Now a 319 (312+.040) T-85 O.D. 4.11. Factory power brakes. T&C radio. Original color (Flame Red). I did all work except engine machining.
Heres a pic of the one in my 58 Edsel from 20 years ago. Cropped it a bit so it's not the clearest image.
(https://i.imgur.com/gl5NciS.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/bJ9OqN7.jpg)
SEARCH feature found a whole list of conversions on this topic. Link to one of the many:
http://57fordsforever.com/smf/index.php?topic=7610.msg65384#msg65384
https://www.ebay.com/itm/NOS-1955-1956-1957-55-56-57-Ford-Thunderbird-inside-nonglare-DAY-NIGHT-MIRROR/184136078467?hash=item2adf5d9483:g:x9AAAOSw5T9eCVom
cool!
Quote from: Zippy2 on 2020-01-20 10:44
That '55 PN didn't seem right to me either unless the '55's had the same stem.
I've searched many reproduction parts suppliers catalogs and come up empty. djfordmanjack your solution is functional and great but I would rather have a mirror that looks more 50's than 60's.
I think cokefirst's photos of his mirror will be very interesting.
Here's my car.
1957 66B. Was a 292 O.D. Now a 319 (312+.040) T-85 O.D. 4.11. Factory power brakes. T&C radio. Original color (Flame Red). I did all work except engine machining.
Zippy, I'll take some photos of my mirror and post them here. It is for the Ranchero I'm building. Being that you have a Ranchero, I'm looking for a piece of the Stainless Bed Trim............The Upper Left Side Corner in Stainless. Have a Right Stainless, need a Left. Got one, or know someone that has one?
John
Zippy, here is the mirror I put together. The Stem is from my Ranchero and Chrome Plated. The Day / Night Head is from a Edsel. Don't ask what year as I do not know, but there are only 3 years of Edsels. The mirror head comes apart and there is a Frame that goes on after the glass is installed. Hopefully you can see it in the photos.
John
(https://i.imgur.com/vgOdAX1.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/K4Bclap.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/6l9LIQA.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/p4oaedJ.jpg)
That looks really great John.
The ebay ad that Jim posted..........369 bucks, wow. Sure glad I'm not into the as-it-left-the-factory restoration stuff!
If you scroll to the bottom of that ebay ad, you'll see another one from Mac's, also for a T-bird73.
Zippy2...your post kinda got buried. That's a great looking Ranchero. Thanks for posting.
The mirror was not offered in the Thunderbird or truck. The part number was the same from at least 1955 through the 1957 model year. There are later mirrors that will fit, but the correct mirror is the B5A part number. I will try and post a photo of the correct mirror tomorrow. The mirror was not offered as a factory installed option but was available from the dealer.
Quote from: RICH MUISE on 2020-01-20 15:23
That looks really great John.
The ebay ad that Jim posted..........369 bucks, wow. Sure glad I'm not into the as-it-left-the-factory restoration stuff!
If you scroll to the bottom of that ebay ad, you'll see another one from Mac's, also for a T-bird73.
Zippy2...your post kinda got buried. That's a great looking Ranchero. Thanks for posting.
Isn't that crazy. I'm sure someone from the fat wallet crowd will buy it.
This is one photo of the correct mirror
another view
wow that is beautiful ! I had exactly that in my first 57 ( SD Courier) but back then I had no idea of how rare and desirable it is.
Quote from: KYBlueOval on 2020-01-20 11:54
Zippy, I'll take some photos of my mirror and post them here. It is for the Ranchero I'm building. Being that you have a Ranchero, I'm looking for a piece of the Stainless Bed Trim............The Upper Left Side Corner in Stainless. Have a Right Stainless, need a Left. Got one, or know someone that has one?
John
Sorry, I don't have that piece of trim and don't know of any. Those corner pieces on my car are chrome plated steel. They were also made in stainless? Thanks for the pics of your mirror.
Quote from: cokefirst on 2020-01-21 17:55
This is one photo of the correct mirror
Thanks. Now I know what to look for. That one on ebay must be a fake?
That's one good looking mirror. Thanks.
you are welcome. As i stated earlier, I spend a year waiting for one to show up on ebay. It was a buy it not and didn't quibble. There are lots of other options if you don't care about having the correct mirror. I always liked the one with the horseshoe Day/Night that was used in the early 60's Several of the ones shown are the site are nice looking, but there is something about having the correct one in your car.
Mirror I got was a 58 Bird unit. Like it a bunch. Should be real close to the same drop as the stock mirror but is much wider and is a day/night.
Nice! I think I will do the same. Especially since mine isn't going to be a restoration as much as "street machine". Looks good and serves the purpose.
Fox Mustang converts have day/nites with dome/map lights built in.
A kool toy!
Ron.
Yes they do. My Saleen has those. Another consideration if I am not going to be doing a proper restoration. Good idea!
Quote from: mustang6984 on 2020-01-25 12:20
Yes they do. My Saleen has those. Another consideration if I am not going to be doing a proper restoration. Good idea!
Can you post a photo of the mirror?
I am in Branson MO right now...and the car is in Port Angeles WA. But as soon as I get back (should be in a couple of weeks) I will be happy to.
Or...if I spot a Mustang while I am here in Branson that I can shoot the mirror I will do that. :003:
The very last thing I have to do to complete my Custom 300 Tudor is to install the garnish molding. Wouldn't you know it, I lost the rear view mirror mirror bracket. I'm pretty sure it was painted. This is the piece pictured that DJ posted on page one. If anyone has one let me know. I'll also post this in wanted section. :deadhorse:
Les: ladder01@msn.com
Yes, they are painted. I can't see enough detail in Gunter's pic to know if it's the same, but I can in the pic that Bill/FordBlueblood posted, and Bill's is the same as mine. Ha, your with a long line of guys that have either lost that piece or the outside center windshield piece. If no one here has one, Roger in Kansas can probably fix you up with one. His contact info is in our list of suppliers/salvage yards.
I bet you're getting excited being this close.
No matter what the color of the garnish moldings is, the mirror base is painted silver ! it only looks brown in my pic because of light surface rust.
Yup, but I painted mine the same color as the garnish molding.
Your a darn Rebel Bill! ha ha ha