71 SPORT MIRRORS

[NOT A T5]

Hi, My 71 Convertible certainly didn't come with sport mirrors but I think they just look better. I have both LH & RH mirrors and I had them chromed years ago because I like shiny stuff LOL. Now the thing is my mirror glass fits perfectly in my LH mirror housing (remote control) but my mirror on my RH side has an ugly too much of a gap around the glass. Reason for this is the opening on it is about 1/2" bigger than the driver side mirror housing. The RH mirror has a little bit of a different shape too but looks close. Is the part number on both mirrors suppose to be D1ZZ-17696-L ®? My driver side housing says D1ZZ-703-AW ! My passenger side housing is just numbers ! My LH mirror base says D1ZB-17743-B (FORD logo) whereas my RH mirror base has D1ZB-17713 (FORD logo) Question is...what mirror housings and bases do I have? And are they mismatched? Thanks for your time!

 

[Stanglover]

Let me check my spare right hand mirror. Also some time ago, I posted on an upgrade I did which allowed me to add that 1/2" of glass and make it convex. What a HUGE difference!!

I'll get back to you soon,

Geoff.

 

[NOT A T5]

Okay thanks Stanglover

 

[Stanglover]

Okay thanks Stanglover

 I was unable to find the thread about mirrors, so I'll just recap what I came up with that might interest you.

I too thought that Ford could have / should have made the right side mirror much larger. It's pretty much useless even with the Scott Drake aftermarket convex mirror, which has the same foot print as the original.

First, the spare right side I have has a C9ZB-17587-A ID on it but it did come off a 73 because I took it off. My 71 has the same number, so that part was interchangeable as was the case, so it would just be the stem that would be different from 69-70 to 71-73.

Here are a couple of pictures of "my" mirror improvement that works very well indeed. I can go into more detail later if you wish, but for now, take a look. It is a full 1/2" wider and the mirror was custom cut from a replacement I bought. I also enlarged the driver

s side as well, but this had to be a stick-on deal. More on that if you wish.

Hope that helps,

Geoff.

 

[NOT A T5]

Thanks Stanglover, that's an idea! I'm still a little confused about the variety of these mirror housings. Could it be that my RH mirror housing is from another Ford model (perhaps other years) that looks similar to the 71-73 Mustang mirror housing? I am aware of the convex mirror glass, I have 2 of them. I was gonna put one on my LH side as well. Why there are different part numbers on bases and housings beats me! Well anyway, it'll be at least another year until my Mustang is gonna be back on the road.

 

[Stanglover]

Thanks Stanglover, that's an idea! I'm still a little confused about the variety of these mirror housings. Could it be that my RH mirror housing is from another Ford model (perhaps other years) that looks similar to the 71-73 Mustang mirror housing? I am aware of the convex mirror glass, I have 2 of them. I was gonna put one on my LH side as well. Why there are different part numbers on bases and housings beats me! Well anyway, it'll be at least another year until my Mustang is gonna be back on the road.

 A friend of mine has a 69 with sport mirrors and he tried to put a later year on the right side as the original was broken. Needles to say it was on the wrong angle because the door shape is different. I know these mirror bodies were used on different cars, another friend has a 73 Torino with them on, but again I would think it's that the stems are different model to model. Perhaps you can offer it up to the door and see if it sits on the right angle. I'll go take another look at my spare body for the number if that helps. I can't see Ford making small changes to the body for different models.

I'll give you more info on the way I made the mirror backer in a PM if you want it.

Geoff.

 

[NOT A T5]

Hi Geoff,

I've had both mirrors on my car for many years and you can't really see that they are a little different but the only thing that gives it away is the mirror glass on the passenger side looks too small. Here's a pic!

 

[Stanglover]

I see what you mean. The numbers off my spare right hand Mustang sport mirror are a bit hard to read clearly, but hopefully are close.

The stem is #D1ZB-177713-AWA. The last 2 letters are not clear, but I think that is what it is. Also has numbers RH 60422-401-J

The housing is even worse, looks like D1ZB-17477-AW with 64342-402. The mirror that came out of there is 4 3/8" X 2 7/8" and yes it can be made at least a 1/2" bigger. Expect to pay around 60 bucks for my conversion idea, but trust me it's worth it.

Geoff.

 

[Stanglover]

I had a request to go over in more detail, the enlarged mirrors I constructed for my car to give better rear vision

The materials used and are needed are; 2 pieces of flat aluminum sheet between .050 and .062" thick X 3.5" x 5.5", a right side convex mirror from the local parts store and a left side flat mirror. I'm cheap so I looked for mirrors on clearance. You might need 2 of each depending on how good your glass cutter is!! You will need the convex one big enough so it can be cut and still retain the script, see picture.

After building mine, I realized I could have made them a bit bigger by at least a 1/4", but the best way is to use your housing and figure it out for yourself. The dimension I'm providing are what I made mine.

For the right side mirror, I decided to sacrifice (break it off) the original mirror, (I have a spare anyway) so I could glue the aluminum plate directly to the base. For this, I used good 'ol  black "Automotive Goop" a wonderful product for this sort of work. Make sure you have good contact and place a weight to hold it in position. Don't use RTV it won't last long and you'll be buying more materials. Leave it to cure for 24 hrs. I got the glass professionally cut at the local glass and mirror store to match the template which was a second aluminum piece, actually  third as I need one for the left side as well. The right side glass was also GOOP'd on to the roughened base plate and set aside for 24 hrs. Placement is critical for both pieces so there is room to get a screw driver in to tighten the holding screw. take your time!

The left side on mine is an adjustable mirror. This presented a different challenge and as I didn't have a replacement, I could not sacrifice the old glass. My answer was to use thin two sided mirror tape to affix the aluminum plate to the old mirror then to affix the new larger mirror to the plate. Makes for a bit bulkier mirror, but it worked out fine.

The right side mirror actually allows you to see the entire right lane on the freeway if you're in the middle lane, wonderful!!

If I missed anything or there is a need for more explanation, let me know.

Just a note on the back side picture. You will see a blob of GOOP on the ball socket. On this base. it was worn and lose and needed a bit of 'help'.

Geoff.

 

[Stanglover]

My apologies to NOT A T5 for piggy-backing this on his post, but it is relevant. (I simply misplaced this post in the first place!!)

I updated the scan and re-sized the mirror backing plate as large as I feel possible and still allow for full positioning. However, the glass can be cut no larger or it might chip the edges. The scan might NOT be accurate size.

This is for the right side CONVEX mirror. The left side is opposite and is flat glass, with 2 sided mirror tape attaching the back plate to the original factory mirror and the new larger mirror to the back plate, if that makes sense! Goop could be used if desired. On the driver's mirror, I did not want to sacrifice the glass, but if you have a spare, remove the old glass the attach the back plate which will give a better appearance.

PM me if more info is required.

Geoff.

 

[NOT A T5]

Apologies accepted...

 

[Stanglover]

Apologies accepted...

 Thanks.

Have you made any progress on your mirrors?

 

[NOT A T5]

No, not yet! Bought another passenger side mirror housing and it gets even more confusing! The 2 chrome mirror housings were installed on my car. Like I mentioned the RH housing is too large and makes the mirror glass look small (er). The black mirror housing in the picture is from a 69 Mustang...take a look at these various shapes, angles and sizes! Which of these 3 mirror housings is the correct one for our cars??

 

[Stanglover]

Maybe this will help. here are a couple of pictures of my 71 mirrors that I know are correct. The brown one is off a 73 and is identical.

Dimensions are; 5.5" X 3.375" X 5.5" thru the top center line. The pointy end is about 1.5". As you can see, the mirror in the 73 looks (and is) way too small for the housing. That is the reason I decided to rethink it and make my own. Obviously there are big differences between the 69-70 Mustang and the 71-73's. Ford used this style on many models, just make me wonder exactly how many versions did they make?

It looks like the two you have chromed are different to each other as well. They should be the same left and right, but opposite.

Hmmmm indeed!!

 

[NOT A T5]

Hi Stanglover, my LH housing is 5 7/8" long, 5 1/8" wide, opposite end is 1 1/2" and straight. 

                          RH housing is 5 1/2" long, 5 3/8" wide, opposite end is 1 1/2" and rounded.

                 Black RH housing is 5 1/2" long, 5 1'4" wide, opposite end 1 5/8" and straight. 

Is there something like an identical/matching set of mirrors? Or is one supposed to be bigger than the other? I'm just tired of buying housing after housing being non matching? 

I also thought our cars mirrors go from 69-73? Thanks, you're being most helpful!

 

[Stanglover]

Okay......... I measured my 3 mirrors and they're all slightly different. From my knowledge of molding and die casting, there are manufacturing allowances. Some is due to shrinkage of the material and some is the way they are finished. Looking at my right side mirror case, it can be seen that the open face has been sanded off. When these are die-cast, the open end will be quite rough and they would likely belt sand them to clean them up. I think this is where some of the smaller differences come from. If these were hand sanded, not held in a jig, that might account for the variations. The larger differences in shape are undoubtedly from different tools or design.

Here are the measurements of my three, taken roughly  with a Vernier. (I could take one to work and put it on a CMM!!)

Left side; 5.780" x 5.350"  x 3.500"

Right side; 5.580" x 5.520" x 3.400"

Brown one; 5.680" x 5.500" x 3.440"  (Not shown due to file size)

Al three are essentially the same shape, but the sizes are way different.

 

[NOT A T5]

I can see that a few millimeters or 1/8" make sense but anything more than that is questionable. My LH housing is almost 6" long... I guess I just have to live with it. Thanks for all the info, much appreciated! Have a great weekend!

 

[Stanglover]

I can see that a few millimeters or 1/8" make sense but anything more than that is questionable. My LH housing is almost 6" long... I guess I just have to live with it. Thanks for all the info, much appreciated! Have a great weekend!

 Yes I agree. Because of the extreme tapers on these bodies, one would not have to remove much material to make a significant difference in the measurements. Mine vary by up to .200", but no-one would ever notice on the car. Different shape like the square end one you have would be noticeable for sure.

Glad I was able to help out, but it raised more questions than were answered. I'll have to go look at my buddies 73 Torino's mirrors and see how they match up.

You have a good weekend too.

Geoff

 

[Stanglover]

Yesterday, I was at a car show and was able to look at a couple more 'versions' of these mirror casings. One was my buddies 73 Torino. The body was identical to mine, but the mount was obviously totally different. Another was a 69 Cyclone, see pictures, In the first picture it can be seen why the mirror glass was so small. This owner needs the glass cranked all the way in so HE can see the back quarter. In his case, a convex mirror would not need to be cranked so far for his needs. Again the body was similar if not even more pointed than ours. I should have thought about taking a tape measure with me to get a better comparison.

My conclusion is that anybody who wishes to convert to a convex mirror and uses my template, ought to check the clearance they  need before  cutting the glass. However, I believe the original smaller template will work in most circumstances.

PM me if needed.

Geoff.